Honeywell Aerospace has extended its agreement with Transworld Aviation in the Middle East to include component supplies for two of its most widely used turboshaft engines in the region — the T53 and T55.

Transworld Aviation is already a regional distributor of Honeywell’s Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS), a technology that improves helicopter safety and maintenance by communicating to crews when maintenance may be required to enable them to repair or replace parts as needed, a statement said.

“After half a decade of successfully working with Transworld Aviation in the Middle East, we have extended our agreement to 2018 and expanded it to include new parts, making it even easier for regional operators to get the spares they need as quickly as possible,” said Steve Lien, vice president, Defense and Space International, Honeywell Aerospace.

“By supplying parts locally through Transworld Aviation we are reducing costs and grounding time for the numerous operators flying T55- and T53-powered aircraft in the Middle East.”

Both the T53 and T55 engines see regular active service on helicopters flying throughout the Middle East today, where they operate with a high degree of reliability despite the hot, dusty conditions that can often cause greater wear on aircraft components.

The T53 powers many rotorcraft including the Bell AH-1 Cobra and UH-1 Iroquois, while the T55 powers the widely used CH-47 Chinook heavy lift helicopter.

Transworld Aviation will also continue to distribute Honeywell’s HUMS in the region. Given the Middle East’s particularly challenging environmental conditions, HUMS is an important technology for the region’s operators, the statement said.

"It improves safety and reduces unplanned grounding by monitoring for irregular vibrations and other fault indicators within critical components along the helicopter drivetrain. By alerting maintenance crews to potential failure early, operators can take an on-condition approach to maintenance, which lowers costs and reduces safety-of-flight risks," it said.

Honeywell’s HUMS products have been used on thousands of commercial rotorcraft around the world including a wide variety of civil and military platforms from AgustaWestland, Bell Helicopter, Eurocopter, MD Helicopters and Sikorsky, it added.  -TradeArabia News Service