CHC Helicopter has completed testing and is introducing a real-time aircraft data solution on the AW139. The technology monitors more than 500 Heliwise health and usage monitoring system (HUMS) indicators, alerts ground crew as soon as an in-flight exceedance is detected and streamlines the HUMS and flight data monitoring file download process post flight. An additional electronic flight bag solution provides live weather and marine AIS data to the flight deck.

The advanced solution installs Leonardo's Heliwise HUMS analysis libraries onboard the aircraft. SkyTrac's ISAT-200A data acquisition unit then monitors for Heliwise exceedances during flight and communicates HUMS alerts in real-time. With a fully deployed solution, the CHC maintenance team can gain immediate insight into emerging technical issues and begin investigation and preparation before the aircraft is back on the ground. Live weather and marine vessel locations are sent inflight to an intuitive EFB application, ensuring crew can make decisions based on the most up-to-date information at all times.

“We are always looking for ways to boost operational efficiency for our customers through the use of innovative, emerging technologies,” says senior VP of engineering and operations Dave Balevic. “We are proud to be the first operator to utilise this solution. By streamlining our processes and sharing critical information between the air and ground in real-time, we can deliver an even safer operation that removes opportunities for human factor errors while providing more immediate visibility into potential issues. We are very pleased with the results and look forward to expanding to a fully automated solution over the following months.”

A controlled rollout of the new technologies across the AW139 fleet is underway at CHC's Den Helder base in the Netherlands.