HUMS Equipment Monitors Onboard Systems Health
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University -- in conjunction with
Tomlinson Aviation Inc. of Ormond Beach, FL, and Systems &
Electronics of Chicago -- has completed the first of a series of
FAA-sponsored helicopter research flights demonstrating technology
intended to enhance the safety and commercial viability of
helicopters in the United States.
Funded with a grant of $620,000 from the Federal Aviation
Administration, the project is evaluating Health and Usage
Monitoring Systems (HUMS) equipment that uses onboard sensors to
monitor flight conditions and the health of helicopter components.
The prototype HUMS hardware was developed by Systems &
Electronics.
"Thanks to this technology, helicopter components in poor health
can be retired early, and healthy components can receive a
life-limit extension,” said Dr. Pat Anderson, the
Embry-Riddle Aerospace Engineering professor who is directing the
HUMS project. "Thus, HUMS will help helicopter operators increase
safety while at the same time lowering operating expenses."
The research flights were successfully completed on February 16,
2008, in a Bell 206 Jet Ranger provided by Tomlinson Aviation. The
team from Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus, composed of
faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students from both
the College of Engineering and the College of Aviation, equipped
the jet-powered helicopter with a prototype HUMS for monitoring a
suite of sensors collecting aircraft-state data in real-time.
Initial data reductions indicate that the tests successfully
determined the health of the helicopter’s tail rotor in
flight.
The team now moves on to demonstrate the same technology
enhancements in a smaller reciprocating helicopter similar to those
used in pilot training.
HUMS team members from Embry-Riddle are Dr. Dan Macchiarella,
Aeronautical Science professor, as a pilot; Rachel Rajnicek,
Aerospace Engineering graduate research assistant, as the flight
test engineer; Dr. Andrew Kornecki, Computer Engineering professor,
as the advisor on the computer interface with the sensors; and
students Chris Brown, Tom Haritos, Monica Londono, and Borja Martos
as assistants.
Neal Tomlinson, owner of Tomlinson Aviation, serves as a HUMS
pilot, with the maintenance technicians at his company assisting
the Embry-Riddle engineers.