Helisul Aviation has assisted in the supplemental type certification by the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC) for Foresight MX, an advanced health and usage monitoring system (HUMS) manufactured by GPMS. The certificate was based on a prior FAA STC and covers the installation of Foresight MX on the Airbus H125/AS350 B3 platform.

Helisul is the first Brazilian customer to implement Foresight's advanced HUMS capabilities.

Technical director Luis Cravo says: “We were able to work very closely with the GPMS team during the STC process and learned a lot about the capabilities of the Foresight system. With its comprehensive monitoring and predictive capabilities, Foresight will be able to provide valuable insight into the performance and health of our aircraft.

“The H125 is a workhorse in our fleet and performs a variety of missions. Using Foresight on this platform is seen as an investment because it will help us increase availability, lower maintenance costs and, of course, improve the operational safety of these aircraft.”

“We are excited to have worked with a great partner like Helisul to achieve this certification,” adds GPMS vp and head of sales Todd Powers. “Thanks to its help, H125 operators in Brazil can now install and utilise Foresight's comprehensive and predictive HUMS capabilities. Brazil has a large number of H125/AS350 operators and this STC is a great first step to bringing our advanced Foresight HUMS system to operators in Brazil and throughout South America.”

While the H125 is one of the more popular helicopter platforms in South America, many operators like Helisul have mixed fleets. Foresight is already certified on most of the popular helicopter platforms in North America, GPMS expects similar certification and sales success throughout South America.

“Foresight is certified to deliver comprehensive aircraft and fleet monitoring for the majority of helicopters in service today in the United States,” says Powers. “As we continue to expand our global footprint, we will work with customers and aviation authorities to expand our list of Foresight STC's to meet the growing demand.”

GPMS recently announced the expansion of its certified installer network to 15 full service helicopter MRO and completion centres to support demand in North and South America.