Helicopter FDM: affordable hardware

The second part of a three-part story by Charlotte AdamsGiven the high price of helicopter flight data recorders (FDRs) in the past, many operators regarded them as a non-starter. However, in the last four years technology has emerged that promises more realistic helicopter flight data recording and monitoring solutions. While the new products are not all designed to FDR survivability standards, they provide more affordable helicopter flight data monitoring (HFDM) options, especially for small operators and legacy aircraft.The first installment of this series -- FAA tests waters for helicopter emergency medical services recording with mixed response -- focused on the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) recently announced intention to possibly mandate data recording or monitoring, or both, on helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) aircraft. (For a critique view Helicopter emergency medical services NPRM critique.) This article considers a range of data recorders that might fall within FAA's still-to-be-defined lightweight aircraft recording system (LARS) category. At one end of the spectrum are self-contained units that rely on internal sensors, and at the other end are systems that tie into aircraft databuses and sensors. This article describes aircraft hardware, starting at $800. The $800 product, Wi-Flight's HFDM, is expected to debut next year. Based on a smart phone, enhanced with an internal sensor board, the Canadian company's product promises to introduce more operators to flight data monitoring. As WiFlight's business model emphasizes monthly revenues from its analysis software, its helicopter package will be more fully described in the third part of this series.AppareoAppareo Systems has been a leader in driving down costs. Its GAU 2000 product is intended to "inexpensively provide 80 percent of the meat of what you're trying to understand for about 10 percent of the cost," says David Batcheller, Appareo chief operating officer. The GAU 2000 lists at around $5,995, plus $750 per year, per aircraft, for maintenance of its ALERTS software, a Web-based visualization and analysis tool. For that price, the 2-pound box -- with internal gyro, accelerometers, GPS and baro altimeter -- records or derives around 34 parameters, Batcheller says.Although the GAU 2000 is not built to the ED-155 FDR survivability standard for helicopters and light aircraft, its memory module has survived four fatal accidents. The product was developed with Bristow and is used on every single-engine helicopter they fly -- 60 to 70 ships, Batcheller says, as part of the operator's Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) program. The large HEMS operator, Omniflight, also has purchased "a couple dozen" GAU 2000s.A more recent product, the Vision 1000, lists at $7,500, excluding ALERTS. Developed with Eurocopter, Vision 1000 requires only aircraft power and ground to function. The 9-ounce unit records JPEG stills, ambient and intercom audio, and GPS and inertial flight data. It comes with a built-in configuration and playback tool. Vision 1000 can record parameters such as latitude and longitude; GPS altitude; ground and vertical speed; heading; pitch, roll and yaw rate; and acceleration. Both products make use of a removable memory card to extract data. The card is loaded into a kiosk, a small computer which processes the raw data and uploads it to Appareo servers via the Internet.Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) uses the GAU 2000 on its two S-76C++'s, as part of its FOQA program, outsourcing analysis to CAPACG, in Florida. BJ Raysor, director of aviation for ACH, estimates his company paid about $7,000 per ship for the GAU 2000 plus the ALERTS software and an additional amount for the kiosk. All told, the equipment outlay for the two-ship operator was about $25,000. However, the cost would decline "drastically" if spread over additional aircraft, he says.Onboard analysisGA-FDM, a partnership between Boston-based Alakai Technologies -- an onboard FDM equipment provider -- and CAPACG, offers customers both Alakai's FDM hardware and CAPACG's analytic expertise. Alakai's digital flight data system (DFDS) and software, however, perform much of the data analysis en route. This makes CAPACG's task easier and reduces delays in receiving FDM information, according to Alakai president, Brian Morrison.

The Alakai hardware and software sell for $5,500 plus $895 for the communications modem. Analysis services range from $60 to $199 per month, per tail, based on the level of support and includes the right to access tools, reports and the system’s relational database to hands-on service. "In general, everyone that purchases the equipment also purchases one or the other of the tiers of GA-FDM services," Morrison says.Besides a number of fixed-wing customers, Skyline Helicopters of British Columbia also uses GA-FDM. The operator has equipped Bell 212s with the Alakai gear as a minor alteration. Era Helicopters also is working with Alakai on a supplemental type certificate (STC) for the AS350 and will look at further equipage if the results of the trial are successful. The onboard system collects 75-85 parameters from legacy aircraft, and 185-200 parameters from glass cockpit aircraft, Morrison says. DFDS also complies with ED-155, he adds. It features data acquisition, data recording and attitude heading reference system (AHRS) capabilities.When an aircraft touches down "we have a complete picture of the exceedances and warnings," Morrison says. At that point the system automatically alerts the designated recipient via Wi-Fi or broadband. Affordable survivabilityL-3 Communications has hit the market with two lightweight recorders, the LDR (lightweight data recorder) and the SRVIVR, in 2009 and 2010, respectively. The LDR, offered by the company's Aviation Recorders Division in Florida, meets and exceeds the requirements of ED-155, says Stephanie Gnudi, a sales engineer. The company tested the device with a 250-pound weight drop, which ED-155 does not require.Listed at $12,000, the approximately five-pound box collects data via ARINC 717, Ethernet, and GPS (with optional internal receiver). An Ethernet plug in the back allows an operator to download flight data into a computer and display the data on an embedded Web page. The LDR records two channels of audio and one of video. It provides 2 hours of audio, 2 hours of GPS data, and a minimum of 30 minutes of video. There is an optional ground support package costing $7,500 with a $500 annual update fee. The company is certifying the LDR to the FAA's new TSO C197. The division is also working with HEMS giant Air Methods and Flight Safety Foundation to use L-3's Micro QAR (quick access recorder) in the operator’s planned evaluation of FOQA. This 5-ounce, $4,000 unit, with removable media, records ARINC 429, 573, and 717 inputs.Illinois-based L-3 Electrodynamics introduced its SRVIVR voice and data recorder this year. Priced at around $23,000, depending on features and quantity, the up to 6.6-pound box is the "smallest and lightest survivable flight data recorder that meets the requirements of ED-112," says Jim Stillwell, director of business development. ED-112 is the FDR survivability spec for airliners, he explains, while ED-155 is a less stringent subset of ED-112. SRVIVR options include as many as four audio inputs, up to four ARINC 429 inputs, ARINC 717/ 777, RS-422/RS-485, one rotor speed input, one 10/100 Base-T Ethernet connection and microphone. The unit can communicate directly with glass cockpit avionics, potentially eliminating the need for a separate flight data acquisition unit (FDAU). It records as much as two hours of audio and 25 hours of flight data. Stillwell expects certification to TSO C123b, C124b and C177 next month.North Flight Data SystemsA new company, North Flight Data Systems (North FDS), allied with major HEMS operator, Metro Aviation, is also developing a new product. Dubbed the KAIROS System, it will embed an Iridium modem -- with short-burst data, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability -- in the company's multifunction data acquisition unit (MFDAU). The MFDAU is part of the flight data, voice, and video recording product line that the company has recently acquired from satellite tracking company, OuterLink. North FDS also plans to offer FOQA analysis services.All existing MFDAU features will be retained in the KAIROS System, according to Jeff Warner, the company's president and chief executive officer. The MFDAU, for example, provides analog, digital, ARINC 429/717, and GPS inputs. But embedding the modem allows operators to add satellite tracking without an additional box. The target date for the new data acquisition unit is next June.North FDS' current product line includes: the O.V.V.R. audio and video recorder with OuterLink satcom, the CV2R (an O.V.V.R. without an OuterLink satcom interface), a QAR, and the MFDAU. The QAR will continue to be packaged separately, as regulations for LARS crash protection have not yet emerged. The list price for the full complement of North FDS products, plus a video camera and "early warning" exceedance alerting software, is $32,000, Warner says. Lower-cost configurations include O.V.V.R. with OuterLink satcom and O.V.V.R. plus the QAR and OuterLink satcom. Users of other satellite communication systems can substitute CV2R for O.V.V.R.Editor's Note: This article is second part of a three-part story, the first was titled: FAA tests waters for helicopter emergency medical services recording with mixed response.

Helicopter FDM: affordable hardware

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