Era nurtures
HUMS
A major US-based rotorcraft operator
has taken HUMS to heart and is now
a force in its development
By Ian Parker
Main gearbox input accelerometer Tailshaft bearing support accelerometer
H
ave you ever been operating the foundation that has allowed a lot. Although they largely have
a familiar vehicle when the company’s HUMS program to a similar intent, there can be a
you’ve thought “that doesn’t flourish. Era’s HUMS manager Jason surprising variance in features and
sound right, feel right, seem right?” Alamond tells Aviation Maintenance capabilities. This also equates to a
Chances are you’ve picked up a “Commitment to our customers and surprising variance in price.
change in vibration or noise or feel crew to provide the best service Mr Alamond says another factor
which is due to a developing fault. possible has lead Era to utilize various in the cost of the system can be
Your instinct will often be correct and safety enhancing technologies. A how much cooperative development
investigation is warranted. considerable amount of resources between the aircraft manufacturer and
Health and usage monitoring have been dedicated to our effort to HUMS manufacturer has occurred.
systems (HUMS) work a bit like that improve safety and reliability. The price difference in this case
with sensors picking up data on “These advancements and the ever- is generally proportionate to the
vibration, temperature etc for analysis increasing standard among customers value to the end user, although the
later by a computer. The power of the and operators are major factors in difference can be upward of three
software and the skill of the operator the inception of our program. Era fold. Era currently has several million
combine to detect faults before they HUMS began in 2006 when we had dollars invested in HUMS equipment.
become serious. Their rectification can our first deliveries of HUMS equipped Also there’s an acronym jungle
often be scheduled better, avoiding S-76C++s, EC-135s, and Agusta 139s.” out there, and with many different
inconvenient downtime and, at worst, And the pilots are involved too. products being grouped so closely
an accident. They have two inputs - an “event” together; it can quickly become
Era Helicopters is a US-based button that they can press to flag up confusing. But all these efforts are
operator which is at the forefront a particular anomaly and manipulation worth it to avoid an accident.
of HUMS applications on rotorcraft. of a control unit to capture detailed Mr. Alamond tells Aviation
It has about 150 aircraft flying rotor track and balance data Maintenance “It is my opinion
worldwide and today some 30 have that the payback of any successful
HUMS. Era wants all its helicopters to Features, capabilities and enhancement device in a case of
have HUMS eventually. costs accident avoidance is unmistakable,
The support and encouragement There are a number of HUMS systems but difficult to put a random dollar
of Era’s senior management is on the market and they vary quite figure on. I can say without doubt
12 Aviation Maintenance |
avmain-mag.com | February/March 2010
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