HUMS is the first great step in tightly connecting the manufacturers to the users. While it is just a monitor and vibe balancer in many current installations, that is a good start. As we all get more comfortable, it will become the daily link between the aircraft and the designer, so we at the factory will know what is being experienced in the field on a daily basis.
Regrading the Lu's question of how to relate the lab tests with the actual field dtat, by reading the HUMS ifo regularly, we can relate the two almost daily. We also bring back items that have reached their time limits, or that have been flagged by the HUMS (as having unacceptable vibes or temps) and test them in the lab to correlate the findings.
I am the S-92 program manager, and have asked that we get to the point that the aircraft, the maintenance hangar and the manufacturer of the components and Sikorsky all be tied together in a network, so that actual experience is shared by all, and that the maintenance procedures be made adaptive to the operator, his usage and his environment. The S-92 has a maintenance diagnostic computer tied to the HUMS, as well as a bearing monitor unit, all to let the aircraft report its state to the system. Eventually, I would like to see SATCOM real time links so the info was immediate (talk about Big Brother!)
