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Technology update
Healthier helos
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Health and usage monitoring of helicopter systems (HUMS) has become an accepted element in achieving operating efficiency and contributing to flight safety. Now, two of the major European developers of the technology have joined forces, with Smiths Industries having acquired Stewart Hughes, a company established in 1980. Stewart Hughes was originally a spin-off from the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research at Southampton University, specializing in pattern-matching recognition data. In late 1991, Stewart Hughes became the first company to have a HUMS system certificated. Boeing, Eurocopter, and Textron use Stewart Hughes technology in their rotorcraft, with Eurocopter the first airframe manufacturer to use Stewart Hughes HUMS systems and the first to link HUMS data to maintenance action and streamline procedures, stated Smith Industries. This technology is called the Pilot and Maintenance Assist System, of which a derivative is now under development aimed at giving helicopter pilots enhanced information support with the target of "preventing damage rather than reacting to its occurrence." Smiths said that it will shortly release further details of the system.
The company estimated that throughout the world there are some 56,300 helicopters in service, with slightly more than half in the hands of military users. With increasing levels of safety made possible by several converging technologies, expectations for lower attrition rates can be met only through additional monitoring of critical systems and engine parameters, according to Smiths. Its HUMS is described by the company as combining several existing and proven technologies, including aircraft-monitoring technology such as the cockpit voice recorder/flight-data recorder, which includes integration elements to provide a total system-monitoring package. Smiths spotlights the potential trouble spots on a helicopter that needs to be monitored. Primary concerns about systems and component criticality center on the rotor (both track and balance), aircraft usage monitoring, engine, transmission, bearing diagnostics, powertrain, and structures life usage monitoring. The data recorded by the HUMS box is used to predict wear and tear on systems and components against a previously calculated safe-life value, and in this way early failures can be anticipated to increase overall system life and reduce maintenance costs. An optional onboard oil-and-lubrication system (inductive debris) monitor and an engine-debris (electrostatic engine) monitor are part of Smiths' HUMS range. The company points out that although HUMS was developed for helicopters, it is applicable to fixed-wing aircraft.
Stuart Birch
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