Has anyone had experience with the PB-3 track and balance analyzer? I can't afford a Chadwick and was considering a Dynavibe when I came across the PB-3. I received the following when I inquired to see if it would work on a 3-blade system. The only thing I see is that there is only one accelerometer which means it would have to be moved and tests repeated to get horzontal and vertical. I'm interested in your comments and I know this is best left up to someone with experience, but around here that isn't an option. This also looks like something that may be mounted permanently for constant monitoring as well. Here is what I was sent:
> Is the PB-3 OK to use with an Enstrom 280C? Can you refer me to any
> user that has experience using this with an Enstrom or other 3 blade
> helicopter? Where do I buy in the states? I was considering a
> Dynavibe till I read about this.
Sorry, because the rotor balancing capability of the PB-3 is very new,
I only know about its use with 2 bladed gyro rotors. A couple of
customers have started using it with helicopters but I haven't had any
feedback from them yet.
As far as the PB-3 is concerned, I can't see any reason why it can't be
used to balance a 3 bladed rotor. It should still be able to measure
the vibration phase and magnitude. The real unknown is whether the PB-3
app's support for move lines is adequate for that application. At this
time, the app only supports 2 move lines. Mind you, that's better than
what the Dynavibe supports because that product doesn't make any
attempt whatsoever to suggest adjustments. I expect in the future the
app will be extended to make it more useful for helicopter rotor
balancing.
At the end of the day, you could still use the PB-3 to measure the
vibration values and then plot them manually on a paper polar chart that
shows the move lines that have been determined by the helicopter's
manufacturer. That's all the Dynavibe can do, anyway.
Worldwide sales of the PB-3 are direct from Smart Avionics. The
prop+rotor version of the PB-3 costs 650 UKP and UPS shipping to the USA
is 60 UKP. Payment is by PayPal or bank transfer. Current lead time is
less than 1 week.
Cheers,
Mark
--
Smart Avionics Ltd. -- producer of innovative avionics for homebuilt
aircraft.