Information items posted below are done so with the most current at the top.
Effective February 1, 2022, the Virginia Aviation Council is undertaking dissolution of the corporation.
(Posted January 24, 2022)
Awards Made for Virginia Aviation Council Funding
(Posted January 15, 2022)
On Sunday January 9th, the Virginia Aviation Council Grant Evaluation Committee virtually met to discuss seven proposals received for funding various aviation-related efforts in the Commonwealth. We had a wide range of proposals to consider, the sum of requests which totaled over $100,000.
The committee greatly valued the potential number of people impacted within each proposal. These numbers ranged from 4 to 2,940. The committee also considered the completion capability plus sustainability of projects receiving less than requested funding. Of concern was the ongoing maintenance capacity of each project. Organizations relying solely upon volunteer energy were of a concern given the committees’ knowledge of other organizations struggling with volunteer recruitment and involvement. Those organizations with paid, dedicated to similar projects employees were much more attractive when considering successful outcomes. Additional discussions focused on the ability for an organization to supplement less-than-requested grant awards with alternative funding sources to help ensure implementation success and sustainability. In the case of competing/overlapping project ideas, we tended to favor organizations that had either worked with us over time and were always willing to partner in our Council efforts. When all was said and done, much of the final decision-making came down to the biggest-bang-for-the-buck over the longest possible foreseeable future.
The committee unanimously concluded that funds should be awarded towards two proposals:
Virginia Civil Air Patrol – to acquire one FliRED BIRD TD2 Basic Aviation Training Device (BATD) to create a Flight and Mission Training Facility on Langley Air Force Base. Additional funding is provided towards a necessary trailer for transporting this device and expanding CAP’s outreach and impact across the state.
Military Aviation Museum – to acquire new and updated STEM aeronautical equipment for the Educational Department of the Museum, enhancing the museum as an access point to aviation futures via two investment areas. The first will be enhancing existing flight simulator technology for school-based aviation clubs and for summer campers to try their hand flying different aircraft, both warbirds and general aviation types, by providing for new computers and software, yokes, and foot pedals. The second investment area will fund a weather curriculum and weather station enabling hands-on learning about the importance of weather.
Proposals Received for Virginia Aviation Council Funding
(Posted January 1, 2022)
The Virginia Aviation Council received seven grant proposals in response to the below RFP. These proposals were submitted from:
Civil Air Patrol
EAA Chapter 231 (2 Proposals)
Military Aviation Museum
Recreational Aviation Foundation
Tidewater Soaring Foundation (2 Proposals)
These proposals are being reviewed by the Council’s Evaluation Committee identified at the September, 2021 Aviation Summit. Decisions regarding funding the received grant proposals are anticipated to be completed by January 15, 2022.
Request for Proposals (RFP)
Virginia Aviation Council
Submission Deadline: 20 December, 2021
(Posted November 23, 2021)
Section A – Solicitation Form
GENERAL INFORMATION The Virginia Aviation Council was created 25 years ago with the express purpose of presenting what was then the Virginia EAA (Experimental Aviation Association) Fly-In, and later became the Virginia Festival of Flight. The Council was set up as a non-profit organization. When the EAA ceased associations with regional fly-ins, the Council continued yearly Virginia Festivals of Flight. In later years, we focused on fostering interest in aviation in any way possible in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In late 2021, the Council voted to cease operation, and as a last step to help foster aviation in the Commonwealth, we are requesting from all interested non-profit parties that a proposal be submitted in accordance with the Performance Work Statement and accompanying instructions. This Request for Proposals (RFP) is solicited from any non-profit organization that would promote aviation within the Commonwealth of Virginia and is specifically targeted to provide the remainder of the funds that Virginia Aviation Council has in its treasury.
This call for proposals and any related/subsequent documents can be found at the Virginia Aviation Council website (http://virginiaaviationcouncil.org). Any future changes/modifications to the call for proposals shall be communicated on the website.
Click HERE for an electronic PDF version of this call for proposals.
POINT OF CONTACT The point of contact (POC) for this Request for Proposals (RFP) is Daniel Arkin, who may be reached via e-mail at flyinmanager @virginiaaviationcouncil.org.
SOLICITATION QUESTIONS Asking questions is a double-edged sword, as the answers will be shared with all participants and have the danger of re-writing this Request for Proposals (RFP). Proposers should submit one consolidated list of questions concerning the RFP via e-mail to the point of contact, Daniel Arkin, at flyinmanager@virginiaaviationcouncil.org, NO LATER THAN 3:00 PM Eastern Time (ET) on 5 December 2021.
Answers to those questions will be posted on the Virginia Aviation Council website (http://virginiaaviationcouncil.org) no later than 3:00 PM ET 7 December 2021.
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION Each proposal shall be in the form prescribed by and shall contain a response to each of the areas identified in Section D, SUBMISSION COMPONENTS. The deadline for receipt of proposals is 3:00 PM ET on 20 December 2021. The Council anticipates making award(s) by 15 January 2022. All decisions are final.
Section B – Funds and Proposals
(1) The Virginia Aviation Council has in excess of $20,000.00 in funds to provide to worthy organizations. We request proposals for aviation themed projects at that value or lower. It is possible that several organizations may receive awards until the full amount of funds is expended.
(2) Proposals will be judged on their ability to help foster aviation in the Commonwealth of Virginia, so this must be addressed in all proposals. If this is not addressed, that submission will be considered unworthy and will not be selected.
(3) Proposals will be reviewed by a proposal review committee, and judged by how well they will advance aviation in the Commonwealth. Any aspect of aviation is relevant, not limited just to pilots, but includes all aspects, from careers including maintenance, to education at all levels. No form of aviation is excluded from consideration. Final determinations are at the prerogative of the review committee.
(4) Level of effort is defined as what the desired funds will cover, with a forecasted breakdown to establish realism. For instance, if Proposal A offered to take $20,000.00 to pay for flight lessons for two siblings, with no cost breakdown, and Proposal B offered to fund an education project at a school that had 20 students, and they wanted several models to build from the ground up, and have radio control, so they could be flown by those students, and this proposal showed the projected costs, then Proposal B would be considered more worthy.
(5) Realism in the level of effort forecast will provide a competitive edge. Realistic submissions will be weighted more favorably than unrealistic submissions.
(6) Awards may be made for less than the requested amount.
Section C – Descriptions and Specifications
PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS) A Performance Work Statement (PWS) provides the tasks to be performed by the party desiring to receive some or all funds from the Virginia Aviation Council.
BACKGROUND The Virginia Aviation Council is looking to receive proposals to grant the monies we have previously collected to advance aviation in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This PWS will lay out the requirements for such proposals. There are a few key requirements:
(1) The proposal shall advance aviation in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It can do so for any element of aviation and must describe in a realistic manner how that will occur.
(2) This Performance Work Statement (PWS) requires that all proposals shall be realistic, and they shall not be for-profit. Any violations of this in the submission will be cause for that proposal to be rejected.
(3) To successfully be selected, the proposal shall spell out, in addition to the benefit to aviation in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the number of people to be benefited, what the proposal is looking to fund, and do so in a manner consistent with the requirements of a non-profit organization. The following reference will help frame any proposal: Virginia non-profit regulations: https://www.tax.virginia.gov/nonprofit-organizations
(4) If the proposing organization is also a 501(c) non-profit organization, that is an advantage. However, the main requirement is that the funds provided by the Virginia Aviation Council be handled in accordance with non-profit requirements.
Section D – Submission Components
Proposals submitted for consideration must contain the following:
(1) COVER SHEET. Organizations submitting a proposal shall include a cover sheet containing
Organization name
Organization description
Title of the proposal
Name and address of proposing organization
Proposing organization’s point of contact (POC) with email address and phone number.
“Pay to the Order of” name to be used for financial distributions
(2) GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Each organization shall provide a proposal that addresses those areas spelled out in this section. All proposals shall be written to meet or exceed the Virginia non-profit regulations referenced herein—more precisely, all proposals shall be written in accordance with those regulations. Any proposal that violates them will be eliminated from further consideration.
Any aspect of aviation shall be considered equally. Worthiness will be a subjective decision by the review committee but will follow these guidelines: (a) how aviation is enhanced shall be specified; (b) how many people the proposal will directly support shall specifically be specified; (c) a description of any past achievements by the proposer that would help us evaluate the realism of the solicitation; and (d) a specific breakdown of the costs shall be included. The Virginia Aviation Council may award all the funds to one proposal or award to several proposals, so minimum funding thresholds for effectiveness of the proposal should be specified in the budget.
(3) ASPECT OF AVIATION. The proposing organization shall develop, support and describe a proposal to use the Virginia Aviation Council funds to further aviation in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The proposal shall describe in sufficient detail specific aspects of aviation funds will be used to enhance. The proposer shall specify what they would like funded, describe exactly how aviation will be enhanced, and describe the scope of the proposed use. Here are some suggested aspects of aviation that are offered as example suggestions:
Fixed wing aviation
Rocketry
Rotary wing aviation
Drones
Model aviation
Aviation maintenance
Avionics
Aviation education (training)
Other suggestions.
Note the more offbeat the suggestion, the less chance of success of the proposal review unless the tie to aviation is explained well. This section will set the stage for consideration in the realism assessment.
(4) DESCRIPTION OF PEOPLE AFFECTED. The proposer shall develop and support a description of the population supported, with justification. The justification shall realistically spell out the people involved. For instance, a proposal that says all the people of Virginia will benefit but does not specify exactly how will be judged less realistic than a proposal that specifies a small, finite number of people and supports that assertion with facts that back it up. The proposal shall be realistic—any that are not will be eliminated from consideration. A winning justification shall back up assertions with facts. It shall also specify the minimum threshold of effectiveness. While a proposal that enhances aviation for one person has a chance of success, one that specifies in a realistic manner who benefits, and backs that up realistically shall have a better chance of success due to more realism in the solicitation.
(5) PAST PERFORMANCE. As a means for establishing confidence in a proposal’s potential for success, past performance examples (e.g. references) shall be included in no more than one page total. These examples shall include a description that supports the proposed Performance Approach. It shall include appropriate Point of Contact information that would allow the review committee to validate the reference. No more than three past performance references will be considered. One strong, verifiable citation is better than one good one and one not so.
(6) BUDGET. A statement describing how the funds will be spent. The proposer shall develop a budget that specifies how the proposed funds will be used. The budget shall include any other funding sources to be applied to any Council funds provided. The budget shall be the single most important means to assess realism of the proposal, so sufficient detail to make obvious the benefits should be included.
Section E – Deliverables
DELIVERABLES. Proposals will be delivered in an electronic format. ONE electronic document containing a Cover Sheet plus all FIVE specific elements will be accepted. Any additional materials will be attached via an appendix. The second, third, and forth elements will comprise the PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT, the fifth element will reflect PAST PERFORMANCE, and the last will contain all related BUDGET components.
DOCUMENTATION STANDARDS. The organization will present proposals in an Adobe Acrobat PDF format, relying on 12pt Arial font. For readability and clarity, acronyms will be minimized. Confusion in the proposal received will lead to being judged unrealistic. Missing sections will penalize the evaluation. Likewise, not addressing all “shall” statements will penalize the solicitation.
Deliverables shall be submitted to the following:
Daniel Arkin, flyinmanager @virginiaaviationcouncil.org
The deadline for receipt of proposals is 3:00 PM ET on 20 December 2021. Electronic documents sent via email are the only permissible submissions.
Virginia Aviation Council Summit Results
From September 25, 2021
Sixteen people attended this summit designed to discuss futures for the Virginia Aviation Council. We concluded at the end of the day that the Council had successfully met its original charter as a state-wide organization promoting aerospace education, primarily through its Festival of Flight and Fly-In. The review of our initial focus and possible futures concluded that with numerous local aviation clubs and airport organizations sponsoring events, that a state-wide organization is not a cost effective use of limited volunteer energy, and thus we should cease our operations and lend support to local efforts throughout Virginia. So we are working towards a dissolution of the Virginia Aviation Council.
Phases for completion (strike-through below indicates completed):
1. Liquidate our assets to cash via sales or donations to people/organizations who can best utilize the many resources acquired for the Virginia Festival of Flight over the years. Anticipated completion of this process is November 15, 2021.
2. Develop a proposal process for distribution of all cash assets (estimated to be approximately $20,000) to Virginia organizations committed to aerospace education. This will be through an online proposal process with information and details to be available on our website at http://virginiaaviationcouncil.org. This information and call for proposals will be available at the beginning of November, 2021.
3. Deadline for receipt of proposals will be December 1, 2021 (Changed to December 20, 2021)
4. Selection of proposals to be awarded will be by January 14 15, 2022. Dispersals may be for less than requested.
5. Dissolution of the Virginia Aviation Council is forecast for February 15, 2022
We are in Phase 1 at this time. A number of items have already been liquified, but we still have the following items available:
7 Canvas Canopy Tents – 10×202 Canvas Canopy Tents – 8×83 Canvas Canopy Tents – 10×101 Canvas Canopy Tent – 6×6Available for Pickup in Chesterfield, VA. No Shipping. Some Tents may Include Sides in Addition to Tops. All Include Poles and Tie Down Elements. Some are Pop-Ups. Quality Varies. Prices Negotiable.
Scissor Lift with Platform – Controls at Ground or Platform Levels (Used for UNICOM / Control Tower)Auction/Buy Now on eBay (Pickup in Suffolk, VA) – Item ID 373751253539. Search eBay for Virginia Aviation Council
18 Motorola Talkabout Radios Models 200 and 250 – Sold in One LotAuction/Buy Now on eBay (Shipping Included) – Item ID 373754114389. Search eBay for Virginia Aviation Council
RV Power Cord Adapter Plug – 30 Amp Female to 50 Amp Male – Used (20 Available)
Auction/Buy Now on eBay (Shipping Included) – Item ID 373754482517. Search eBay for Virginia Aviation Council
Any other Council items for sale on eBay will be searchable using “Virginia Aviation Council”.
Should you have any questions or need assistance, please contact:
Daniel Arkin
Fly-In Manager
Virginia Aviation Council 