Lord Corporation and Hamilton Sundstrand have teamed to introduce the first dynamic inflight propeller balancing (IFPB) system. "What we have done is take proven industrial balancing technology and apply it to the specialized area of aerospace," said Steve Meyer, Lord's defense business development manager. "The IFPB technology, coupled with Hamilton Sundstrand's extensive knowledge of propeller flight certification and maintenance, makes a strong team to produce the robust inflight system for turboprop aircraft."

The IFPB system is an offshoot of the proven real-time balancing technology that is in wide use in many industrial applications. The IFPB system detects and measures propeller unbalance through vibration and proximity sensors. A microprocessor controller then determines the amount and location of the unbalance and sends a signal to the unit's balance compensator, which is permanently attached to the propeller shaft.

Vibration is eliminated, or better yet, canceled when the compensator automatically redistributes weight to correct the imbalance. And the higher rotation speeds of propellers make improved balance even more beneficial due to the fact that dynamic balance is a function of the square of the rotation speed. "The system operates totally independent of any activities by the flight crew," Meyer said.

That's been a drawback of the traditional means of dynamically balancing propellers by adding counterweights. While that does accomplish the balancing of a propeller for one specific operating condition, it doesn't take into account all of the various dynamics encountered during the wide range of typical operation. Also, the effects of dynamic balancing degrade over time because conditions are always changing. The IFPB system maintains optimum balance all the time with no actions needed by maintenance personnel.

"The idea is to create a hassle-saving type of system," Meyer added. "Once it is installed, you totally eliminate the need to manually balance propellers again, something that most technicians find frustrating anyway."

Aside from eliminating the hassle factor, Meyer said that studies have proven that the ability to have a smoother operating propeller 100 percent of the time also pays off in other ways including reduced vibration and wear and tear on the aircraft's systems, avionics, and passengers.

Also, according to Lord, studies of properly balanced propellers indicate as much as a 30-percent reduction in the number of maintenance person-hours needed for each hour of flight. This represents hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings every year of operation.

But don't be in a rush to toss out your present propeller balancing equipment. Meyer said that the Lord/Hamilton Sundstrand IFPB system is slated to see action on U.S. Air Force C-130s and Navy P-3 and E-2C/C-2A aircraft sometime around 2007. As for commercial applications, the companies are looking at the Dash 8, Saab 340, and ATR-72 families as the most likely candidates. "We haven't given any thought to offering it in anything like business aircraft as of yet," he said. "Our current goal is to see it successfully applied to our military customers and then we'll see what comes of the other markets."

Lufthansa Technik, Alitalia Unite in Engine Repair

In a surprise announcement, Lufthansa Technik and Alitalia Maintenance Systems revealed that the former is taking over 40 percent of the latter's shares from Alitalia, Italy's flag carrier. The two partners will jointly manage Alitalia Maintenance Systems, which specializes in engine maintenance and repair.

Lufthansa Technik will move its General Electric CF6 operations to Rome Fiumicino Airport, while Alitalia will send engine components to Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg. The entry of Lufthansa Technik into the partnership will lead to "a significant increase in the activities for the engine workshop at Fiumicino Airport, making it possible to achieve substantial economies of scale," Lufthansa Technik said.

The news came as a surprise as Lufthansa and Alitalia belong respectively to Star Alliance and Skyteam, two of the three archrival airline alliances in the world.

Real-Time Predictive Aircraft Health Solution Comes to Market

SmartSignal and AeroMechanical Services (AMS) have teamed to develop a real-time engine and aircraft monitoring solution designed for regional aircraft and business jet operators.

The companies are combining proprietary technologies to deliver an integrated solution that enables tail-specific, proactive maintenance strategies based on real-time engine and auxiliary power unit health. The joint venture combines SmartSignal's equipment condition monitoring (eCM) software and AMS's airborne autonomous flight information collection and reporting system (AFIRS) and UpTime products.

The solution is designed to provide any aircraft with a predictive eCM system that enables real-time monitoring across all operating modes, OEMs, and equipment. The technology is designed to reduce the need for emergency work-orders and ensures that service levels are maintained.

Here's how it works: AFIRS generates reports using AMS UpTime system records and relays the data via satellite to UpTime. The data is then delivered securely via the Internet to the aircraft operator's facilities.

SmartSignal's eCM predictive technology analyzes the data to provide operators early warning of deteriorating equipment. This early warning is designed to enable airline and business jet fleet operators to implement proactive maintenance strategies.

"This joint solution is designed to improve aircraft uptime, minimize unnecessary maintenance, and drive value," said Gary Conkright, SmartSignal's president and CEO.

Blue Coat Repairs Save Plenty of Green

It's said that a helicopter's life should be measured in dog years because, due to the stresses and strains, every flight hour is more like seven hours. And those strains aren't just felt on the airframe; the helicopter's owners and operators feel it in their wallets when maintenance bills come due.

Thanks to an agreement between Bell Helicopter and Lord Corporation, operators will now be able to save big bucks by taking advantage of Lord's blue coat replacement process and elastomeric parts remanufacturing services.

"We have supplied the blue coating to Bell as an OEM supplier for more than 20 years," said Dan Byers, Lord's manager of aftermarket support. "Now we have a licensing agreement that allows us to offer blue coat aftermarket repair services to Bell Helicopter operators." Byers said that currently Lord is licensed to provide reapplication of the blue coating to 300 Bell parts and components.

"Prior to this agreement, nobody was set up to provide this specialized service on a worldwide basis," he added. "It definitely saves operators a ton of money compared to buying a new component and it can save them a lot of time because they won't have to wait for the factory to send them a replacement component."

Lord's blue coat replacement process begins with the removal of the existing coating and includes dimensional and non-destructive inspections before the blue coat is reapplied. "We either apply the blue coat with an electrostatic spray operation or a fluid bed process," he said. "When it dries it is a very, very hard surface that is then machined to the final thickness specification.

"Then the part is inspected, recertified, and returned to the operator, usually within 30 days," Byers said. He added that with many life-limited parts, reapplying the blue coat is the only way operators can get the full life out of them. He's seen 10,000-hour life-limited parts arrive with only 2,500 hours on them that need new blue coating. "Money savings aside, it's insane to throw away a component that has lots of service life left just because the blue coat is worn," he said. Especially now that there is an alternative.

Blue coating is one of the many services Lord offers helicopter operators. Another is the ability to remanufacture many elastomeric components for Bell and MD helicopters. "This is a big cost-saving alternative to buying new parts," he said. "Bearings and dampers don't have life limits, so the operators can keep sending them back for remanfacturing. Typically a remanufactured part is 35- to 50-percent less than the cost of a new part."

Lord's process for remanufacturing parts is similar to the steps taken when re-blue coating. The parts are stripped of their original elastomerics and then the major metal components are NDT inspected and the ones that are approved are put back through the same manufacturing process as new parts. When they are completed, both new and remanufactured components meet the same OEM requirements.

To help ensure that the parts customers need are ready, Lord keeps a well-stocked exchange pool. "Faster and cheaper are big benefits of our services," Byers said. "Whether it is our blue coat reapplication or our remanufacturing capabilities, customers operating fleets in the Gulf or a single helicopter in the Australian outback are saving time and money with Lord's specialized services."