Avionics engineers in the U.S. Marine Corps needed diagnostic tools for CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters. They found a solution with the Integrated Mechanical Diagnostics Health and Usage Management System (IMD-HUMS), from Goodrich Corp., Charlotte, N.C.
Goodrich has received contracts for 28 IMD-HUMS kits in 2005 and 2006. The Marines have a total fleet of 147 CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters. The systems are produced at Goodrich’s Fuel & Utility Systems division in Vergennes, Vt.
Goodrich’s IMD-HUMS applies full-time diagnostic monitoring to the entire CH-53E mechanical drive train, from the engines to the rotor system. The technology helps reduce vibration-related maintenance, and enables a predictive-versus reactive-approach to maintenance.
Until now, the CH-53E’s seven-blade main rotor system has required special instrumentation and flight checks to verify rotor adjustments. Now the helicopter uses Goodrich’s IMD-HUMS to collect data automatically on each flight, allowing engineers to make adjustments and minimize rotor vibration.
The system also performs diagnostics on the complex set of gear boxes, drive shafts, and bearings that deliver engine power to the rotors and aircraft systems by reading, storing, and analyzing data collected from more than 40 vibration sensors throughout the aircraft. For more information, see www.goodrich.com.
