Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) has launched a new diagnostic solution, flight data acquisition storage and transmission system (FAST), for real-time monitoring of aircraft performance trends.
P&WC customer service vice president Raffaele Virgili said the firm aims to offer its customers a planned operating environment where maintenance is synchronised with their schedules and downtime is kept to the absolute minimum.
"Our FAST solution integrates all performance metrics into a single hardware/software solution that eliminates the need for manual downloads and allows operators to plan their maintenance events and minimise aircraft downtime," Virgili said.
The single solution, when installed in an aircraft, automatically acquires, stores and transmits engine and aircraft performance data, which helps in providing an entire picture for enhancing aircraft reliability and minimising aircraft downtime.
The gathered information is analysed by P&WC’s appointed designated analysis centre (DAC), and in a few minutes the engine’s performance data is sent wirelessly to the customer.
Apart from early detection of minor issues, the FAST system allows operators to plan their maintenance sessions before any issues begin to affect missions.
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By GlobalDataIn order to determine whether an aircraft is immediately available or not, the solution also provides post-flight fault code/event review.
Further commenting on the new solution, Virgili concluded that system delivers performance, speed and simplicity whether it is related to asset protection, on-condition maintenance, real-time diagnostics or regulatory compliance.
Currently made available for the Bombardier Learjet 60 and the Dassault Falcon 7X, P&WC’s FAST technology is expected to be installed on the Bombardier Q400 in the second quarter of 2012.
