Derco Aerospace has reached an agreement to distribute and install Meta-Fleet Blue Baux systems on Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules.
The Blue Baux system is Derco's response to Lockheed Martin's service bulletin SB 82-788. It uses GPS to measure, record and calculate highly accurate wing equivalent baseline hours (EBH).
The critical fatigue component for the C-130 is the centre wing box, which is structurally more susceptible to mission profile and payload stresses. Corrosion limits are currently based on historical data and engineering judgment, and actual airframe service life depends on which limit, fatigue or corrosion, is reached first.
Derco is the first company in the world to meet the exacting Lockheed Martin SB 82-788 requirements.
"The biggest single challenge in meeting the SB 82-788 is to avoid overestimating EBH, which results in premature maintenance activities and subsequent increased cost of ownership and reduced aircraft availability," says Allan McCray, Derco's director of engineering. "With Blue Baux technology, fleet operators won't have to worry about over- or under-estimation of EBH, as the system is so precise."
Lockheed Martin's recently released service bulletin mandates the establishment and tracking of EBH for C-130 operators. While it is a vital safety and service initiative, it increases the already heavy workload for air and maintenance crew and fleet managers.
The Blue Baux system is designed to simplify operations in the air, enabling flightcrew to focus on operations and mission performance instead of being distracted by manual log entries.
Rugged
The Blue Baux system consists of an onboard rugged computer, compliant with US Department of Defence requirements for control of electromagnetic interference.
The notebook computer is mounted at the navigator's station and links to a ground-based database; it receives relevant flight parameters through standalone hardware featuring GPS technology and groundcrew periodically upload the harvested flight data and calculate EBH.
Blue Baux is fully automated, simple to learn and reduces costs on wing life cycle as well as increasing safety. It is on show for the first time at Derco's stand.
Source: Flight Daily News
