Tue, Feb 23, 2010
ADAC Air Rescue of Germany is Launch Customer
Eurocopter is displaying an EC135 P2i with a newly developed
inlet barrier filter (IBF) at the Heli-Expo show in Houston. During
the show, the aircraft was handed over to ADAC Air Rescue of
Germany, the first operator to put the new system into service. It
is ADAC’s 30th EC135 in total and its first to be equipped
with this filter system.
ADAC Air Rescue is the launch customer for Eurocopter’s
IBF solution. The system is certified by EASA (European Aviation
Safety Agency) for the P2 and P2i versions of the EC135 (with Pratt
& Whitney engines), with certification for the T versions
(Turbomeca engines) expected for the third quarter of 2010. FAA
certification for the P versions has been launched.
The IBF is developed by Eurocopter and constitutes an OEM
(Original Equipment Manufacturer) solution to increase the life of
the engines. Eurocopter says the system filters out 99 percent of
all SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) coarse dust particles
which normally pollute engines of helicopters during flight. The
helicopter’s AEO (All Engines Operative) performance as well
as its noise level remain unaffected by this system. With only
clean air being provided to the engines, compressor erosion is
substantially reduced which results in a significant reduction of
direct maintenance costs. The filter box is directly mounted on the
engines inlets and does not require sealings at the rotor mast and
engine cowling. It is fast and easy to exchange.
A remote panel to display filter clogging indication, bypass
operations in OEI (One Engine Inoperative) flight, built-in system
test functions and caution and advisory indications is placed into
the cockpit’s center console. The panel is fully night vision
goggle compatible. Service and inspection intervals have been
synched with the EC135’s scheduled maintenance cycles,
meaning filter reconditioning (clean and re-oil) after 200 flight
hours or six months, visual inspection and functional test of the
entire IBF system after 400 flight hours, inspection of
differential pressure sensors after 36 months, and annual
inspection of the pressure leak system.
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