Listen To Your Engine's Health With New Tools
Trend monitoring that’s built right into your engine allows you to have a conversation with your aircraft and its powerplant. Powerful new diagnostics, prognostics and health management (DPHM) tools are making your engine health monitoring even easier.
1. Automating PACS
Power assurance checks (PACs) are a fundamental part of engine health monitoring. Done the traditional way, it takes time and third-party assistance. You have to run the engine on the ground, take down all the numbers and fax them to an external service that analyzes the data and provides you with calculations. However, new tools are turning a time-consuming manual task into a convenient, automated process completed in 10 minutes. An automated PAC, currently available on helicopters, can be done right from the cockpit. The information is displayed on a screen and sent directly to your service provider.
2. Optimizing Engine Prognostics and Diagnostics Data Capture
The automation of aircraft engine prognostics and diagnostics monitoring makes it possible to capture more information than ever before. Simplified processes can be completed more frequently, thereby providing a richer data set, unexposed to potential human error. The more accurate your data, the easier it is to plan your maintenance and avoid unscheduled engine removals.
3. More Timely Information
Automated health monitoring systems for your engine capture raw data and convert it into a succinct summary of specific key parameters after every flight. The information you need is emailed to you in a timely manner giving you aircraft engine prognostics and diagnostics performance updates minutes after each landing. That lets you be more proactive. If the numbers tell you, for example, that your engine’s temperature is steadily creeping up, you can immediately address the cause before problems arise.
4. Remote Troubleshooting
It helps to have a second pair of eyes looking at your aircraft engine prognostics and diagnostics performance numbers. Automated health monitoring tools make it possible for customer service personnel to keep an eye on engine trends and rapidly take action when needed. In one trial of P&WC monitoring technology, data transmitted from an engine being started in Australia showed that its temperature was too high. Support employees in Montreal were automatically alerted and promptly contacted the customer, who was able to abort the start.
With new tech tools that deliver the above benefits—such as P&WC’s FAST™ solution, an adaptable system available for many different engine models—you can shift from a reactive “wait and see” approach to a more proactive “see and avoid” approach that allows you to save time and money by nipping trouble in the bud. Read more about why choosing the right maintenance program can add millions to the value of your aircraft.
