Dupont have you heard or seen the PB-3 system? It uses a smart phone app for the computations so all the expense of software and processing is gone. Here is what the manufacturer sent me when asked if it could be used on an Enstrom.
> 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.