Airbus Helicopters has announced plans to use robots to paint Airbus Helicopter parts and do other repetitive tasks. The company plans to use a “new generation of humanoid robots” to do this, with the robots imitating “what they see,” rather than being autonomous.

Initially they will start using robots to paint primary Airbus Helicopter parts like the rotor hub, as well as some quite complex markings and decorations on their aircraft.

The company introduced its first robotic applications in 2015, and has said that it will continue to release additional robotic applications “every year or so.” However there is no plan to replace humans with robots. Rather, it is planned that robots will automate “high-volume repetitive activities” allowing people to focus on other important tasks.

According to Georges-Eric Moufle who heads Airbus Helicopters’ Aeronautical Factory of the Future project, robots will allow them to optimize the “finishing painting workflow” with “low energy consumption.” He further describes this workflow as a process that starts with preparation of the aircraft’s green surface and ends with curing of the final topcoat of paint.

Ultimately, the use of robots for painting Airbus Helicopter parts will help the company “optimize weight and cycle savings,” says Moufle.

The Role of Robots in Airbus Group’s Factory of the Future

According to Airbus robotics expert, Adolfo Suarez Roos, the company aims to develop robots that will be able to interact safely with humans and will be able to adapt to unexpected situations. It was working through the ICARO project to do this, he said.

ICARO (Increase of CAR Occupancy) is a European transport research project that was originally launched in 1997 to develop car-pooling policies in an endeavor to increase car occupancy rates in EU countries.

In a joint interview with Suarez Roos in 2014, Chrisoph Borst, head of autonomy and teleoperation at the German Aerospace Center’s Institute of Robotics and Mechantronics said that for 15 years they had been developing motion capabilities of robots. The next stage was to include human workers, and develop language that would enable them to work with robots. Since the process of human thinking is “really complicated,” he said they would start with relatively simple interactions and cited human collaborations with dogs as an example.

Since Airbus produces on average 1.5 aircraft every day, Suarez Roos said they needed to program robots to do tasks that last several hours.

In addition to painting Airbus Helicopter parts, the company is planning to get robots to do waterproofing tests on doors, windows and fuselages. Robots would be programed to track each bit of these various Airbus Helicopter parts, listening for noises that might indicate leaks of any sort in the airframe. They are also reportedly looking at using robots to increase automation when manufacturing the skin of helicopter blades.

Prime Industries Role in Provision of Airbus Helicopter Parts

While US-based Prime Industries doesn’t have any plans to employ robots in the foreseeable future, the company does offer new, repaired and overhauled Airbus Helicopter parts, as well as parts for Airbus planes, Lockheed and Boeing. Prime Industries also offers Airbus Helicopter maintenance services.

A new United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness directive (AD) for Airbus Helicopter parts has been designed to prevent the failure of parts that could lead to loss of control of helicopters in the air.

In a nutshell, the AD is intended to reduce the “life limits” of specific Airbus Helicopter parts and will require that these are removed from the aircraft once it has reached its life limit.

The airworthiness directive refers to six Airbus Helicopter models:

1. EC135P1
2. EC135P2
3. EC135P2+
4. EC135T1
5. EC135T2
6. EC135T2+

All six of these helicopters are approved by Germany’s aviation authority, and are approved for operation in the US. However the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued an AD in August 2013 that was aimed to “correct an unsafe condition” for these and another three models, EC635T1, EC635P2+ and EC635T2+.

The new US AD does not apply to the EC635 models because these aren’t type certificated in the USA.

Published in the Federal Register on June 6, 2016, the US directive will become effective from July 11.

Background to the New FAA AD

The FAA first published its intention to amend the regulations in November 2014. The stated intention was to improve the safety of Airbus Helicopters in flight.

Only three people commented on the intention of the FAA to issue the AD. All believed the directive was unnecessary because all operators must in any case use the most current revision of the master servicing manual for Airbus Helicopter maintenance. The FAA disagreed based on information provided by EASA, believing that it was both in the public interest and interest of air safety that steps be taken to ensure that “unsafe conditions” be prevented by mandatory Airbus Helicopter maintenance – more specifically by replacing certain Airbus Helicopter parts when they reach their “life limit.”

According to the FAA there are 267 Airbus Helicopters on the US registry that are affected.

The New AD Regarding Airbus Helicopter Parts

The new AD defines an unsafe condition as “failure of a critical part” that could “result in loss of control of the helicopter.”

Actions required before any further flights are made are listed in the AD. They include updating revised life limits on component history cards or records for specific swashplate parts, including various rings and bolts, and for mixing lever gear unit parts. The original life limit as well as the new reduced life limit is given for each part, together with its part number.

Any of these Airbus Helicopter parts that have reached or exceeded the newly revised life limit have to be removed.

If a helicopter operator is not able to do this immediately, and needs to get the aircraft to a maintenance facility to replace the part, they may apply for a special one-time flight permit.

Airbus Helicopter Parts from Prime Industries

Whether your Airbus Helicopter parts are included in the new FAA AD or not, Prime Industries can help. You can check or current inventory online or contact us directly for assistance.

The fatal crash of an airbus Group SE H225 Super Puma helicopter in Norway late April has highlighted the vital importance of part service and repair work on all aircraft.

While it is still not known what caused what has been described as a “rare” accident, amateur video footage captured at the time shows the rotor head with blades still attached breaking away from the helicopter while it is flying in the air. All 13 people on board were killed when the aircraft plunged into the sea.

Helicopter flight data (FDR) retrieved from  the flight recorder and data from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) is all said to be of “good quality” and is currently being analyzed in Norway. While no official report has yet been issued by the Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN), the owners of the aircraft, CHC Helicopter have told media that there had not been any emergency calls from the two pilots prior to the crash. They also confirmed that the fated helicopter had been forced to return to base twice in the week before the accident because of a warning light.

The rotor was reported retrieved from a rocky outcrop more than 200 m from where the helicopter crashed just west of the city of Bergen, its destination. After the wreckage had been moved to facilities of the AIBN in Lillestrøm, AIBN reported that they will still searching for Airbus Helicopter parts that were “connected to the main gearbox.” Meanwhile, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued an emergency airworthiness directive (AD) that stated it appeared that the main rotor hub had separated from the main gearbox, in flight.

Weather conditions on the day of the crash were normal and the AIBN has said it believes the incident was caused by “a technical failure.” As a precautionary measure, the EASA AD called for “before next flight” inspections on all EC 225 helicopters, and for “any discrepancy” to be reported to both EASA and Airbus Helicopters.

Airbus Helicopters’ Safety Management System

Airbus Helicopters has a strict safety management system (SMS) that promotes “a reactive, proactive and predicative organizational approach to safety risks.” This includes:

• Safety by training of pilots and flight crews.
• Safety by design that includes constant technological improvements aimed at safety. Aircraft design features include:
  • The Fenestron shrouded tail router
  • Starflex and Spheriflex main rotor hubs
  • Crashworthy seats
• Safety by maintenance which specifies three pillars of maintenance:
  • Maintenance procedures
  • Maintenance documentation
  • Maintenance training
• Safety by co-operation with suppliers and operators.
• Safety documents that are supplied to the industry.
• Safety news that is released regularly.
• Safety events that the company supports worldwide.

Safety Maintenance, Part Service and Repair Work Vital

Shortly after the accident in Norway, a spokesman for the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority said that maintenance of the helicopter had been delayed twice during 2015. Mr. Hege Aalstad, a senior legal advisor at the Authority said there had been applications for travel-time extensions. Each was for a delay of 100 flying hours. These were granted.

Airbus Helicopters emphasizes the importance of a proper maintenance regime, stating that it “plays a crucial role in supporting helicopter safety.” This includes providing invaluable information to help maintenance teams “make the right decisions” when it comes to keeping aircraft airworthy.

The company also offers an online technical publication service that provides documentation supporting safe operations as well as maintenance of its helicopters. These include various maintenance manuals that list processes to be followed when identifying, maintaining and repairing helicopter parts.

Prime Industries helps owners and operators ensure that proper maintenance procedures are followed by supplying new and overhauled quality Airbus Helicopter parts as well as part service and repair. So don’t delay crucial maintenance work; contact the Prime team and we’ll provide the parts you need, when you need them.

Airbus Helicopters SMS

The most recent step in the FAA’s dedicated Safety Management Systems, the new Compliance Philosophy focuses on the fundamental goals of the industry, to make air travel as safe as possible.

Launched early October 2015, the FAA Compliance Philosophy aims to:

• Identify problems in the National Airspace System before incidents or accidents happen
• Use the best possible tools to fix problems that are found
• Monitor every identifiable situation to make sure that things “stay fixed”

At a recent Flight Safety Foundation media function, FAA administrator, Michael Huerta acknowledged that the traditional approach to aviation safety was to analyze accidents after the event, and then try to stop the same thing from happening. But things at the FAA have changed.

The change in focus began with the formation of the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) that aims to detect risk and in that way prevent serious incidents and accidents from happening. It does this by focusing on intense data analysis of information gathered from everyone in the industry, from mechanics to pilots, and identifying trends. According to Huerta, this has enabled the CAST to reduce the risk of fatalities in US commercial aviation by as much as 83 percent in a decade.

This is good, but the new Compliance Philosophy aims to improve safety even more.

The FAA Compliance Philosophy

Effective from 26 June 2015, the FAA Compliance Philosophy recognizes that an operator’s ability and willingness to operate in accordance with the Safety Management System’s core principles and safety standards is the greatest systemic safety risk the industry faces. To achieve compliance, they use tools including training and documented improvements, and share information about procedures that should be followed. When flagrant or willful violations are detected, or when there is any form of refusal to cooperate to correct deviant action, then enforcement tools come into play.

Says Huerta: “In all cases, the goal is to achieve rapid return to compliance, to mitigate the risk, and to ensure positive and permanent changes that benefits the aviation industry. “

In reality though, while the aviation community has a statutory obligation to comply with legal standards, the FAA’s safety system is based largely on, and depends on, voluntary compliance.

The ability of the new FAA Compliance Philosophy succeeding depends on “an open and transparent exchange of information and data” between the aviation (or airspace) industry and the FAA, says Huerta. Their biggest fear is that operators who make inadvertent mistakes might try and hide what they have done because they are afraid of being punished. Instead the FAA wants to do all it can to learn from any failings that might happen, whether they are mechanical or human, and change whatever they can to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Making The FAA Compliance Philosophy Work

The FAA has begun training all its employees to enable them to implement the new Philosophy. So instead of using preplanned calendar dates to determine when surveillance and inspections should be conducted, they are relying on relevant data. They are also asking employees to use critical thinking to successfully implement the Compliance Philosophy.

Above all, inspectors are being ask to use their qualifications, experience and expertise, and their own judgment to not only identify risks, but also to identify the best tools to fix problems permanently, and to work with operators and individuals to achieve these goals.

Of course this type of formal philosophy cannot be a one-sided operation, and so the FAA has called on the industry (particularly certificate holders) to both develop and implement any risk control necessary within the environment they operate in. They have specified that industry should:

• Think about outcomes and performance
• Identify hazards
• Mitigate associated risk
• Implement procedures and practices that will encourage those involve to report anything that will help the Compliance Philosophy work

The focus is on accountability, that accepts responsibility but looks ahead, and blame, that tends to focus on punishing those for things that have already happened. Ultimately, says Huerta, “the idea is to look at the operator’s compliance attitude.”

In the greater scheme of things, it is really a pursuit of safer skies that draws on a collective responsibility to find ways in which the industry as a whole can evolve and improve.