Blackcomb Helicopters, a helicopter utility service provider based in western Canada, has chosen to equip its Airbus EC135 T2 with Foresight MX by GPMS International. GPMS' Foresight MX provides remote monitoring of the health of an entire fleet through a simple-to-use computer or smartphone dashboard. Smart sensors equipped to the aircraft uncover when critical components are starting to wear and alert users when maintenance may be required.

“For over 30 years, Blackcomb Helicopters has provided highly technical and capabilities to one of the most demanding regions in the world,” says John Byus, GPMS director of sales, Americas. “From heli-skiing to firefighting to search and rescue and everything in between, it flies in very challenging weather conditions and needs to know its aircraft is ready to fly when the weather is right. That's where Foresight MX's capabilities can increase its aircraft availability, by predicting and reducing the potential for unscheduled maintenance events.”

“The health and safety of our team is our number one priority, which is why we invest in the best tools and training available,” adds Jonathan Burke, president of Blackcomb Helicopters. “With GPMS' Foresight MX, our maintenance team will now have the capabilities to immediately know the health of our aircraft components, providing us with faster troubleshooting, as well as better forecasting and scheduling for critical maintenance.”

With certifications or certification work covering various OEMs on rotorcraft as small as the MD 530F to as large as the CH-47D, Foresight MX has been proven effective for mixed fleet operators like Blackcomb.

Byus continues: “The EC135 is the perfect platform for SAR operations, and we're excited to be on board Blackcomb's aircraft as it is out saving lives. And when the aircraft comes back to base, Blackcomb will benefit from our touchless uploads with ‘one move’ rotor track and balance solutions, FDM and exceedance alerts, and of course our industry leading predictive HUMS.”