Safran is proposing a complete digital chain for helicopters with Cassiopée |
| Léo Barnier in Atlanta |
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28 MAR 2019 | 464 words
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© HeliDax |
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The rotary wing world can't escape the frenzy surrounding data use. Safran Electronics & Defense took advantage of Heli-Expo in Atlanta at the start of March to present its complete and automated flight and maintenance data digital chain intended for helicopters. Based on its Cassiopée range of services, this new offer is the product of cooperation with HeliDax and Aircraft Maintenance Systems (AMS). The three partners signed a letter of intent (LoI) during the show.
The objective of this cooperation is to connect the different data generation systems to the Cassiopée management platform in order to establish data continuity between pilots, maintenance and operations, for all phases of an operation, before, during and after flight.
Flight data
The pilot has the Cassiopée Digital Flight Report application on a personal terminal (digital tablet) and can receive the aircraft's recommissioning certificate directly on it from the navigation maintainability management department (CAMO) and validate their pre-flight inspection on it.
During the flight, the Cassiopée Helisafe system, based on the Helicom V2+ acquisition unit, will collect flight data and send some of it in real time to the ground, via the Iridium satellite constellation. The data will be made available to the operations departments via the Cassiopée Heliweb online solution. Automated alarms may be set up to monitor certain parameters.
The information retrieved by the Helicom V2+ unit will also be transferred to the "black box" cockpit voice and flight data recorder (CVFDR), certified according to the Eurocae ED-155 standard.
The rest of the data may be transmitted once the helicopter is backed on the ground, using various wireless connection systems (3G/4G phone network, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth). An automatic flight report will then be generated and sent to the Cassiopée Digital Flight Report application. The pilot may then validate it directly.
Maintenance data
The next step is to synchronise all this flight data with the maintenance data in Cassiopée. This is where the cooperation between Safran Electronics & Defense, HeliDax and AMS comes into play. The three partners have signed a letter of intent to establish the connection between Cassiopée and AMS's maintenance information system (MIS) and the integration of its data.
Helidax, which uses MIS within its fleet of 36 EC120B helicopters which fly an average of 22 000 hours per year to train French government pilots, will enable this connection between the two systems to be tested. It should also help develop the automated services which will be associated with it, particularly to maintain navigability, improve safety and reduce maintenance costs.
Diagram of the digital chain proposed. © Safran Electronics & Defense
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Léo Barnier
Specialized journalist
Industry & Technology, Equipments, MRO
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