UH-60 Blackhawk Tail Rotor CBM Capabilities

摘要

Experience has shown that a slight out of balance condition of a helicopter main rotor or tail rotor can cause roughness and vibration leading to premature wear and failure of the components, as well as, fatigue and discomfort for the aircrew and passengers. In the past, techniques used to correct out-of-balance in the field were cumbersome, time consuming, and often, inaccurate. Prior to the aircraft being equipped with HUMS, the mechanic would install equipment, collect data, and make adjustments for each iterative balance solution. With the implementation of the Integrated Mechanical Diagnostics-Health U$age Monitoring System (IMD-HUMS) or the Integrated Vehicle Health Monitoring System (IVHMS) On-Board Systems (OBS) for balancing the main rotor and tail rotor assemblies, the balance correction procedure has been significantly improved, providing the maintainer more accurate solutions for balancing, therefore, saving maintenance time and increase availability. This paper concentrates on the tail rotor balancing capability of the HUMS system. In addition, the paper will address additional capabilities available to the maintainers besides just balancing the tail rotor. It will discuss troubleshooting, lowering maintenance man hours, decreasing test flights, reducing mission aborts, increasing aircraft readiness and availability.