Helicopter Track and Balance Training | Airbus EC135
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- Опубліковано 9 січ 2023
- In this video we go through a complete track and balance of an Airbus EC135 aircraft. Granted, this was not a complicated T&B issue. A track ad balance procedure should follow these basic steps:
-Ground run: Balance. Correct for severe out of balance.
-Hover Flight: Track. Check and correct for out of track primarily, this will help correct an out of balance.
-Flight: High speed track. Check and correct track at airspeeds 80 kts, 120 kts, and about 130kts. This will lower the vertical vibration. Here is a video explaining high speed tracking... • Track and Balance trim...
-Hover: Balance. Check and correct for final balance, adjusting balance weights as necessary.
Points to remember:
* Track affects balance.
* Adjusting trim tabs affects balance.
*Large balance weights will damage the blade cuff if installed on the bottom of the weight stack.
*PC link rod end bearings must have the RED warning area below the jam nut after adjustment.
*This video and the information within it are out of date the day of publication. Always review the current revision of the aircraft maintenance manual for the correct maintenance procedures.
*The aircraft may fly for over a year at the current vibration levels after you finish track and balance. When possible, spend the extra couple of flights to lower the vibration as much as you can, your crew and your aircraft will appreciate that.
Lowering the vibrations in flight will ultimately save the customer money with less wear on components and less out of service time for vibration discrepancies.
Regards,
-Helicopter Maintenance Help Desk
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Update 5/30/2023:
Here is a link to the google docs tracking sheet that I made up. Let me know if you have any issues viewing the spreadsheet.
docs.google.co...
and
drive.google.c...
#helicopter #airbushelicopters #ec135 #trackandbalance #aircraftmaintenance #helicoptermaintenance - Розваги
Fixed wing mechanic here, trying to learn about track and balance. This video was awesome bro, thanks!
Thank you, Much appreciated!
Just a simulator pilot here with some limited RL time. Really enjoyed the video as it explained the concept well. The only thing I'm missing is how the measurement equipment works technically. That'd be interesting for ppl like me who want to dive down the rabbit hole.
Thanks. I’ll make a video on that in the future, but I’ll have to do more research. It’s complicated but not if that makes sense, a lot of time has gone by since I really understood how it works.
Great video. I'm not an aircraft maintenance person of any sort, but I did work in vibration analysis and found this informative and easy to follow along with. Good job.
Thank you for the kind words. This kind of stuff will humble me as soon as I think I know what I’m doing. It’s crazy. What kind of vibration analysis have you been involved in?
Very informative and well explained! I'm not an aircraft engineer myself, although I am a qualified earth moving techcincian (diesel) & heli pilot, so I found this very interesting and can imagine the satisfaction when getting the blades close to perfect after an exercise like that. Thanks for sharing.
Much appreciated, thank you for your comments.
Thanks for the video I've learned a few things I didn't know. Also good charts that you made
Thank you. I’m trying to put the track charts on google drive or something for all to use. I just need the time to figure it out.
Great video. I teach at an aviation school and going to show your video to my students.
Awesome! This aircraft was a simple one, so the normal ideas make sense. I hope this helps your students. When I went to A&P school, helicopter training was hard to find. Thank you for watching and Sharing, I appreciate you.
How has the training of new A&P mechanics been going?
Thanks for these videos! I have my airframe and am working on my power plant and want to get into helicopters. These videos make the basic stuff in class mean so much more
Thank you. I appreciate your kind words.
A tail rotor balance video would complement this video nicely. Your explanations are concise and to the point. Much appreciated. I am now a subscriber to your channel. Great Video, thank you.
Thanks. I’m working on a tail rotor balance video. I should have it up after I wrap my brain around it. Ha!
I need to get involved in another tail rotor balance. I need more data. It may be a little while.
Great video! I think you do a great job of outlining the issues and principles behind MR T&B. This aside, I would not recommend adjusting the yellow (Master) blade as the manual explicitly forbids it "Do not adjust the rotating control rod of the reference main rotor blade (Yellow marking)". This can cause issues with either high or low autorotation rpm. On other types, making this kind of adjustment requires re-checking the auto NR.
Thanks for the input. I agree with not changing the yellow pc link normally.
Cool video Sir. thank you.
Also to remind on the EC135 the mounting sequence of the blades is very important, since it affects the lead/lag.
Thank you.
Thank you for the spread sheets.
Sure thing.
Thanks again, really good, very educational
Thank you for the comment, I’m glad people are finding this video useful
Friend, cool video, Thank you! Please make a video on how to use Micro Vib 2.
Thanks for the kind comment. I plan on eventually making a video on the Micro Vibe 2, but I only know the basics. I need to learn a little more about some of the options.
Thanks for the answer. You are doing important work. Good luck.🤝
Good morning sir , thanks for this presentation.
Thank you. I am doing what I can to help out the maintainers out there. Just doing my part.
Great video! I was looking for some videos/articles to understand better track&balance. Hope to see more videos from you! Greetings from Polish Medical Air Rescue aircrtaft mechanic ;)
Thank you! I’m glad you’re here.
I read your comment a long time ago and forgot where you were from. I appreciate that you watch my videos all the way from Poland! Much respect. And greetings from Virginia, US.
Hello sir , really very important presentation, useful, I'm maintenance hélicoptère AS355N 03 blades.
Thanks
Hello, can you please explain what happens to the blade if you bend the trailing edge trim tab down or up? i´m student of atpl(h) and the book
sed:
Bending the trim tab down will cause the blade to track down, if the blade is seen to be tracking high.
Bending the trim tab up will cause the blade to track up, if the blade is seen to be tracking low
but i think is ; bending down will cause the blade go up from the aerodinamic
and other book is the same that i think.
thanks!
If you bend the tab up then the blade will fly higher, bending down will cause the blade to fly lower. I think it works like bending the tab up causes the trailing edge to have a higher downward force causing the leading edge to fly higher. If that makes sense.
@@HelicopterMaintenance it dosn´t work like a Flap of an aeroplane (flap down + angle of attack) wing goes up, is not the same concept , from what I can understand? this is the info from my book : ( the other info is from the cuestion bank im confused )
Trim tabs are made from thin sheets of steel or aluminium which can be bent by hand. Bending a tab down increases the camber of the blade, thus increasing its lift; the blade will fly higher. Bending the tab up reduces the blade's camber, thus reducing its lift; the blade will fly lower.
Blades may have to be re-tracked during their lifetimes as bearings and links become worn. A new blade also needs to be tracked.
thanks for your time!!
Hello sir , thanks for this important presentation. I have a question: if the pilote say that he has vibration lateral in flight , for you it's better to begin with inspection of different rotating parts like main rotor , tail rotor , transmission , bearing before track and balance .
Thanks sir.
Best regards.
I would ask if the vibration just started or did it slowly get worse. Then do a general visual inspection of the blades to see if there’s damage or cracks. Look at where the blade mounts to the hub and the blade dampers. Look at the star flex for cracks. If everything looks good then set up the track and balance equipment and look at the lateral out of balance on the ground and a hover (as long as it’s safe to fly). If you don’t see any damaged parts then there could be water in the blade. Good luck. Let me know if you find anything crazy.
@@HelicopterMaintenance hello everybody, thanks sir for the feedback, really we have the same analysis.
I wish you success and happiness in your life.
Best regards
Question why was this aircraft so far out of track and balance
Great question. Honestly I don’t have an perfect answer. When I get a chance I’ll go back and research the maintenance that was done before the track and balance. I think the periodical was done so more than likely the blade damper support bearings were replace. Also maybe 1 or more PC link bearings were replaced. Possibly the bearing block. I’ll get back to you. To be honest, the .6 ips in a hover seems high but there’s a chance the vibe decreased with airspeed. But that’s doesn’t really matter, you would never check that , you would start with checking the ground and hover. The flight crew that I work with regularly are pretty good at letting me know if there’s a vibration that they don’t like. Thank you for the question.
Oh I forgot to mention, we just checked the track and balance after other maintenance almost 500 hours and 12 months after this. And even after changing pu foils on some of the blades the vibration and blade track was amazingly low, no adjustments needed. Also, I remember that prior to the T&B in this video all the pu foils were changed and the paint on the blades was touched up. A couple small spots of grey and a decent amount of yellow near the tips of the blades.
Its me again.I have questions about paint 40 mm and 60mm and Din 4mm viscosity meters.AMM 62-11-00,?
Which chapter in 62-11-00? Give me a paragraph too on what you’re talking about?
Where did you find those track and balance work sheets? Thanks for the video.
The worksheet for vibration is in the maintenance manual, AMM 18-10-00, 5-1 and 18-11-00, 5-2 (which is kind of strange because that’s the tail rotor balance section). The track worksheet I made, it’s a spreadsheet that I typed up in excel. Something like it used to be in the Maintenance Manual but I think it was removed a while ago, I cannot find it in there now. I hope this helps.
@@HelicopterMaintenance could you send your spread sheet from exel?
@@jonkinter8822 for sure. I’m traveling, give me a day or so
@@jonkinter8822 I put the excel sheet on google docs, the link is below. Check it out and make sure that you can access the sheet. I am new at google docs.
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14l2oGmjDDcVlC47vj5sQPPtYZfn5SMi0/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100878337298908589899&rtpof=true&sd=true
Here is a copy of the old tracking sheet that used to be in the maintenance manual, drive.google.com/file/d/1izgA1SdUxJe-N4fvckArvom0zqORcQ92/view?usp=sharing
Good stuff!! Choppers are such fine machines. Do you still put a piece of reflective tape on the bottom of the blade tips that the instrument can see? Or is that old technology?
In the past I used a Vibrex 2000, this machine had a strobe so you had reflectors that you had to install on the underside of the blades. The reflectors were different colors and different shapes. Shapes like / \ | -.
I have also used the RADS, but very little. With the rads you use a camera and the tips of the underside of the blades is painted black.
I have also used Chadwick 8500, but I honestly forgot almost everything about that machine when using it to track a main rotor.
The new track and balance machines are pretty high tech and can measure an out of balance down to 0.01 ips or better.
Thanks for watching! I appreciate the comments and questions.
@@HelicopterMaintenanceWhen we've used Chadwick in the past, I always cursed them. Lots of cycles trying to find the sweet spot. Some units like the Vibrex we'd get it in 2 or 3 cycles. I'm not quite old enough, but some of the guys I've worked with were old enough to do track with chalk and broom handles? I think?
Some shops will get it to .2 and they're done. And yeah, we all hate those guys! And some guys... just aren't talented. It's great working with someone who knows what he's doing...
@paulcantrell01451 I really liked the Vibrex 2000. And to be honest, I don’t even remember if it gave me corrections. I would just use it to get the measurements. I work with a lot of guys who will get a helicopter vibration just below the limits and call it quits, sometimes that’s just the way the operation has to work. If you have the opportunity to dial it in, I recommend doing that because it might fly for another two years And a borderline vibration will wear out a whole lot of parts. Thanks for your comments, my friend.
Is it possible to get some copies of your charts??
If you go to the description of the video I linked to the blank charts on my shared Google drive. I’m a mechanic so I may have not linked the docs correctly, I lack in IT skills. Check it out and let me know if the 2 files in the bottom of the description section are what you need or if there something else I can help find.
FCP on a 145. Do you have any videos on tail rotor balance? Just looking to get a better understanding of the solutions provided on the mircovibe to get this tail in balance.
I don’t have anything on a tail rotor balance at this time. When you say FCP what do you mean? Do you mean Fenestrom? Like on the newer 145’s? Let me know and I’ll see what I can do. But it might be a while. I know when I get jammed up I usually talk to Mike Matler for the EC135s tech support. Those guys in Grand Prairie are squared away.
@@HelicopterMaintenance Functional Check Pilot.
Hey, sorry it’s been a minute, I still haven’t been involved in a tail rotor balance where I could collect the data and pictures like I wanted to to make a decent video. But I’ll get there eventually. It’s on my list.
Your videos are great! Just suscribed and will be in the look out for tail rotor balance video!
@HugoManuel521 thanks! I will hopefully have the TR balance video up in the next 3-4 weeks.
We had a blade change on an as355 and the track and balance was awful. Helicopter was never the same afterwards. This is a black art.
Yes sir. If the blades have completely different amount time, it becomes very difficult to track and balance. Good luck. Sometimes 1 blade just will not fly with the others.
@@HelicopterMaintenance Pilot here, was going to say the same thing. We had a Bell with different time blades. The older one was soft, so it would cone more... They'd be perfect in the hover, but then in forward flight the soft one would start climbing higher and higher. When we finally timed out those blades, the new ones were easy to dial right in. Made a huge difference.
@paulcantrell01451 it’s some crazy magic. Usually if the blades aren’t way out of balance you can usually get them in to a respectable vibration level with hover track then tabs for high speed. But to be honest, sometimes if difficult. Sometimes I think I really know what I’m doing, then I get humbled quickly by a machine that wants to prove a point.
Meine Brüders kommen nach Hause mit schmutzigen Händen gehabt haben bitteschön................!
Sounds good
Do you have issues with water in the blades.
I have seen that in the past a few times. The aircraft that is located at my primary location stays in the hanger unless it’s on a flight, so the blades don’t get beat up by the sun and the weather. The blades that I’ve seen that had water, spent their lives outside in the weather.
We swap water soaked blades continuously
Oh man that sucks. How old are the blades? How old are the helicopters?
@@HelicopterMaintenance not sure i would have to check the hard cards.
I've been told that was a huge issue ( maybe still is for Kaman? ) with wooden blades. Balanced one day, wicked out of balance the next because the humidity changed. Personally I'm more scared by the thought of what the insects might be up to... 😮
Are you a pilot too?
No sir. I have maybe a hand full of hours behind the controls of a helicopter. That was a dream of mine when I was much younger, but not any more. I really enjoy where I am now. 7 on, 7 off, with one ec135 to take care of. The machine at my base is in really good shape. I think the main reason for that is the fact that she gets to stay in a hangar unless she’s flying. Leaving these machines outside for years in all kinds of weather just wears them down. Thanks for watching, I hope you enjoy my content. Regards, Help Desk
No sir. I have maybe a hand full of hours behind the controls of a helicopter. That was a dream of mine when I was much younger, but not any more. I really enjoy where I am now. 7 on, 7 off, with one ec135 to take care of. The machine at my base is in really good shape. I think the main reason for that is the fact that she gets to stay in a hangar unless she’s flying. Leaving these machines outside for years in all kinds of weather just wears them down. Thanks for watching, I hope you enjoy my content. Regards, Help Desk
Wow helicopters are not complicated at all 🤣😲😲
Ha! I know right?!
@@HelicopterMaintenance I am an engineer and I understand that this is an iterative process so every time you change something the other three blades change also so you need some gut feel and the mucho experience to work this properly but I never thought that is such an sensitive process. also I looked up this instrument so you had an accessory like a camera or something which laser scans the blades? you just sit on the passenger side aim on the rotors and can give you this precise information?
Yes sir. It’s either an infrared camera or a laser or pure magic. It comes with the microvibe kit. Then the box will show what the track is. I have used a strobe with the reflectors mounted on the blade tips. The theory is the same. If I remember correctly, the reflective circle on the reflectors is 10mm. So you can kind of figure it out while you’re watching the strobe. I just make sure to take the time and write down everything. There is probably a faster way but I have been successful this way. I hope this helps.