1. Overview and Relation to NSF Review Criteria

1.1 Response to the NSF Review Criteria

Table 1. Summary of Major Tasks and Proposed Completion Dates

Major HIAPER Milestones	Completion Goal
Award aircraft contract	October 1999
Accept modified aircraft	October 2001
Complete research infrastructure	October 2002
Complete instrumentation	January 2003
Accept HIAPER system; begin operations	October 2003

Table 2. Total Estimated Costs for HIAPER Project

This section provides an overview of the science that drives the need for HIAPER, including important issues related to: Weather; Atmospheric chemistry; Climate; and Other environmental research.

2.1.1 Atmospheric Dynamics

On smaller scales, the upper portions of tropical and mid-latitude storm systems often go largely unmeasured. Ground and airborne Doppler radars provide some tracking of storm motions, but significant aspects remain largely unexplored. These include: the dynamics and microphysics of the upper parts of large storms; the influences of these storms on high-level regional cloud systems, on upper tropospheric water vapor distributions and on chemical processes; and the regional and large scale environmental controls on these storms by upper tropospheric conditions and processes. A modern mid-sized jet, equipped with appropriate cloud physics instruments and with remote sensors to detect in-cloud and clear air dynamics, will enable a substantial step forward in understanding atmospheric dynamics.

Targeting strategies identify areas several thousand kilometers upstream of a given region that need enhanced observations 24-to-72 hours ahead of a forecast storm arrival. For Europe and North America, these sensitive regions occur far westward, in largely unobserved regions of the oceans. With the range to cross ocean basins at many latitudes, and with an automated GPS dropsonde capability, HIAPER will serve as an ideal platform for testing and evaluating these flexible targeted observational strategies. Eventually, targeted observations could improve forecasts of major winter storm systems.

Improved water vapor fields require a mix of satellite, aircraft, and ground-based measurement systems. Aircraft should provide accurate in-situ validation sensors for the space and ground systems and carry high-resolution remote sensing capabilities covering the full troposphere. With new lidar-based in-situ and remote water vapor sensing systems, HIAPER could provide synoptic-scale maps of water vapor over land or ocean, high-resolution profiles covering full daytime or nighttime cycles, and full tropospheric water vapor profiles across all of North America or an equally large remote region. No research aircraft today provides such capabilities.

2.2.1 Atmospheric Kinetics And Photochemistry

2.2.2 Chemical Processes, Aerosols, and Air Quality

These processes include: the full production and destruction terms for tropospheric and stratospheric ozone; the emissions of reactive and in some cases noxious materials by natural terrestrial vegetation or oceanic microorganisms, biomass burning, and human activities; and rates, reactions, and feedbacks involved in global carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles. In almost all cases, these chemical processes involve scale interactions between local sources and regional weather and hydrological conditions. They often involve important reactions on regional scales, in topographic basins or within coastal circulation systems, with transport of products to larger, even global scales. Increasingly, large urban population centers produce not only local but regional and continental air-quality problems. These processes involve significant daily variations due to photochemical cycles and to daily changes in circulation patterns. All the processes interact significantly with other chemical, biological and hydrological processes. Terrestrial emissions affect ozone, while ozone effects plant growth, nutrient uptake, and subsequent emissions. Nitrogen abundance affects carbon processing in terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Storms modify the chemistry of boundary layer air and transport products to higher altitudes. Precipitation processes move atmospheric components to land or ocean. Understanding these interactive processes across the planet requires an aircraft with great range and wide payload flexibility.

Aerosols significantly impact the chemical properties of the atmosphere. Like many chemical components, aerosols can evolve from local oceanic or terrestrial sources and develop as a result of reactions that occur on hourly or daily time scales. In the atmosphere, aerosols continue to evolve and can disperse over global scales in days to weeks. In the stratosphere, heterogeneous reactions are a dominant mechanism for ozone destruction. In the troposphere, aerosols play a significant role in acid rain production, and large but unquantified roles in tropospheric heterogeneous chemistry, in cloud production and modification, and in general precipitation. Researchers have very little information about the transport of aerosols from the troposphere to the stratosphere, especially in tropical regions that may represent important sources of stratospheric aerosols. Changing aerosol loads in the stratosphere, from human activities or volcanic eruptions, may exert strong influence on the heterogeneous chemical processes controlling stratospheric ozone depletion.

Quantifying these enormously complex chemical processes requires relatively "fast" yet highly specific instruments deployed over a full range of local, regional, and global scales and over full diurnal or nocturnal cycles. An aircraft with the range, endurance, altitude, and payload capabilities of HIAPER will provide a significant increase in capability for atmospheric chemistry and air quality research. Ironically, aircraft themselves, particularly emissions from commercial air traffic, represent a growing concern in air quality, chemistry and climate change; accordingly we require observations within and above air traffic lanes.

2.3.1 Cloud Systems

2.3.2 Radiation and Aerosols

Increasingly, however, ocean-atmosphere research requires more than just sea-surface temperatures and surface wind stresses. For example, regions of extensive marine stratus clouds, often with distinct diurnal variations in coverage and optical thickness, present a challenge to climate and forecast models. A platform like HIAPER, with the ability to reach and cover remote marine stratus regions, and to measure fluxes and sea surface temperatures below, microphysics within, and backscatter above these clouds, offers an important opportunity for understanding the development and evolution of these systems.

Ocean-atmosphere interactions also include significant trace-gas fluxes between air and sea. Fluxes of some tracers, such as of dimethylsulfide (DMS), represent an important source for the formation of marine sulfate aerosols. Measuring DMS fluxes in the atmosphere also provides information about the distribution, abundance and nutritive status of microorganisms in the underlying ocean. The net fluxes of other biologically-mediated compounds with important greenhouse or ozone depletion effects, such as of methyl bromide, remain largely unknown over large areas of the ocean. HIAPER, with fast, sensitive detectors for CO2, DMS, and other important tracers, and active and passive remote sensors for ocean color and ocean biota, will provide an important supplement to ship-based measurements.

2.4.1 Polar Research

2.4.2 Biological and Ecological Research

2.4.3 Upper Atmosphere Observations

2.4.4 Satellite Calibration And Validations

3. Planning Environment

3.1 U.S. and International Research Fleets

3.2 Technological Developments for Modern Research Aircraft

3.2.1 Miniaturization and Digital Technologies

3.3 Community Planning for a Mid-Sized Jet Aircraft

NCAR plans the overall HIAPER effort to meet community needs. Meeting those needs requires extensive community involvement. The university community interacts with NCAR at all levels, from the UCAR Board of Trustees and various UCAR committees to day-to-day scientific collaboration among university and NCAR scientists. The 1996 NSF panel that reviewed NCAR found that

"NCAR has an abiding and rich tradition of service and outreach to the community founded on the twin pillars of a superb scientific program and unequaled observational and computational facilities."

4.2 HIAPER Integrated Project Team

Throughout the acquisition, instrumentation, and preparation of HIAPER for operations, the cumulative UCAR/NCAR/ATD effort, including supporting efforts from CAIPT, will exceed 60 full-time equivalent (FTE) over five years. Table 4 summarizes the combined FTE effort of the many individuals involved in HIAPER tasks.

4.3.1 NSF Oversight

4.3.2 NCAR and UCAR Oversight

The members of the HAC will participate in workshops and other advisory group processes developed by the HIPT. In particular, the HAC will work with the HIPT Scientific Coordinator to ensure effective community involvement in key aspects of HIAPER planning.

The HAC will endorse guidelines for instrument development, covering desired capabilities and size, weight, and power constraints. Working from recommendations provided by technical advisory groups and review panels, the HAC will recommend highest priority instrument developments.

4.4.1 Technical Advisory Groups

4.4.2 Surveys and Workshops

Early in 1999, ATD will convene an airborne instrumentation workshop to develop community priorities for measurement capabilities related to primary scientific missions of the aircraft. A subset of attendees from that workshop will develop: a composite set of needs for primary (always on the aircraft) instrumentation; preliminary needs for specialized instruments; and desirable airframe modifications. Recommendations from this workshop summary group, particularly for desirable structural modifications driven by instrument needs, will go to the HAC for review and endorsement in time to play a useful role in the preparation of a draft Request for Proposal (RFP).

After awarding a contract and setting final specifications for structural modifications, ATD will convene a second instrumentation workshop to discuss guidelines, needs, and opportunities for special research instruments, HIAPER-compatible instruments deployed according to project needs. The research instrument guidelines will include space, weight, and power requirements, as well as requisite data format, processing and transmission capabilities. The HAC will review these instrumentation guidelines. These guidelines will feed into the instrumentation RFP process. Late in the acquisition process, as instrument capabilities and operational schedules become clear, ATD and OFAP will host a HIAPER users' conference, to discuss all aspects of operations, payload, instrumentation, communications, mission planning and data quality. A web-based report from this workshop will guide a wider audience of potential users in their planning for future HIAPER research missions.

Solicitation of Proposals: Using instrument guidelines endorsed by the HAC, UCAR will solicit proposals from the community. The solicitation will explicitly allow preliminary funding for potential instrumentation that requires further design and evaluation. The solicitation will invite proposals from universities, NCAR, universities in partnership with ATD, each other, or industry and from other national and international laboratories. ATD's design and fabrication group will provide design assistance and fabrication cost estimates to instrument developers who desire such assistance. We will require each instrument proposal to specify long-term arrangements for instrument and data support.

Review and Evaluation: ATM Program Managers will conduct a standard NSF merit review of all proposals. The Program Managers will present results of those reviews with their recommendations to a special review panel focused on HIAPER instrumentation. Panel recommendations will then go to the HAC for final review and recommendation. The HAC at this point should include participation from ATM Program Managers.

Contract Award: UCAR, in consultation with NSF, will issue contracts for each instrument development, consistent with the recommendations of the HAC. These contracts will include specific performance expectations and schedules and will specify design guidelines and restrictions, acceptance testing, long-term operations and calibration support, ownership and intellectual property rights, and data rights and responsibilities. These contracts will cover instrument development through an initial testing and deployment period; they will not pay for on-going operations or future research. Where appropriate, instrument contracts may set specific standards and procedures for accepting the instrument for flight testing.

Project Monitoring: The HIPT and appropriate technical advisory groups will monitor designs and progress and report all such information to the HAC and the NOC. ATD's aviation group, RAF, will provide appropriate assistance regarding airworthiness requirements, options for minimizing weight and power, and integration with the HIAPER data system. Most projects will include a specific design review by ATD, HIPT, and other experts. Subsequent performance milestones may include demonstration of measurement accuracy on the ground, certification of airworthiness and safety, and definition of calibration and operational procedures.

Deployment and ownership of primary instruments will become the responsibility of ATD and should require only occasional interactions with the developers for troubleshooting or for issues related to calibration. For specialized instruments, initial deployments may require assistance and participation from the developers, who may also assume initial data processing and distribution responsibilities. Eventually, each special research instrument must revert to long-term support arrangements as specified in the development contract. Instruments developed with HIAPER funding must provide a plan for data validation and for timely provision of data to ATD.

HIPT monthly electronic reports will also reach the HAC. The ATD Director will also provide summary and look-ahead reports to the HAC every six months, ideally in cycle with UCAR Board of Trustees meetings so that recommendations or concerns of the Advisory Group can go through the NCAR Director or UCAR President to Board members as appropriate.

Other specific reporting functions and responsibilities lie within specific tasks and especially within specific contracts. The discussion of processes for selecting and funding instrumentation above suggested possible reporting mechanisms for inclusion in any instrumentation development contract. The detailed discussion of the airframe procurement (Task 2, Section 5.2) describes reporting and other oversight functions desirable in any airframe contract. In addition to these contractual responsibilities and to the periodic reports listed above, and to supplement community advisory and oversight functions already described, the ATD Director and/or HIAPER Project Manager will make regular reports to annual UCAR members meetings, to the UCAR University Relations Committee and at national geosciences meetings.

5.1 Task 1: Define Specifications

Respondents listed altitude as the most important capability for HIAPER, ahead of endurance, payload, and floor space. Figure 5 presents these overall preferences while Figure 6 gives details of preferred capabilities in each of the above categories: altitude, endurance, range, payload, and floor space. The survey recipients were given probable HIAPER characteristics as guidance, as well as details of the capabilities of current NCAR aircraft for comparison. Based on this information, the respondents clearly feel that their scientific intentions require high-altitude, long-range capabilities.

This initial survey represents the first phase of our outreach for broad-based scientific community input on HIAPER capabilities.

5.1.2 Defining Minimum Requirements and Desirable Capabilities

We start defining requirements by using the community survey results. These depart only slightly from preliminary NSF and NCAR descriptions of HIAPER as contained in early planning documents. In summary, they are:

• Altitude: 50,000 ft
• Endurance: 10 hrs
• Range: 4,500 miles
• Payload: 6,000 lb.
• Floor space: 350 ft2

• Minimum requirements: These are the capabilities that HIAPER must possess to accomplish its mission. NCAR will not acquire an aircraft that does meet these minimum requirements.

• Desirable capabilities: These are defined as ideal capabilities, if available, assuming no cost constraints. In defining these desirable aircraft capabilities, we will incorporate inputs from potential vendors so as to take maximum advantage of commercially available options and modification (completion) capabilities.

The determination of minimum requirements and desirable capabilities of the aircraft will be the first step in the process of analyzing for best value. A ranked and weighted scale of desirable capabilities will be created to establish a relative value of these attributes. This scale will give vendors insight into the priorities of the desirable capabilities, will enable them to make appropriate business decisions concerning their offers, and will also be used to perform a cost-benefit analysis of priced options.

With the above information, we will conduct a two-phased approach, as described in the next two sections, to finalize the set of minimum requirements and desirable capabilities to be included in the RFP.

These conferences will also provide offerors an opportunity to provide and discuss their comments on the draft RFP. Further, the site visits will allow the acquisition team to see the offerors' facilities, meet their staff, and gain a better understanding of their manufacturing and modification (completion) capabilities and processes.

For HIAPER, there are many potential candidates within this business aircraft class. These choices range among the three size classes listed below. (The passenger capacities shown represent what would be possible in an "airline" configuration, rather than what is typical in business use.) A few example aircraft are also listed, in alphabetical order, within each size class. These aircraft are all modern, fast, and jet-powered, but otherwise have a wide range of capabilities and prices.

• Light business aircraft (10 passenger maximum capacity), for example:
  Bombardier Learjet 45
  Cessna Citation X
  Dassault Falcon 2000

  Mid-sized business aircraft (10-25 passengers), for example:

  Bombardier Challenger and Global Express

  Dassault Falcon 900EX

  Gulfstream G-IV, G-IV SP, and G-V

  Heavy business aircraft (more than 25 passengers), for example:

  Airbus A319CJ

  Boeing Business Jet (BBJ; 737-700 IGW)

A few general comments can be made about the characteristics of the aircraft in these size classes relative to what might be suitable for HIAPER. These are presented in Table 5.

Table 5. Relative General Characteristics of Available Business Aircraft

Aircraft Size Class	Altitude	Range and Endurance	Payload	Cabin Volume	Cost (Purchase and Operations)
Light	High	Moderate	Low	Low	Low
Mid-Sized	High	High	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
Heavy	Moderate	High	Very High	Very High	High

  In addition to the attributes shown above, other factors will be highly important. For example, one critical factor is the ability of HIAPER to operate in fully loaded configuration from a variety of airports, including the existing RAF base at Jefferson County Airport (Jeffco). This requires examination of the candidate aircrafts' take-off performance, noise-generation characteristics, and maximum gross weight. Maximum gross weights for the light, mid- and heavy-size classes above are in the ranges of 20,000-40,000 lbs, 50,000-100,000 lbs, and 160,000-180,000 lbs, respectively. Because of runway strength limitations at Jeffco, it is unlikely that the latter class could operate there; acquiring any plane in this class would require that RAF either set up a separate operations base for HIAPER or move its entire base to another airport.

Two other examples of the many additional factors to be considered when narrowing down the list of candidate aircraft are design longevity and cabin loading flexibility. At least one of the available mid-sized business aircraft is designed for a minimum life of 20 years and 30,000 flight hours. NCAR routinely operates its research aircraft for over 20 years. At the anticipated usage rate for HIAPER, some 10,000-15,000 flight hours might be flown during that period. Cabin loading flexibility is important for HIAPER because of the diverse nature of typical research payloads. Thus an important attribute for HIAPER will be a wide range in the aircraft's forward-aft center-of-gravity limits.

Preliminary evaluation to date indicates that the most suitable candidates for HIAPER will come from the mid-sized business aircraft class. However, substantial additional interaction with industry will be necessary for the HIPT to develop a better understanding of the many detailed advantages and disadvantages of each candidate aircraft relative to the defined HIAPER requirements.

5.2.2.1 Program Management Strategy

• Allow the selected contractor maximum flexibility in managing program dynamics of cost, schedule, performance, risks, warranties, contracts and subcontracts, vendors, and data required to deliver an effective and affordable HIAPER system; and
• Maintain clear UCAR cognizance of and visibility into program planning and execution.

Figure 7. Task list and Schedule to Acquire Aircraft

The selected contractor will be encouraged to establish its own Integrated Product Team (IPT), consisting of the personnel from each functional organization that will be involved in the delivery of the aircraft. The selected contractor's IPT, with HIPT membership, will work together to manage the effort defined by the contract. (The use of such working partnerships is a distinctive feature of modern commercial aircraft contracting practice.) The contract, in concert with the selected contractor's existing company processes, will be used to measure program performance and assess progress. The contractor's processes and production tracking procedures will be used to give insight into program performance and risk management. The selected contractor will be encouraged to use, to the extent practical, electronic media for all program management communications.

The IPT process will be used to review program requirements, schedule, current status, technical manuals, logistics support, and design. Weekly conference calls will be held with all IPT members, to conduct business that does not require on-site presence. Management data and formats used by the contractor will be provided to UCAR.

Configuration management will be conducted using standard commercial practices such that the design data for the modified aircraft is traceable to the final (as-built) configuration. The selected contractor will provide all applicable optional Service Bulletins (from airframe manufacturers, vendors, etc.) not automatically incorporated into the aircraft for UCAR to determine desirability for incorporation. A method of maintaining the currency of contractual specifications will also be provided. UCAR and NCAR concurrence on the detailed design of the aircraft modification will be ensured through the IPT process.

Adequate price competition is anticipated, and UCAR will ensure open competition. Initial industry analysis indicates an acceptable number of interested and qualified sources, consisting of OEMs and completion facilities that can meet HIAPER requirements.

A single Firm-Fixed-Price contract will be issued for the purchase of the aircraft and associated contractor modification, training, data, and ten years of Contractor Logistics Support (includes spare parts and maintenance). The contract will provide for the purchase and modification of the HIAPER aircraft as stated in the Statement of Work section of the contract. As part of the acquisition planning process, industry input will be sought to ensure the logistics support concept can be met. The contract will contain the appropriate contractual language to ensure contractor performance throughout the life of the contract. Vendor involvement throughout the pre-award process will be actively sought through Request for Information (RFI) letters and industry conferences. RFIs will be issued to garner industry comments and inputs on the HIAPER requirements and contracting strategy. These will help determine if all requirements can be met through commercial sources and products. The RFIs will assist UCAR in gaining a thorough understanding of commercial business practices. In addition, draft RFPs will be issued, when appropriate, to facilitate industry review and technical input to the final RFP. The draft RFP process will streamline the acquisition procedure by allowing offerors to gain an understanding of the RFP prior to its formal issuance, thus shortening the time needed for proposal preparation. As a result of early and continuous industry involvement in the acquisition process, the proposals submitted will have a much greater probability of meeting requirements and allowing UCAR to make an expeditious award, within budget and schedule.

The contract will provide limited data rights to UCAR for all special data on the basic aircraft and its modifications developed under this effort that would be useful for operations, maintenance, and future modifications to the aircraft. The contract will also provide access to basic aircraft engineering data. Data furnished to other UCAR contractors will be subject to the same limitations and will not be used for reprocurement actions.

FAR Part 15.3, "Source Selection" will be used for guidance and a tool when the UCAR Contracts Office deems such use appropriate. FAR 15.3 prescribes policies and procedures for selection of a source in a competitive negotiated acquisition. The procedures outlined in the FAR are designed to:

• Maximize competition;
• Minimize the complexity of the solicitation;
• Ensure impartial and comprehensive evaluation of offerors' proposals; and
• Ensure selection of the source whose proposal has the highest degree of realism and whose performance is expected to best meet requirements.

All members of the PET will be identified in the Proposal Evaluation Plan. The technical evaluators and advisors will perform the technical evaluation of the proposed HIAPER aircraft, modification, and logistics support. The contracts and business representatives will be responsible for the review and negotiation of the contract and business approach. A training session will be conducted covering the proposal evaluation and decision process prior to the release of the RFP. The Proposal Evaluation Plan will describe in detail the overall proposal evaluation process and the organization and membership of the PET, including: a summary of the acquisition strategy; a description of the evaluation factors and subfactors and their relative importance; a description of the evaluation process, methodology, and techniques to be used; and a schedule of significant milestones.

The proposal evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the approved plan. The evaluation factors, subfactors, and decision criteria will be issued in the solicitation and used as the basis for UCAR's selection of a source to be recommended to the NOC for approval.

The criteria will be identified as factors and subfactors. The factors and subfactors considered in evaluating proposals will be tailored to include only those factors that have an impact on the source selection decision. The factors and subfactors that apply to the HIAPER acquisition and their relative importance will be determined by UCAR as a result of the acquisition strategy discussed above. The technical evaluation and decision criteria will be supplemented by price and past performance of the offeror.

All evaluation factors, subfactors, standards, and decision criteria will be documented in the PEP and released with the RFP. In addition, the plan will document the process for analyzing past performance. The methodology to be used for price analysis, "Most Probable Total Cost" (MPTC), will also be documented in the plan to show offerors how program costs will be evaluated. The MPTC will allow UCAR to analyze the acquisition and support costs, and to factor in the operational costs that might be reasonably experienced. UCAR will use this analysis as part of its recommendation to NSF, based on price and other related factors. The approved PEP will identify the ranking of price related to other factors. Due to the unique technical nature of the HIAPER program, it is anticipated that technical capability could outweigh price.

As an example, a simple MPTC analysis for the HIAPER program could consist of calculating a total MPTC by adding up the dollar amounts associated with the following five elements: aircraft acquisition price; logistics support price (including spare parts and maintenance); training costs; operations and deployment costs; and delivery adjustment. A slightly more sophisticated analysis could apply weighting factors to each of these elements.

As a component of the operations costs for the MPTC analysis, fuel usage will be evaluated at appropriate cruise altitudes given specific trip or mission profiles. The offeror would provide operational data for the aircraft platform being proposed. ATD will produce deployment cost estimates based on typical deployment scenarios.

A delivery adjustment could be factored into the MPTC to represent the costs associated with any potential late HIAPER delivery. This amount could be some measure of lost monthly "value" associated with the scheduled initiation of community service by HIAPER. This portion of the MPTC analysis would motivate offerors to meet the required need date and importantly, would recognize in the price analysis the lost value to UCAR and the user community for the selected contractor's inability to meet the aircraft need date.

5.2.3.1 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Certification Requirements

Because of steadily increasing governmental restrictions on the operations of public aircraft, NCAR and UCAR believe it unwise to attempt to operate the HIAPER aircraft in this category. These restrictions cover several areas, including missions that may be performed, crew that may be carried, maintenance required, training and safety documentation required, and cost recovery allowed. For example, if HIAPER were operated as a public aircraft, NCAR could not accept compensation for flight time from any organization except a federal government agency (FAA Advisory Circular 00-1.1, "Government Aircraft Operations").

Non-certified aircraft must display a public aircraft document in lieu of the airworthiness certificate. Public aircraft must be registered in accordance with FAvR Part 47 and must display nationality and registration marks in accordance with FAvR Part 45. Further, all U.S.-registered aircraft engaged in international air navigation are required to have a valid certificate of airworthiness (FAA Advisory Circular 20-132, "Public Aircraft"). Further regulations on public aircraft would be imposed if additional bills currently pending in Congress (HR 1521 and HR1483) are enacted.

Accordingly, NCAR expects to operate HIAPER as an FAvR-Part 21 certified aircraft in either the standard or restricted categories, as appropriate. This will require that all aircraft modifications as well as supplemental aircraft equipment be FAA-certified through such standard mechanisms as Supplemental Type Certificates and/or Form 337s. This is the way NCAR operated the King Air and Sabreliner. If a compelling reason should develop in the future for operating HIAPER either temporarily or indefinitely as a public use aircraft, this can be authorized at that time by the Director, FAA Flight Standards Service.

The major objective of FAA aircraft certification policy is to enhance flight safety. A disadvantage of FAA-certified operation is that the cost of the necessary certifications can be significant. This additional cost can be largely offset by the aircraft's future residual resale value, which will be dramatically enhanced if FAA certifications are maintained. An example of this is the recent sale of the NSF/NCAR King Air, which would have brought a much lower price if it had not been currently FAA-certified.

Phase 1 - The Aircraft Characteristics Evaluation (ACE): This will be part of the initial suitability evaluation and selection of the candidate aircraft prior to, or during, proposal evaluation and source selection. Each offeror will be required to execute an ACE questionnaire, the results of which may be reflected in final contract language. Each offeror will also be required to arrange an interview with, and elicit cooperative participation from, one of their private-sector domestic operators of like equipment. The responses from the operator to the customer portion of the ACE questionnaire will be incorporated into the final evaluation of the candidate aircraft. This operator input will also provide a benchmark for use in evaluating offeror statements, general industry information, and other operational experience concerning the candidate aircraft. As another feature of the ACE questionnaire, each offeror will be asked to provide sample data points on the performance envelope of their candidate aircraft.

The ACE activity will include a Pilot-Cockpit Evaluation, which will be designed to help UCAR and NCAR fully understand the offeror's product. Each offeror will be required to provide either an operating candidate aircraft, a fully operational simulator of the aircraft, or a reasonable engineering mock-up of the aircraft for a designated NCAR crew to evaluate. The results of this evaluation will be incorporated into the baseline understanding of the qualities and capabilities of the offeror's candidate aircraft.

Phase 2 - The Acceptance Procedure: This phase will be conducted after the contractor has completed all manufacturing and modifications, and notifies UCAR that the completed aircraft is ready for customer evaluation. The UCAR team that conducts this evaluation will use an acceptance checklist as provided in a formal acceptance plan. The aircraft must have a manufacturer's certificate of airworthiness prior to customer acceptance. The acceptance evaluation will include both ground inspection/tests and flight tests.

In the flight-test portion of the acceptance evaluation, the contractor will be required to provide a minimum of four hours of flight time for a selected NCAR crew to fly the aircraft to verify certain aspects of the completion that can only be accomplished while in flight. During this flight, the contractor will retain pilot-in-command authority (for safety and liability reasons) and will provide an instructor pilot or demonstration test pilot who has such authority. All flaws in manufacturing or materials, exceptions to specifications, or deviations from agreed-upon configuration, as revealed in the acceptance evaluation, will be resolved to UCAR's satisfaction prior to the successful completion of this step and subsequent title transfer from the contractor to NSF.

5.3.1.1 Objectives Served by Work Station and Communications Tools

Airborne scientists must have tools to ensure quick understanding of changing environmental conditions encountered during flight. To make the best operational and scientific decisions possible, researchers must have quick access to satellite, airborne, and ground-based data, access to model outputs and guidance, and timely interactions with other people on board and on the ground. They must have tools to ascertain the functional status of observing systems and to assist in changing flight objectives and operations to that status. They must have access to real-time data that are fully calibrated and validated through real-time quality control processes.

• Airborne display tools will build significantly on the flexible capabilities of NCAR's current software for display of in-flight data (WINDS), radar and lidar data (SOLO) and integration of many diverse data sets (ZEBRA). These tools will support 4-D observations, intercomparison of observational and model data, construction of data composites over space and time and other products.
• Satellite communications will support voice, facsimile and network connections between aircraft and ground, for efficient transfer of data and display products among aircraft, project bases and internet sites.
• A suite of conferencing tools will support the critical need for direct interactivity between scientists on the aircraft and those on the ground. One such tool will provide the means to highlight visually and annotate a data display at one workstation and transmit it to any or all other workstations on the aircraft and/or on the ground. Combined with flexible voice communication over aircraft intercom and satellite communication channels, these virtual "chalk talks" among scientists will serve to: promote easy interaction among scientists; support exchange among students, science practitioners and faculty, thereby contributing to educational goals; and minimize unsafe cabin congestion by reducing the number of people who must actually be on HIAPER.
• A new generation of data processing tools will use artificial intelligence and automated processing which, in conjunction with the scientists' judgement, support advanced processing and screening for real-time data quality control.

5.3.1.3 Technology Required

Access to high bandwidth satellite data communications and satellite-based network connectivity are key to many of the concepts we consider here. Current satellite data transmission available through International Mobile Satellite Organization (Inmarsat) aviation services achieves 2.4 Kbps, which is practical only for limited data transfer needs. However, the global market for satellite-based networking now drives rapid development of satellite communication technology, and Inmarsat and other providers work toward launch of next-generation satellites that will yield major increases in bandwidth. Within three to six years, bandwidth available through Inmarsat or other providers is projected to increase by a factor of ten to 50.

The apparent dominance of Inmarsat technology for global data transfer services today portends little with regard to future capabilities. The Iridium constellation of low earth orbit satellites now coming into service, or other systems, may yield more attractive alternatives in the future. We will evaluate the capabilities and costs of all alternatives as HIAPER development proceeds.

We plan a next-generation HIAPER data network that significantly extends the capabilities of NCAR's current airborne data system (ADS-II) which now provides advanced data handling on the NSF C-130 and Electra, and the NOAA G-IV. The ADS-II system uses a high-bandwidth network to link sensor locations throughout fuselage, pods and wingtips. Modular data system processor units using advanced digital signal processor chips can be added to the system as needed to configure it flexibly to accommodate the flow of raw data from a nearly unlimited variety of sensors. Processor units accommodate both digital and analog outputs from observing instruments of all types.

The HIAPER system will likely be modular in design similar to ADS-II, but will incorporate the most advanced technology available. Improvements in high-speed serial interfaces (e.g., 100Base-T, Universal Serial Bus or Firewire) will aid network data transmission. Advances in general purpose processors and digital signal processors will enable more real-time processing for data quality control. Advances in magnetic or optical storage media will speed post-flight data access and distribution.

Instrumenting an aircraft that operates at high altitude and high speed poses special challenges. To realize the full scientific potential of HIAPER, a substantial effort must be directed to instrumentation and particularly to exploitation of current advances in technology; instrumenting HIAPER for modern research will not amount simply to installation of existing sensors. Meeting this challenge will require an extensive collaboration among universities, NCAR and other scientific and technical groups.

Instrumentation requirements derive from the anticipated scientific needs (summarized in Section 2). Climate research requires measurements of radiative fluxes, radiation inside clouds, water vapor, convective structures and circulations, and measurements covering global scales with resolution comparable to that of climate models. Weather research needs dropsonde capability for targeted observations, measurements of precipitable water, characterization of hydrometeors and accurate characterization of air motions and thermodynamic structure. Tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry studies require measurements of the chemical species involved in photochemical cycles and deriving from terrestrial and oceanic sources. Atmospheric chemists also seek characterization of water vapor and chemically active trace gas profiles. Aerosol studies depend on measurements of particle size distributions and optical properties, both in-situ and remotely, and so require particle spectrometers, nephelometers, and active remote sensors such as backscatter lidar and instruments for measuring particle scattering phase functions. Satellite validation studies require spectral radiometers and measurement of the angular distribution of radiation as well as mapping of surface features at various wavelengths and resolutions.

• Thorough review before adoption for HIAPER. Much of the current technology for standard measurements has not taken advantage of modern developments. The HIAPER instrumentation initiative represents a rare and significant opportunity to make major instrumentation improvements.
• End-to-end instrumentation projects leading to quality controlled data. Steps must include: attention to data processing and data quality during design and design review; consideration of eventual routine, perhaps unattended, operations; establishment and automation of procedures for calibration, quality control, and characterization of measurement uncertainty; and data formats suitable for real-time transmission and for eventual users.
• Data acquisition, control, and recording by a central system. Sensors with high data output rates may require independent data recording capabilities, but most devices should provide data to a central data system to provide in-flight displays, centralized data recording and quality-assurance monitoring.
• Appropriate instrument locations. Accurate information, some of it from modeling studies, about airflow around the aircraft should guide the placement of sensors and determine instrument sampling and exposure factors.
• Minimization of drag and other interference with flight characteristics. Any modifications should avoid degradation of aircraft performance and operations; weight, size and power limitations will constrain instrument design.
• A flexible research aircraft. Suitable configuration of ports, inlets, mounting locations, hardpoints, and data acquisition procedures must be designed ab initio for the broadest range of measuring systems.

• Collaboration among NCAR and universities or other external groups, matching, for example, university scientific skills with NCAR engineering, software, and fabrication capabilities. As discussed earlier, these interactions may occur via contracts that specify products and schedules.
• Developments primarily by non-NCAR groups, with NCAR providing integration, testing, acceptance and operation.
• Development undertaken primarily by NCAR, under the same HIAPER guidelines and oversight as for all other HIAPER instrument developments.

5.4.4.1 State Parameters and Other Primary Measurement Capabilities

Humidity: Providing adequate coverage over a wide range of humidities (ranging over partial pressures from above 50 mb to below 10-4 mb) presents a difficult challenge. The high airspeed of the platform introduces possible biases into some measurements, for example of dew-point or vapor density, that depend on absolute humidity, so even standard instruments will require special attention.

The primary in-situ humidity sensors currently in use are either too old for continued support, too slow for flux measurements, or incapable of making accurate measurements at low absolute humidity. Tunable Diode Laser techniques currently being tested have suitable detection limits and response time. Hybrid Lyman-alpha detectors using fluorescence also have the necessary sensitivity. Cryogenically-cooled dewpoint sensors may help achieve measurements at low humidity. Technological developments now underway should provide the basis for improved humidity measurements matched to HIAPER capabilities.

Measurements of humidity must be made in ways that either fully exclude or include the contribution for hydrometeors. Excluding condensed-phase water will require special inlets. Measuring total water content could be accomplished with complete evaporation of the sampled water, perhaps as provided by counterflow virtual impactors.

Wind and Turbulence: HIAPER should measure both mean horizontal winds and turbulent fluctuations in all three components of air velocity. A likely minimum requirement for in-situ measurements of air motion on HIAPER will be either a flush-mounted radome system or a conventional boom-mounted gust probe, the choice to be based on structural considerations and uses of the radome.

Although a high-speed aircraft provides advantages for obtaining measurements quickly over considerable distances, increased speed leads to increased dynamic errors in measuring the air velocity components by pressure differences. A laser air velocity sensor focused about 10 m ahead of the aircraft could resolve all three air-velocity components while measuring in the undisturbed air at that locale. Any HIAPER air motion system should incorporate a state-of-the-art Inertial Reference System with high-rate sampling of all three acceleration components and attitude angles. Essential improvement in long-term accuracy can be achieved through incorporation of an enhanced-accuracy GPS with three-axis capability to measure attitude angle. Accurate high-rate measurements of aircraft position, velocity and orientation are essential not only for air motion measurements but also for many of the remote sensing instruments planned for HIAPER. Higher frequency measurements of small-scale turbulent structure by hot-film sensor technology may represent another important capability for HIAPER.

Dropsondes and Other Sondes: HIAPER should have capability to deploy a variety of sondes. Current users of the NCAR GPS dropsondes on NSF, NOAA and USAF aircraft attest to the high importance of these sensors. HIAPER will need automated launching capabilities for the dropsondes and perhaps for other types of atmospheric and oceanic sondes as well.

Other Primary Measurement Capabilities: Pressure and geometric altitude are key measurements for many applications. Measurements of static pressure to a few tenths of a hPa are essential for calculating true airspeed from dynamic (pitot) pressure and for measuring pressure altitude; a radar altimeter with corresponding accuracy of a few meters should be available. A C-band weather avoidance radar and supporting data system may also represent an important HIAPER capability.

The importance of these measurements, and the need for climatological characterization, argue for their routine collection. In addition to focused studies directed at cloud absorption anomalies or links between cloud radiative properties and hydrometeor type, HIAPER will also collect climatologically significant data during long transit legs and during profiling of the vertical structure of the atmosphere. With the simultaneous characterization of aerosol and hydrometeor features, these radiation measurements will provide an important data set for learning more about radiative fluxes in the atmosphere. This aircraft also provides an important opportunity to characterize actinic fluxes that determine photochemical transformations. These measurements, which must be made in-situ, will be valuable inputs to models of tropospheric chemistry.

A radiometric instrumentation suite should be capable of remotely sensing the following: up-welling and down-welling radiative fluxes in the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum; total and diffuse radiative fluxes; and remote measurement of surface temperature. RAF has used commercial radiometers to measure radiative fluxes for a long time. Improved measurements can now be obtained from radiometers custom built for use on aircraft. The design and deployment of this instrumentation provides a good opportunity for collaboration with university colleagues.

To acquire the climatological characteristics needed for studies of atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric radiation, a case can be made for including spectral radiometers and actinometers as standard instrumentation. Recent advances make their inclusion as routine instrumentation a possibility.

These routine observations, along with the primary aerosol and radiation measurements, would provide a framework to interpret better the more extensive measurements of NOx and HO necessary to understand fundamental photochemical cycles of ozone and other materials in the upper troposphere. These measurements will be made by special research instruments described below.

Instruments are becoming available to characterize the asymmetry parameter and optical extinction coefficient of hydrometeor populations and the scattering phase function of individual hydrometeors. A newly developed single-particle mass spectrometer has revealed a surprising variety of components in aerosol particles, and a new ice nucleus counter is providing airborne measurements.

Modifications of Hydrometeor Spectrometers: Primary measurements should include the ability to characterize the complete aerosol and hydrometeor size distribution, to measure the condensed-water content of clouds and to partition this measurement between solid and liquid phases.

Particle Measurement System probes are often used to measure hydrometeor size distributions. These pose some problems for HIAPER, mostly because they currently are based on outdated technology with limited time response that compromises their use on a high-speed aircraft. It will be important to upgrade these measurement capabilities (perhaps by redesign of the electronics or by adoption of new probes), and to reduce the drag associated with these probes. There are some exciting new probes that will improve the achievable resolution, but these are in relatively early stages of deployment and need further testing and evaluation. Other groups, notably the Centre National de Recherches en Metéorologie in France, have redesigned the electronics for some of the probes; their designs should be considered for HIAPER.

Aerosol Spectrometers: The challenge here is to measure a complete aerosol size distribution while covering the wide range of concentrations that will be encountered over the altitude range of the aircraft. There are good candidate techniques and instruments, but the current status of these is not well matched to the need for routine unattended operation and compact installation. In addition, the performance of many aerosol instruments degrades at low pressure, so considerable development work is needed to provide suitable aerosol instrumentation. This work can build on the current generation of cloud nuclei counters, mobility analyzers, and optical particle counters.

Many of the instruments required to characterize aerosols must be housed within the aircraft. Historically, inlet losses have been the primary source of sampling errors for these systems. HIAPER would benefit from a community aerosol inlet and other collaborative efforts to provide improved aerosol sampling.

Instruments that might contribute to these goals include:

• A down-looking, side-track-scanning, K-band, dual polarization Doppler radar to measure wind and hydrometeor reflectivity and polarization;
• A water-vapor/temperature Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) system to provide clear air water vapor, temperature, and aerosol profile measurements;
• A temperature profiler system for remote sounding above the aircraft;
• A scanning Doppler lidar system to measure air velocities and aerosol backscatter.

A suite of cross-track scanning radiometers could provide mapping capabilities at visible, infrared, and microwave wavelengths. These measurements of the radiative properties of the ground or cloud below the aircraft can be used to determine vegetation types, soil moisture, sea, snow and ice characteristics, etc. Good candidate instruments have been developed and deployed on research aircraft. Important improvements in technology that could support smaller, faster and otherwise improved versions of these instruments are now available.

Scanning radiometers can also support tomographic reconstruction of atmospheric features, as has been demonstrated with microwave radiometers. For such reconstruction, uniform illumination of the feature of interest is essential, so the potential is best realized with upward-scanning radiometers.

A second important role for HIAPER will be to deploy instruments that measure a variety of stratospheric gases, such as a remote sensing Fourier transform spectrometer. The high altitude and long range capabilities of HIAPER are critical to successful deployment of such devices; these measurements are important additions to in-situ process studies and useful for intercomparisons with global satellite-borne observations. It will also be valuable to be able to collect air samples for laboratory detection of species that cannot be measured in flight.

HIAPER should have external ports and hardpoints that can be used for future instrumentation. It should provide a series of inlets suitable for gas phase and aerosol sampling. The upcoming community instrumentation workshop will provide an opportunity for thorough discussion of these modification options. We discuss two candidate modifications below.

A series of hardpoint windows, similar to those on the Electra, might be installed on the belly and roof of HIAPER, along the plane's centerline. These hardpoint windows could be used for mounting individual sensors that sample the external airstream, or for pass-throughs to belly and roof 'canoes', faired pods mounted to the fuselage. These belly and roof canoes could support the installation of up- and down-looking instrumentation on the aircraft, including air inlets, in-situ sensors, and remote sensors. The hardpoint windows would provide instrumentation access between the fuselage and canoe interiors. With canoes removed, the aircraft will be able to attain its original flight configuration. The canoe design should allow modular instrument installation on structures the ATD shop can design and fabricate. The height, diameter and shape of the canoes will be such that remote sensors can scan from horizon to horizon from within the canoes (with an appropriate window shielding the antenna from the airstream). HIAPER's canoe structures might match similar features planned for the NOAA G-IV, which would allow exchange of instruments between the two aircraft.

The nose of HIAPER might support a cylindrical extension of the fuselage in place of the standard radome. An alternate hemispherical radome would mount on the front of the extension. The cylindrical section could support remote sensing and in-situ sensing instruments. The concept is similar to that implemented on the NSF/NCAR King Air aircraft. It provides the ability to fly a wide variety of sensors within the cylindrical section while using the radome with a conventional weather avoidance radar.

Small test teams comprised of scientific, engineering and technician staff will be responsible for guiding and evaluating the test process and verifying receipt of adequate documentation for instruments assigned individually or in groups. For instruments developed under contract, the work of the test team will begin prior to acceptance of the instrument and will be part of the acceptance procedure. The test leader for each team will draw on NCAR, university and other resources as needed to ensure that tests and evaluations adequately cover safety, scientific performance, engineering quality and user/operator documentation.

When appropriate, preliminary ground run-ups of the aircraft will verify instrument operation using research power systems and the data system in the aircraft. A series of dedicated flight tests will use aircraft maneuvers, exposure to a wide range of flight environments, and intercomparisons with other research aircraft or ground-based sensors to evaluate instrument performance under research conditions.

Near the end of the overall HIAPER effort, scientific evaluation flights based at Jeffco will provide opportunities to test the performance of aircraft with various instruments prior to the start of routine operations. A final overall comprehensive test program will evaluate the full operational and measurement capabilities of the complete integrated HIAPER system. The results of these tests will form the basis of a recommendation to the HAC and to NSF on overall acceptance of HIAPER and its components as ready for research operations.

UCAR, under NSF sponsorship since 1960, has managed NCAR on behalf of the university community, in a unique partnership with that community that serves all parties with excellence. UCAR's mission was confirmed by the UCAR Member Representatives through the publication in 1991 of UCAR's Strategic Plan⁴. Subsequently an assessment of progress toward that plan⁵ was published. UCAR'S mission is:

To support, enhance, and extend the capabilities of the university community, nationally and internationally; to understand the behavior of the atmosphere and related systems and the global environment; and to foster the transfer of knowledge and technology for the betterment of life on earth."

• Fostering excellence in education and research in the universities and UCAR programs;
• Providing state-of-the-art research facilities to universities through NCAR and other UCAR programs; and
• Providing educational and research opportunities for students and developing scientists through colloquiums, workshops, fellowships, intern programs and special courses.

Of the six goals identified by UCAR the two highest are:

• Science - to foster a broad scientific program of highest quality to address present and future needs of society; and
• Research Facilities - to develop and acquire state-of-the-art scientific research facilities for the atmospheric and related scientific community.

"Particularly impressive is the degree to which NCAR coordinates with the atmospheric science community as represented integrally by UCAR. The UCAR role, serving as the presence of the large outer community, represents a unique accomplishment in stewardship and management of a federally funded scientific and technological institution."

"UCAR and NCAR are unique among scientific organizations in the United States in achieving leadership in scientific research and service to a broad and disparate community."

"NCAR's responsiveness to the needs of the broader atmospheric community is particularly noteworthy. This is the result of its close working relationship with UCAR, which manages and operates NCAR on behalf of 62 North American universities with atmospheric related programs."

The NCAR Director's Office provides administrative support in research planning and budgeting to all NCAR divisions, and each division, in turn, has skilled administrators and managers to handle business matters.

During the past 38 years, UCAR and NCAR have initiated, planned, and successfully conducted many major procurements on behalf of the community and sponsors. A few examples are:

• Construction of the I.M. Pei-designed Mesa Laboratory Building;
• Acquisition of CRAY-1A and many other high-end supercomputers;
• Acquisition and remodeling of the new Foothills Laboratory complex;
• Execution of complex interagency research and instrument development programs, such as Solar Max, TOGA COARE, HIRDLS, Climate Simulation Laboratory.

The governing principles for UCAR acquisitions are the UCAR Contracts Policies and Procedures, which ensure compliance with the current UCAR-NSF Cooperative Agreement, other federal agency cooperative agreements, prime contracts, grants, subawards and other contractual documents used to transfer funding. Specific terms and conditions which have flow-down applicability, such as FARs, specific OMB Circulars, NASA FAR supplements and the Uniform Commercial Code, are addressed in the UCAR Contracts Policies and Procedures. The UCAR Contracts Office is charged with negotiating and administering the provisions that are included in these various funding agreements and with ensuring proper flow-down to subcontracts.

NCAR's current generation airborne data system, ADS-II, and associated software provides advanced data handling on the C-130 and Electra. The NOAA G-IV aircraft also relies on an ADS-II system built and adapted by NCAR to NOAA's specialized needs. As outlined in Section 5.3, the ADS-II system uses modular design and leading technologies. This system allows for easy integration of the diverse user supplied instrumentation that NCAR incorporates into aircraft payloads. NCAR's WINDS software system provides flexible real-time display of data.

NCAR maintains proven capability for worldwide deployment, built through experience on six continents in all seasons at both populated and remote locations. Flight crews are highly experienced in all aspects of international operations. Maintenance crews are fully equipped and experienced in the completion of routine and nonroutine maintenance in the field. Logistics staff is proficient in securing the arrangements necessary to ensure proper access to ground services, maintenance support, and medical support.

In anticipation of increased emphasis on the use of commercial aircraft to meet future USAF mission needs, the Commercial Aircraft Acquisition Critical Process Team (CPT) was formed in May 1992 to document and improve the commercial aircraft acquisition process. The CPT included representatives from six government organizations, as well as from seven aircraft manufacturers that do a large portion of their business in the commercial sector. Most of the recommendations from the CPT work have now been incorporated as part of new, streamlined acquisition reforms.

Table 5. Commercial Aircraft Procured by CAIPT Staff Since 1978

Military Derivative	Manufacturer	Commercial Designation	Number Procured	Comments
C-12F	Beech	Super King Air 300	40
C-20A and B	Gulfstream	G-III	10
C-20H	Gulfstream	G-IV	2
C-21A and B	Lear	Lear 35	84
C-22B	Boeing	727-100	4
C-23A	Shorts	Sherpa 330	36
VC-25A	Boeing	747-200	2	Air Force One
C-26A and B	Fairchild	Merlin/Metro 235	67
C-29A	British Aerospace	125-800 Hawker	6
C-32A	Boeing	757-200	4	In progress
C-33A	Boeing	747-400F	0	Cancelled at contract award
C-37A	Gulfstream	G-V	3	In progress; option for 4 additional
C-38A	Israeli Aircraft	Astra SPX	2	Option for 2 additional
EC-18A	Boeing	707-300	7
KC-10A	Douglas	DC10-30CF	60
T-1A	Beech	Beech Jet 400	180
T-3A	Slingsby	Firefly	113
T-6A	Raytheon	Pilatus	700	In progress
J-AWACS	Boeing	767-200	4	In progress
AL-1A	Boeing	747-400F	1	Airborne Laser (ABL); in development

Salaries and Benefits: All FTE employees' salaries, which include costs for non-work time, are calculated at 85% before benefits and overhead are applied. The benefit rate is calculated at the FY1999 rate proposed by UCAR to NSF of 49.3%; the overhead rate is calculated as proposed at 45.7% during the project years. A chart calculating the total estimated costs in 1998 dollars and with inflation is included in Table 2 (Section 1.2). Overhead is calculated on modified total direct costs, which excludes equipment, non-NCAR participant supplement costs and subcontracts over $25,000.

Project labor costs were determined by identifying the type of personnel and the percentage of staff time needed to complete each task. The total estimated costs have been broken down by task and fiscal year. Cost categories identified by NSF (Form 1030) were used to show funding for each fiscal year during the life of the project. Table 4 (Section 4.2) summarizes our staffing needs. This table includes several FTEs for essential services that will be supported by indirect rather than project funds.

Materials and Supplies: Along with hardware and software needs, we include costs for materials and supplies for instrument design and fabrication.

Contingency Funds: Because of the magnitude of the HIAPER project and the uncertainty of schedules and out year costs, we include a modest contingency of 2.7% to meet unanticipated acquisition and development costs.

Equipment: We anticipate the need for some large equipment purchases related to airframe modifications and instrumentation development. These will include communication and network components, display systems, major maintenance equipment, and instrument and remote sensing components.

Biographical Sketches

Serafin started his engineering career with work on the design and development of high-resolution radar systems. He joined NCAR as Manager of the Field Observing Facility in 1973 and became director of ATD in 1980. Serafin has published numerous technical and scientific papers and established the Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology.

Serafin was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1994. He chaired the NRC's Committee on National Weather Service Modernization. Serafin is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. Degrees in Electrical Engineering from Notre Dame, Northwestern University, and Illinois Institute of Technology, respectively.

David Carlson directs the Atmospheric Technology Division within the National Center for Atmospheric Research. ATD provides advanced climate and weather observing systems and associated support services to the university and NCAR research community for purposes of climate and weather studies worldwide. The ATD Director manages a staff of 125 engineers, technicians, and scientists, with an annual budget of approximately $15M. The ATD director also shares oversight of the NSF/NCAR observing facility allocation process. Carlson works with members of the scientific community to develop field project plans and to anticipate facility needs.

Carlson served on the graduate faculty in the College of Oceanography at Oregon State University. While at OSU, he authored or co-authored 25 refereed papers and chapters covering marine chemistry, small-scale ocean physics and rheology, oceanic microbiology and intertidal chemical ecology. He designed and produced a highly successful ocean surface sampling system still in use in several oceanographic laboratories, and also developed new techniques for exploring molecular scale rheology and for assaying photorepair enzymes.

Carlson joined UCAR in 1991 to lead the TOGA COARE International Project Office. He and the TCIPO staff worked with scientists from around the world to plan and implement this large air-sea interaction experiment in the tropical western Pacific Ocean. Carlson's responsibilities included: preparing and publishing experimental designs and operational plans; securing observing system resources from atmospheric and oceanographic agencies of six nations; reporting regularly to international and national agencies and science advisory groups; arranging permissions, clearances, waivers and communications systems among and within 13 nations; managing project funds and resources; and directing daily operations and an operations staff of 40 people for 125 consecutive days.

Carlson received his B.A. in Biology from Augustana College and the Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of Maine. He served as an NRC Post Doctorate Research Associate at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC.

Jeff Reaves serves as Associate Vice President for Business Services at UCAR. He manages the following functions: Contracts and Risk Management; Information Technology; Intellectual Property and Technology Commercialization; Facilities Engineering and Space Management; Maintenance and Construction; and Telecommunications. Additionally, Reaves serves as the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the UCAR Foundation, and Vice President of WITI Corporation, a UCAR affiliate corporation.

Reaves began his career with NCAR in March of 1979 as a senior contracts administrator. In 1986, Reaves accepted the position of Manager of Corporate Administration for UCAR. In 1988, Reaves became director of Industry Relations for UCAR, where he assumed management responsibility for the newly formed UCAR Foundation and for UCAR's Corporate Affiliate Program.

Jim Warren is the Chief Systems Engineer for the USAF Commercial Aircraft Developmental Systems Office, which is responsible for the procurement of the customized Gulfstream V aircraft (C-37A) and the Boeing 757 aircraft (C-32A) for the Vice President, cabinet members, members of Congress and other high-ranking dignitaries of the U.S. and international governments. He is also the Chief Systems Engineer for the acquisition of the Astra SPX (C-38A) aircraft, as well as an advisor to several other high-level product teams.

Prior to his current duties, Warren was involved in ten other commercial aircraft acquisition programs, including Chief Engineer for the Air Force One (VC-25A) Program and consultant for NASA's SOFIA Program and NOAA's High-Altitude Aircraft Program. He has been a leader in the streamlining of the commercial aircraft acquisition process since 1992.

Warren is the author of "U.S. Air Force Commercial Aircraft Acquisitions" (ASC-TR-96-5001, November 1995), an important technical report that serves as the standard guide to the streamlined commercial aircraft acquisition process for military and other U.S. government organizations.

¹Cooper, W.A., W.B. Johnson, J.E. Ragni, G. L. Summers, M.N. Zrubek, 1989: Scientific Justification and Development Plan for a Mid-Sized Jet Research Aircraft. NCAR Tech. Note NCAR/T/N-337+EDD, 57pp.

²Radke, L.F., and P. Spyers-Duran, 1992: Meeting Review: Third NCAR Research Aircraft Fleet Workshop. NCAR Tech Note NCAR/TN-374+PROC, 69 pp.

³These plans are consistent with the UCAR-wide approach to information management, being developed by the UCAR Information Technology Council (ITC). The ITC was appointed following the NSF reviews of UCAR and NCAR, in response to a review recommendation that UCAR examine and propose ways to take advantage of modern communications advances in support of its mission.