Smiths Aerospace to Supply Sea King HUMS
Posted Monday, August 27, 2001 by News Staff
The Ministry of Defense has awarded Smiths Aerospace a $57 million (£40million)contract to design and install their Generic Health and Usage Monitoring System(GenHUMS)to its fleet of Sea King helicopters flown by the Royal Navy. The MoD currently operates 90 Sea Kings of various models. The systems will be designed and manufactured at the Smiths facilities in Southampton, UK and Grand Rapids, MI. Deliveries begin in 2004 with completion in early 2007.
Bob Ehr, president of Smiths Aerospace, Electronic Systems business said: "Our HUMS solution represents the latest technology, developed and proven in over one million flight hours of real world operations. The integrated system offers both improved safety and reduced operating costs for a variety of helicopter platforms."
The GenHUMS system is an integrated cockpit voice and flight data recorder with a health and usage monitoring system, installed on each aircraft as a "single box" system. It continuously checks the performance of safety-critical components, providing advance warning of potential equipment failures and collecting valuable data for routine maintenance of the helicopters. It provides sensors that monitor the status and usage of the engines, transmission, drivetrain system, rotor system and airframe by detecting and diagnosing potential failures, monitoring usage, automating test procedures and providing alerts for potential maintenance actions.
Smiths Aerospace is the prime contractor to the MoD for all contract activities. This includes tailoring the system to various models of the Sea King, aircraft trial installations, system verification, and airworthiness approvals. Half of Smiths Aerospace's 12,000 staff and $2 billion revenues are located in North America. The company holds key positions in the supply chains of all major military and civil aircraft and engine manufacturers, and is a world-leader in electronic systems, acutation systems and precision components.
From
www.rotor.com