This procurement is for the purchase of the Service & Maintenance Contract for the British Antarctic Survey's DASH 7 Aircraft.

The DH7-110 aircraft is registered in the Falkland Islands. The oversight of maintenance is by Air Safety Support International (a wholly owned subsidiary of UK Civil Aviation Authority). The regulatory framework for Maintenance Organisations is the Overseas Territories Aviation Requirements (OTAR 145). The contracted organisation would also be responsible for Continuing Airworthiness (OTAR 39).

The DASH 7 aircraft is modified with an increased MTOW of 47,000lb, auxiliary long range fuel tanks and a large forward cargo door. It has also been modified to undertake airborne science missions. The British Antarctic Survey also operates four Twin Otter (Series 300) aircraft.

The contract for the DASH 7 is both for heavy maintenance at the contractors home maintenance facility and line maintenance when the aircraft is deployed.

The aircraft are deployed to the Antarctic in October. It is expected that a licensed engineer will support the aircraft depending on the field programme and deployments. They will undertake support of both the UK and international science programmes from the research station at Rothera. The facilities at Rothera include a Hangar and workshop facility. The deployment of the aircraft to the Antarctic is for approximately 6 months with a return to the home maintenance facility in March for heavy maintenance.

Whilst undertaking heavy maintenance the contractor will often be requested to incorporate modifications in support of operation equipment upgrades but also science requirements.

The aircraft is required to be ready to support medical evacuations from Antarctica during some of the maintenance period. Accurate scheduling and completion of the maintenance is critical to allow this support, with a minimum of ‘down time’ while undergoing maintenance, repair or modifications.