Product Information

Aircraft Data Acquisition Systems finds potential problems sooner, making trend monitoring even more valuable now than in decades past.

~Trend monitoring goes by many names: engine monitoring, engine health monitoring, engine condition trend monitoring, health and usage monitoring, predictive maintenance, and others.~

Trend monitoring is defined as using engine operational data to find symptoms of damage, deterioration, or excessive wear, trend monitoring has been around in some form since the mid-1970s. New hardware technology that captures more engine data points and sophisticated software that finds more subtle trends–and thus finds potential problems sooner–are making trend monitoring even more valuable now than in decades past.

~IntelliStart Plus is a certified airframe-mounted aircraft engine monitoring and diagnostic system.~

ADAS is the most competitive flight data acquisition system on the market today and is the next step in providing customers with the tools to further lower their engine operating costs. The ADAS installation, which holds FAA and Transport Canada certifications, records aircraft and engine parameters in-flight.

Altair Avionics’ Internet-based data management system, TurbineTracker, provides P&WC and customers with the ability to analyze trends and track exceedences, usage and performance data.

~What does trend monitoring entail?~

Trend monitoring consists of two basic components: engine data usually supplied by the OEM’s engine control unit (ECU), and trend monitoring software or service supplied by the OEM or a third party. Nearly all turbine aircraft engines include an electronic ECU that adjusts fuel flow according to a set of parameters obtained from temperature and pressure probes and flow meters.

Many of these parameters are recorded during certain engine events, such as engine startup and shutdown. The ECU also records additional parameters, such as the number of hours the engine has run, the number of start cycles, and any engine faults. Many ECUs allow this data to be downloaded into either OEM-provided software or to generic spreadsheets for later analysis.

~Why use trend monitoring?~

Many engine manufacturers require operators to furnish operational data on a regular basis to participate in warranty or maintenance programs. Trend monitoring is all about peace of mind. “We’re not able to prevent the problem itself, but the idea with trend monitoring is to catch deterioration at the earliest possible time, analyze its cause, and fix the problem before it escalates.”

~When to start trend monitoring?~

Engines with less than 100 hours since new or last major overhaul provide the most accurate baseline for trend monitoring because deterioration has usually not had a chance to occur. This is not to say, however, that older engines would not benefit from trend monitoring services. In fact, according to several trend monitoring companies, anytime is a good time to start trend monitoring.

NexAir Avionics is a certified distributor for Pratt & Whitney/Altair Avionic’s Intellistart Engine Monitoring System.

(Ask Dave why no-one understands this product better than he does!)

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