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. 

FMI: www.embryriddle.edu, www.tomlinsonaviation.com/