Richard Warrilow MIDiagE discusses helicopter Health & Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) and how the recent addition of Advanced Anomaly Detection (AAD) technology has taken fault detection to a new level.Unlike fixed-wing aircraft helicopters are, almost without exception, dependent on a single drive-train to become and then remain airborne. It is a complex drive-train, comprising gearboxes and drive-shafts to reduce RPM and increase torque to drive the helicopter's main and tail rotors. The drive-train is though the helicopter's Achilles' heel, as it takes only a single gear tooth or bearing to fail and the safety of those on board is compromised. Indeed, whilst designs have improved significantly over the years, and the phrase 'safe-by-design', is used with justification, evidence shows that helicopters have a higher proportion of airworthiness-related accidents than fixed-wing aircraft.
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