SAFETY AWARD For outstanding contributions to the promotion of rotorcraft safety and safety awareness Eric Bechhoefer CEO and Chief Engineer, GPMS International, Waterbury, Vermont, USA
Eric Bechhoefer changed the playing field for aircraft safety with the helicopter health and usage monitoring system (HUMS) for single-engine helicopters. After retiring from his career as a naval flight officer, Bechhoefer pursued a doctorate in engineering with an interest in
advancing aviation safety. He saw his dream come true at Goodrich Sensor Systems, where, in the 2000s, he helped pioneer the first-generation HUMS and condition-based maintenance systems, which the company designed for the UH-60 Black Hawk, CH-47 Chinook, and S-92. “It was great work, but I really felt if anyone needs these systems, it’s the smaller operators with light aircraft and single engines,” he explains. “I wanted to design a lighter, much less expensive solution for smaller operators with those aircraft that don’t have the assets and finances for the current HUMS programs. I wanted to give them the same level of safety and protection the big guys get and be able to easily add functions as users identify their needs.” Bechhoefer began to work through an idea, leaving Goodrich in 2010 to
work at a wind turbine company to develop a sort of HUMS for wind turbines. After three years of development, he had a product design that could work with light helicopters. In 2012, he copublished and presented a white paper arguing for improving HUMS for the light-helicopter market and went to work on the application. In 2013, Bechhoefer cofounded Green Power Monitoring Systems (GPMS)
Eric Bechhoefer
“[Dr. Bechhoefer’s work] has had a radical impact on the … understanding of how the operation of an aircraft affects the health of the aircraft.”
— Brent Butterworth, senior systems engineer, Garmin International
Sponsored by
International to bring his vision to reality. In 2018, the company launched its first product, a lightweight, affordable, next-gen HUMS solution applicable to all helicopters regardless of make, model, or mission. He has since overseen the design, certification, and sale of HUMSs for many helicopter models, including the Airbus AS350; Bell 212, 407, 412, and 429; Mil Mi-8, Mi-17, and Mi-171; and MD 530F. An active industry champion for HUMS, Bechhoefer continues
to promote the benefits of today’s advanced HUMS and condition- based monitoring and maintenance. He is a founder and fellow at the Prognostics and Health Management Society, a fellow of the Society for Machinery Failure Prevention Technology, and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He also sits on the Vertical Flight Society’s HUMS Committee and the SAE Aerospace HM-1 Committee covering integrated vehicle health management. “Dr. Bechhoefer’s contribution to rotorcraft operational and maintenance safety simply stands above all others,” says Garmin
International Senior Systems Engineer Brent Butterworth. “Trough his research and development, he has taken a system only large helicopters and fleet operators could utilize to one where all sizes and budgets of Part 27 or 29 aircraft can reap the benefits of health monitoring. Tis has had a radical impact on the knowledge, awareness, and understanding of how the operation of an aircraft affects the health of the aircraft.”
MARCH 2023 ROTOR 49
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