When suffering combat damage, it is very important for the
pilot to evaluate the condition of the helicopter. That's when
RSL Electronics' Total Health Management System (T-HUMS) can save
the mission and in some cases the aircraft and crew.
T-HUMS is already installed on AH-64A Apaches operated by the
Israeli Air Force, where it monitors the dynamic systems in real-time
using a smart array of sensors to monitor and record the helicopter's
dynamic systems, conduct in-flight tracking and evaluate events
and trends, as well as carrying out diagnostics and prognosis
of power plant, rotor system, drive train and other critical aircraft
systems. It measures and records pressures and vibrations over
a wide band of frequencies, identifies specific events that precede
major malfunctions, and assesses when such problems could occur.
If a helicopter suffers a hit in the engine, but keeps flying,
T-HUMS can predict how much flight time could be 'squeezed' from
it before critical systems fail and endanger the crew.
The information is provided on the pilot control and advisory
panel. The self-learning system is also equipped with a knowledge
base that can identify and compare an event to a history. According
to RSL, the system recorded fault classification and detection
probability above 95% and false alarm rate of 2%. T-HUMS is also
a major contributor to savings in operational costs, as it effectively
manages condition-based maintenance (CBM) rather than costly scheduled
maintenance programs. The system records all flight data, voice
and video, on a crash-survivable memory module, for post-mission
debriefing.
