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Bell 505 Maintenance - Live Mounts, Rotor Track & Balance and More - Bell Tech Talk Ep #13 — Transcript

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0:01Welcome to the Bell Tech Talk segment of
0:03the Vertical Emerald podcast. This
0:05segment takes you into the nuts and
0:06bolts of helicopter maintenance. It's
0:08about safety, support, and operational
0:10readiness. Top priorities for the Bell
0:12team. Join us for technical insights and
0:14personal stories from the front lines of
0:16helicopter maintenance from the
0:17industryleading experts at Bell.
0:19>> Welcome to this episode of the Vertical
0:21MRO Bell Tech Talk series. My name is
0:23David Critzcamp and I'm a host and
0:25producer for the Vertical MRO podcast
0:27and I'm excited to be jumping in with
0:29you guys for this next round of tech
0:30talks. I've really enjoyed learning from
0:33this series and the value that the Bell
0:35team is bringing to our helicopter
0:36maintenance community as a part of
0:38releasing these episodes. I think we're
0:41already at a point of where this will be
0:43episode four or five for the year. So,
0:46it's uh been great. a lot of
0:49conversations on G1000, on autopilot,
0:52even more deep dives in into uh track
0:55and balance. And this episode's going to
0:57have a little bit of all those pieces
0:58plus more. So, joining me today is
1:02joining me today is Eric Parent and
1:04Jason Estfan. Welcome back, Jason, to
1:06the recording. We had you on for the
1:08G1000. And Eric, uh, welcome to your
1:11first time with Bell Tech Talk.
1:13>> Thank you. Always a pleasure. So
1:16briefly, Eric and Jason, if I could just
1:18get you to reintroduce yourself, Jason,
1:21and introduce yourself, Eric, to the
1:23Bell Tech Talk audience. Just a little
1:25bit about your roles at Bell and how
1:27you've been involved in the Bell505,
1:29which will be our our topic today for
1:31this episode.
1:33>> Okay. Thank you. So, I'm Eric Bara. I
1:36started working for an operator back in
1:401996.
1:41So, uh that was in the fall of 96. So
1:44yes, 30 years ago this fall. I guess I
1:48like round figures because I start with
1:50Bill in 2006. That was in August. So 20
1:54years ago last month.
1:55>> Congratulations.
1:56>> Thank you. Uh Bill, I started on the
1:59pre-flight. So doing the uh test flight
2:02of the production aircraft fresh out of
2:04the the line, the first uh ground run on
2:07tie downs and uh the first few uh three
2:10or five hours of flight. About three
2:12years after that, I joined PSC. So at
2:15PSC, I'm with the light and intermediate
2:18group uh supporting our customers. I
2:21cover track and balance, flight
2:23controls, rollers,
2:26um hydraulic.
2:28I did a bunch of uh structure at first,
2:32but I don't do that much anymore. I also
2:36do vibration analysis and the hub
2:38system.
2:38>> Oh, wow. So just a couple of topics that
2:42you're still involved in in supporting
2:44for the light intermediate market. And
2:46so you started off with doing the uh the
2:50test sort of program for the helicopters
2:52that were coming off the line. That
2:54would have been pretty interesting. And
2:57was that sort of a function of your
2:58experience previous to coming into Bell
3:01or was that just the best way to get a
3:03general sense and familiarity with the
3:06multiple areas that you're going to be
3:08supporting later on as as a PSSE?
3:10>> A little bit of both. Uh on the
3:13pre-flight you have uh like PSC people
3:16coming from the line that uh started
3:18building the aircraft. They know like
3:20almost every rivet on that aircraft and
3:23they work way up to pre-flight. And you
3:26have also people like me coming from an
3:29operator that runs these aircraft and
3:32just joining the team at at pre-flight.
3:35>> Oh, amazing. And Jason, welcome back to
3:38to the recording. Uh can you just give a
3:40sort of a reintroduction to uh the
3:42audience of yourself and your experience
3:44in time with Bell?
3:45>> I'm Jason. Obviously, I've been working
3:47on Bell helicopters for about 32 years.
3:51Started when I was 19 years old in the
3:53Army. Served in the US Army for 20
3:55years, ending my career working with the
3:58T867 program at Fort Rucker. Uh upon
4:02completion of that program of my
4:05military career, I joined Bell as the
4:08field service rep to the TA67 program.
4:11And at the end of the 67 program, Bel
4:14brought me on as a customer support
4:17engineer
4:19uh doing commercial aircraft in the US
4:21Southeast. I'm primarily a generalist in
4:24all systems on all Bell helicopters. You
4:28know, we of course all have our gifts in
4:30different areas. I'm very good with
4:32avionics and a lot of the mechanicals,
4:35but through the cse team, we all work
4:38together really well and we can lean on
4:40each other for any of our weaknesses.
4:42And by using your cse, you can get a lot
4:46of those easier answers, quick answers,
4:48things like that, things that don't
4:50necessarily need to go out to PSSE. And
4:53we also work very, very closely with
4:56PSSE. If I were happen to have a
4:59question on rotor smoothing that wasn't
5:01working out, I'll call Eric directly and
5:03say, "Hey, dude, you got to help me out
5:05with this one."
5:06>> That is the beauty of a of a teamworks
5:08of a teamwork setting. So, yeah, that
5:10makes total sense, Jason.
5:12>> Yeah, absolutely. PSSE and your CSE
5:14team, we're not competitors. We are part
5:16of a team. Yeah, these guys are very
5:19specialized and extremely knowledgeable
5:22in their assigned areas. And as cse,
5:27we're their eyes and ears. We interact
5:29with the customer. If they need us to
5:32specifically look at something, if
5:34they're working on a case and they're
5:35like, you know, we're we're we're not
5:38getting very clear answers, can you go
5:39to this customer's location and check
5:42something for us? We will do that if it
5:44if uh our travel time allows. A very
5:48comprehensive customer support program
5:50here at Bell. uh and it's reflected
5:52every year in the OEM surveys that are
5:54completed by Vertical. It's uh it's a a
5:57constant theme for sure within uh Bell
6:00and Bell's support to the to the people
6:02in the field um and the operators in the
6:04field. So, in this particular instance
6:07for our our topic here for episode 13,
6:10we're going to be um taking sort of a
6:12new approach to uh the series where
6:15we're going to be doing a bit of a a
6:16deeper dive as it were into uh a
6:19specific model or airframe type. So,
6:22we're going to be taking common
6:23maintenance topics and questions from
6:25the field and digging into the practical
6:27knowledge behind them over time. The
6:29goal is to do this across multiple Bell
6:31platforms and build Beltech Talk into an
6:34ongoing resource for maintainers on
6:37specific airframe types as well as the
6:39other topics that we continue to touch
6:40on like cleaning aircraft track and
6:43balance best practices as a whole and so
6:45forth. For this episode, we're going to
6:47focus on the Bell505. With over 600
6:51Bell505s having been delivered already
6:53and operating in more than 66 different
6:55countries, it is a great airframe for us
6:57to turn the Bell Tech Talk spotlight
6:59into. So, by the end of this episode, if
7:02there's still a maintenance topic or
7:04question that we haven't covered on the
7:05505, be sure to let us know in the
7:07comments or send an email. The info is
7:09always at the bottom of every show notes
7:11for each episode, and we'd love to hear
7:13from you. So to launch into the topic of
7:15the Bell505, you guys provided a great
7:18outline that was clearly informed by uh
7:20some frequently asked questions as it
7:22were that are coming from the field and
7:24one of the first ones was on live mount
7:26servicing. So with the live mount
7:29servicing system for the Bell505 for
7:31anyone who doesn't live in the Bell
7:33ecosystem every day, could you give us
7:35sort of that 30 secondond groundwork
7:38idea of what the live mount system is,
7:40what it's doing for the aircraft and why
7:42servicing it correctly would be so
7:44important? Okay. So, first live mound
7:47that stands for liquid inertia vibration
7:52eliminator and uh they're mainly for the
7:56two per rev type of vibration. So, they
7:59will work with the the resonance from
8:03the from the main rotor RPM. Each time
8:06the blade turn is a one per rev, but you
8:09got two blade in the system. So at each
8:12turn there's also a two per revolution
8:14vibration and these are the one the live
8:17mount will uh will get rid of almost. Oh
8:21the way the system works is it's very
8:24similar to a shock absorber in concept.
8:27You have an oil and pressurized nitrogen
8:32inside that cartridge. And what that
8:34does is by pushing the oil and the
8:37nitrogen through orififices in the live
8:40mount that gives you your vibration
8:43attenuation.
8:44>> So for the live mount system that is on
8:46the transmission uh talking about it
8:49being set up through nitrogen and oil as
8:52it were my mind immediately went to the
8:55conventional idea of an engine mount but
8:58with this being on transmission.
9:00What is it that is there's something
9:03unique then to the 505 with this live
9:05mount system that a maintainer would be
9:07wanting to be keeping uh top of mind as
9:10they're working with or or servicing the
9:13unit?
9:14>> Well, it's the live mount is not unique
9:17to the 505 even within the bill uh the
9:19Bell fleet. We do have a much larger
9:21version of the system on our 429, but
9:24when servicing it, you have to be very
9:26careful to service it properly. And
9:30there's one of those things that you
9:32can't check to see if it's serviced
9:34properly without servicing it because
9:36you change the result by measuring it.
9:39There's a straighter valve, very similar
9:41to the type of valve that you use to
9:43fill your car tire. Well, you know, when
9:44you use a pressure tester on a car tire,
9:47that you're letting a tiny bit of air
9:49out. Well, the nitrogen in this live
9:52mount is under extremely high pressure
9:55and extremely low volume. So letting
9:57just a little bit of that gas out
10:00reduces the amount of nitrogen in the
10:02system. So you basically you service it
10:06in order to ensure that it is properly
10:10charged.
10:11>> Uh a great way of describing a system
10:13like that, Jason. That's super helpful.
10:15And with that sort of highlighted and
10:17that groundwork established about the
10:19live mount system, if you guys would
10:22wouldn't mind uh expanding or getting
10:24into the servicing areas that Bell wants
10:26to highlight as it pertains to nitrogen
10:29or the field servicing for for the live
10:31mounts.
10:33>> Okay. Um maybe maybe first just to add
10:37that on the live mount that shredder
10:39valve is not on top because of there's
10:43not enough room. It's a little low on
10:46the uh gas reservoir. When you open that
10:50valve, some liquid may escape when you
10:54open the valve. That's why also it's
10:56important to put the pressure on the
10:58tool first to proceed with the servicing
11:00step. There's no diaphragm. The first
11:04version there was a diaphragm, but uh
11:07like on the 429, we don't have a
11:09diaphragm anymore. So that's why Paul
11:12can escape from the sugar valve.
11:14>> The the benefits that the the live mount
11:16is is giving to the the system as a
11:18whole uh is is pretty clear. And it does
11:23sound like there's a bit of nuance and a
11:25bit of care increased care that is
11:29necessary for a system of this nature.
11:33uh as a part of the the the outline
11:35here, I'm seeing that the procedure one
11:38obviously has been updated as a part of
11:40it and that there's been a change of
11:42tooling and intervals and some of the
11:44process differing and that there is a
11:47benefit obviously associated with this
11:49change. Uh would you guys mind expanding
11:52on why there has been that procedure
11:55update? Well, the big deal is we
11:59published a new technical bulletin that
12:02introduce a procedure to be able to
12:05service the liquid, service the oil in
12:07the live mount. And you have to think
12:09that the nitrogen pressure, if there's
12:12no diaphragm, the nitrogen will mix with
12:16the oil. And that could be an issue that
12:20the oil level will raise above that
12:23shredder valve level just because
12:26there's gas mix with the oil. So that's
12:29why sometime you may have liquid that
12:32will expel with the nitrogen when you do
12:35servicing and if you lose liquid as same
12:38as you lose nitrogen uh the livemon
12:41performance will degrade rapidly. Uh, is
12:44there anything else that we'd want to
12:45touch on as it pertains to the the live
12:48mount system?
12:49>> Well, you may wonder if you can't check
12:52the live mount, how do I know if my live
12:54mount is properly serviced? You know,
12:56yes, it does get serviced on a regular
12:58interval, but a good clue that your live
13:02mount may not be uh serviced properly is
13:06uh degradation in ride quality. If you
13:09start getting those two per revs before
13:11you start trying to make adjustments on
13:13your rotor system or anything like that,
13:16service your live mounts. Uh, as Eric
13:19mentioned, that o that oil can absorb
13:21some nitrogen. So, especially on a new a
13:24brand new aircraft or a recently
13:26installed live mount, you may have to
13:29service it a little bit more often than
13:32the required interval just to equalize
13:35that uh nitrogen absorption and properly
13:39give properly service the nitrogen to
13:42provide the back pressure to the oil.
13:44Would it be fair to say that feedback
13:46and some lessons have been learned and
13:49adopted by operators in the field then
13:51Jason as as a part of this?
13:53>> Oh absolutely. In fact the tip that I
13:56gave about servicing more often on a
13:59brand new aircraft that comes directly
14:01from feedback in the field. You know
14:04customers saying hey my aircraft has 25
14:07hours on it. It was feeling a little
14:09rough. I service the live mounts. It's
14:10smoothed out. So Oh okay. and then you
14:14find out from another customer that they
14:16did the same thing. Well, then you
14:18suggest it to the third customer and it
14:21corrected the problem. So even though
14:23it's not something that it's the tribal
14:25knowledge and that's a big part of what
14:28PSSE and cse do is we try to consolidate
14:32that tribal knowledge and share it with
14:35our operators out there.
14:37>> Amazing. Well, in an effort to continue
14:40doing that, uh, our next point or next
14:43topic was specifically with the belt. Go
14:45ahead, Eric.
14:46>> Okay. Just things that we've learned,
14:48uh, while we were working for, uh, that
14:51procedure with the vendor of the live
14:53mouth and some operator is that the oil
14:57is in fact very light liquid and it'll
15:01dry to to the air quickly and it's clear
15:05so it doesn't stain. So, it's very hard
15:07to find a a leak of that liquid on the
15:11the live mount. In that procedure,
15:15uh we have a way to uh empty the liquid
15:19from the live mount and replace it. If
15:21you suspect a leak uh in the TB, we say
15:25that you can uh cap back the live mount
15:30and apply the pressure with no liquid.
15:33So only with nitrogen in the TB, only
15:37with the nitrogen in the live mount,
15:40then you can do a leak check. They call
15:43that a micro league detector and we have
15:48that product listed in the TB. It's from
15:50Big Blue. And it'll be able to detect
15:54the most minute leak. And sometime you
15:57have to wait like a minute to see the
16:00bubble uh form. And in the TB we have
16:04two links to uh two video that uh show
16:08that. Oh, I I would have one more point.
16:12In the TB to install the steam of the
16:16shredder valve, we call out the special
16:18tool because you don't want to apply too
16:20much torque when you do that. So those
16:23were also lesson learned.
16:27from the operator. Sometime they would
16:29be able to identify the leak was from
16:31the shredder valve but it was not really
16:35possible to replace it without that tool
16:37before. So now this also helps with the
16:41TB. That is the helpful sort of context
16:43that is uh so great to get that from the
16:46field feedback. So amazing and hopefully
16:49that uh can address and sort of help
16:52with the servicing and smoothing out the
16:54ride for everyone wants a smooth ride in
16:58the helicopter. So the the more we can
17:00do for that and improve that the better.
17:02Uh the next topic that we have up for on
17:05the Bell50 is focused on the hydraulic
17:07pump drive shaft and the NR pickup.
17:10Before we get into the maintenance tips,
17:12can you guys give us a quick refresher
17:14on that relationship and why it's
17:16important for a 505 maintainer to
17:18understand?
17:20>> All right, so uh the relationship with
17:22the hydraulic pump, drive shaft and the
17:24hydraulic pump, the transmission of the
17:27aircraft has an internal transmission
17:30oil pump and there is an output shaft on
17:33that pump. an adapter goes on that uh
17:37sometimes called a spacer that the
17:40hydraulic pump gets mounted on. So to
17:44cover that space between the output
17:46shaft of the transmission driven oil
17:49pump and the hydraulic oil pump, there's
17:51a drive shaft between the two. Now, that
17:56mount or spacer that is between the
17:58transmission and the hydraulic pump is
18:00actually where you mount your NR pickup.
18:05And the interrupter for the monopole NR
18:09pickup is actually integrated into the
18:13hydraulic pump drive shaft. With that
18:16specifically called out about this
18:18relationship between the hydraulic pump
18:20drive shaft and the NR pickup, what
18:22should technicians be looking for during
18:24an inspection that might indicate that
18:26something isn't right or um any sort of
18:29further understandings of what we're
18:31specifically trying to address with this
18:33system at the 505?
18:36If you start receiving an erratic NR,
18:40uh, you know, it'll read 75, but you're
18:42not hearing any change in actual engine
18:45speed or rotor speed. Uh, things like
18:48that, it could mean that things are a
18:50little dirty. Uh, you remember, you have
18:52a hydraulic pump right there and you
18:53have an oil pump right there. If there's
18:55a tiny bit of seepage, that means
18:57there's some oil. And being a monopole
18:59magnetic pickup, the NR sensor will
19:02attract any metal filings and oil uh
19:06that are mixed with it, that can throw
19:09off your NR sensor. So, the first thing
19:12you should do when you start having an
19:13erratic NR is take that NR sensor out,
19:16wipe it up, clean it really well. A
19:19little bit of filings is a normal thing.
19:21It's just part of operation because you
19:23got splines and a shaft in there.
19:25Excessive filings
19:28should prompt you to inspect your
19:32hydraulic pump drive shaft because
19:34there's splines in there and excess uh
19:38excessive filings would tell you that
19:39your splines might be damaged.
19:41>> Symptoms may point to a drive shaft
19:44issue affecting pickup performance. Is
19:46that sort of what you were covering
19:48there, Jason, or is there something to
19:49expand on on that point?
19:52>> Uh that was part of it. Uh that was the
19:54first step into it. Uh if you completely
19:57lose your NR uh usually including a loss
20:02of hydraulic pressure, obviously you've
20:04had a failure. That drive that hydraulic
20:07pump drive shaft is actually two parts
20:09with a shear rivet between them. So it's
20:13actually designed to be the point of
20:14failure if necessary between the
20:17hydraulic pump and the transmission oil
20:19pump. Okay, Eric, from a PSC perspect
20:22perspective, is there anything else that
20:24uh you're wanting maintainers to be
20:26keeping in mind as it relates to the
20:28system?
20:29>> Well, of course, there's a regular
20:31inspection of the dry shaft that you
20:33have to uh disassemble, clean, and
20:36inspect, I believe, every 150 hours.
20:41And we did receive some uh question from
20:44operator asking how come there's no
20:47servicing for the grease on that shaft
20:50in chapter 12. Well, the servicing
20:54interval is the same as the inspection.
20:57We just assume that once it is all
21:00clean, inspect and found okay, that
21:03you'll apply new grease at installation.
21:06>> So, we've talked about the G1000 before
21:08on Belche Talk. Jason was uh able to be
21:11a part of that conversation from an
21:13operational and maintenance perspective
21:16on episode 11. Um but in this case,
21:19let's look at this through the lens a
21:21bit deeper into the maintenance as it
21:23were for the 505 specifically for a
21:26technician working on the 505. What are
21:29the key differences between the NX and
21:31NXI and how are those differences
21:34represented across the Bell 505 fleet?
21:37Well, that one is definitely for Jason
21:39because uh as I said in my introduction,
21:43I'll do almost anything except avionics.
21:46So when I get an avionic call, the first
21:49thing I do is I hide under my desk and I
21:52transfer the call. So with the 505
21:56earlier aircraft had the G1000 NX
22:00system. current production and
22:01production over the last few years has
22:03upgraded the aircraft to the G1000 NXI
22:07system. The G1000 NXI system has faster
22:12processing, has higher resolution on the
22:16screens,
22:17can hold an internal copy of
22:19configurations. Uh refer to our podcast
22:22on the differences between the G1000s
22:27uh for further information on those. As
22:29far as for the maintainer,
22:32one of the huge things is the ability
22:35for your cruise to do a power assurance
22:38check. Since the 505 with the G1000 NXI
22:44was upgraded to -24,
22:47there's a soft key that you can use to
22:49actually do your power assurance checks
22:52100% internal to the garment. With the
22:56aircraft that still have the NX, you
22:59still have to write everything down and
23:02go and plot it just like we have for
23:06decades. Also, for the maintainer, the
23:08aircraft with the GXI system, it
23:12maintains an internal copy of your
23:14software and your aircraft
23:17configurations.
23:18So, say you have to replace your GIA.
23:21Instead of having to do a full GIA load
23:25and then go in and reload all your
23:27options on your aircraft, what you can
23:30do is use the LRU replacement
23:35uh function. LRU is line replaceable
23:38unit. You go into your G1000, you go
23:42into the LRU replacement function, and
23:44it will program and configure
23:48your new GIA identical to the GIA that
23:51you removed. So, what you outlined
23:54there, Jason, those are the key benefits
23:56of the NXI model versus the NX model
23:59with like the line replaceable unit and
24:01so forth. Yeah, those are some key
24:04differences between the two systems as
24:07it would pertain to the maintainer.
24:10There are some different functions,
24:12especially at the user level for your
24:14pilots. Uh things are a little bit more
24:16expanded, but I was I'm a maintainer at
24:20heart. That's what I think about
24:21maintenance.
24:22>> Oh, for sure. And an avionic system is
24:25going to be the first thing that you're
24:27going to get feedback on when uh the
24:29pilot comes in and lands. Eric, from a a
24:32basic maintenance procedures perspective
24:34and what's been outlined by PSC's in
24:37terms of routine checks or software and
24:40firmware considerations,
24:42is there something that you would that
24:45maintainers would benefit from knowing
24:48when they're thinking of the G1000
24:50system specifically for the the Bell505
24:53or or just caring for it? Well, one
24:56thing is uh you got all of those config
24:59files and config screen. When you get
25:02your system, it might be a good idea to
25:05go through all of these screens and take
25:07pictures
25:09because you have a bunch of uh different
25:12check mark that you select things that
25:15uh you may want to be able to uh to know
25:17what was select and be able to reproduce
25:19if you do a load and things doesn't work
25:22afterwards.
25:24>> For sure. And from a root, is there a
25:26routine check outside of those config
25:30systems that maintainers should be
25:32keeping in mind?
25:33>> Uh, the G1000 is constantly
25:36taking data on your aircraft. Uh,
25:38there's a card that's required at all
25:40times called the maintenance card. And
25:42this is for the NX and the NXI. And it's
25:45basically it's not a flight data
25:48recorder, but what it does is it has
25:50something called a one herz 5 Hz file
25:52and it takes a snapshot of every sensor
25:56on that aircraft at a regular in. So
26:00eventually that card does get full. So
26:03and you start getting erroneous actions
26:07by your G1000. So, I do recommend for
26:09the maintainer that they go in there and
26:12they clear out all those snapshots, the
26:15fault logs, things like that, so that
26:17they have room on that card and can
26:21avoid problems. It's a preventative
26:23maintenance. And as far as like the
26:25physical maintenance of it, uh, of the
26:29screens, you don't want to use chemicals
26:31on the screens. A nice soft cloth and a
26:35little bit of patience keeps those
26:36screens beautiful. You don't want to use
26:40anything uh with any kind of abrasive or
26:45harsh chemicals or you will damage that
26:47screen on the uh GTUs, Garmin display
26:50units. And you're going to have to get
26:53used to that, too. Uh every Garmin
26:55abbreviation is three letters and they
26:57all start with G.
26:59>> Acronyms are a part of life. We we know
27:01this is maintenance and that uh yeah
27:04we're well familiar.
27:06>> Yeah, maybe something to the something
27:09to the point that Jason brought up on
27:12these maintenance card that record data.
27:15Often time at PS we will ask the
27:18customer to send us a file and this file
27:21as Jason mentioned can be huge. So, if
27:25we're looking for one event that
27:27happened three days ago or something,
27:30please just send us the file for that
27:32day because uh we won't be able to
27:34review the whole package.
27:36>> And as I said in the G1000 podcast, the
27:40system can be intimidating. If you've
27:42never worked with a fully integrated
27:44avionic system, it can be absolute
27:48deluge of information and you don't know
27:51what to do with it. So, as a mechanic,
27:54if you have a little bit of downtime,
27:56take the time to go in there, look at
27:58the different menus, look at the
28:00different screens, and you'll be able to
28:03see how different things interact. Like
28:05the system status page, it's a one-page
28:07snapshot that shows you all your LRUS
28:10and how they're working. Oh, I got green
28:13check marks. I'm good to go. Oh, wait a
28:15minute. I have a red check mark there. I
28:17might want to look at that one.
28:19And as Eric had said, if you take
28:23pictures of all your configuration
28:24pages, if you do end up with a problem
28:27in the uh future or you end up having to
28:29replace a LRU, you can ensure that it's
28:33configured properly and you know, trust
28:36but verify that LRU replacement function
28:39is great, but you always want to make
28:41sure everything is just right. The best
28:43way to no longer be intimidated by the
28:46G1000 is to go in there and learn it.
28:50See all the different pages that it
28:51takes you to.
28:52>> Yeah, there's sometimes no Thank you for
28:54indulging me.
28:55>> There's sometimes no replacement for
28:58time spent uh with the unit. And um it's
29:02no different than when you're getting
29:04the newest operating system or whatever
29:06it may be on on your phone. that there's
29:09always new things that are are changing
29:11or tweaks or when you're getting that
29:13new piece of hardware. So, time spent
29:15opening menus. Um, and to your point, I
29:18like that Eric about documenting uh the
29:21status of the unit uh when you receive
29:23it in order to replicate it would be all
29:26helpful points especially. And with
29:28that, we'll shift gears to the main
29:31rotor track and balance system. We've
29:33learned from our response to the 407
29:36track and balance tech talks that
29:37maintainers really are getting value
29:40from getting into the weeds on the
29:42subject of track and balance. So, let's
29:45bring that over to the 505. When you're
29:48tackling main rotor track and balance on
29:50a 505, what would you like them to have
29:53in mind getting into uh performing track
29:55and balance on a 505?
29:57>> Oh, this is so all you, Eric.
30:00So it would depend on the scenario. If
30:04you have a brand new installation, new
30:07blades, you really want to start from
30:10zero. You really want to take the time
30:13to do the alignment of the blades, take
30:16the time to do the static balance
30:19because uh time on the shop floor is way
30:24less expensive than time flying the
30:26aircraft. The other scenario, if the
30:29pilot just reports some issue with the
30:31vibration, you put the equipment on the
30:34aircraft, you may not have to change all
30:37of the adjustments back to none at all
30:40to to start from zero. You may just be
30:43able to do a little tweak and uh fix the
30:46ride uh quickly. Um, one thing I like to
30:50say to people, the more time you spend
30:54aligning your blades and doing your
30:57static balance to get it just right will
31:00come back to you tfold when it comes to
31:02dynamic balancing. Would you agree with
31:04that, Eric?
31:05>> Yes, 100%. It's from the 206B to the
31:10Longranger and the 505. If that blade
31:14system is aligned and balanced
31:18statically, then you do your dynamic and
31:21often time one or two adjustment and
31:24you're done.
31:25>> Uh is there anything particularly uh on
31:28the 505 specific about the approach to
31:31track and bounce or or are some of those
31:34fundamental transferable across other
31:36bell platforms? Um when you're talking
31:39to about 505 track and balance? Well, of
31:43course, the uh RTOR system comes from
31:46the 26L series. So, you'll have the same
31:50principle.
31:52Let's say on the trim tabs, you have
31:54outboard and inboard trim tabs on the
31:58main rotor blades. and the outboard tab.
32:02You will adjust them for the track and
32:05to reduce vibration of course. But
32:08sometime the adjustment possible with
32:12the outboard tab may not uh reduce the
32:16vibration and then you will have to
32:19adjust the inboard tabs to change the
32:23response of the uh of the vibration to
32:26be able to lower them. Uh there's a
32:29difference between uh the outboard and
32:32the inboard tab adjustment on the
32:35outboard
32:37when the equipment let's say the rads
32:39what we recommend at bell ask for a move
32:44of the outboard tab
32:46two or three degree you move that blade
32:49that the equipment ask for. There's an
32:52option to move the opposite trim tab in
32:56the opposite direction and you can
32:58divide the number of degree in two so
33:02you have less degree on the trim tab. On
33:05the inboard tab, when the equipment ask
33:08for an adjustment, then you have to put
33:12that three degree up on one side, let's
33:15say, and also 3° down on the other side.
33:20And it's in the manual, but the
33:22equipment doesn't call for that. So, you
33:25have to remember that. You also call
33:27out, Eric, just the the fact that small
33:30adjustments can make big improvements
33:32when we're talking specifically for for
33:34track and balance. What would your
33:37guidance be for the maintainer out in
33:40the field when trying to keep that in
33:42mind about the importance of of small
33:44adjustments to your point about dividing
33:46the difference of angle on those on
33:49those outer tabs or or in other cases?
33:52Of course, the equipment like the rads
33:55will try to do the work as fast as
33:59possible and it will ask for different
34:02adjustment. Maybe like three or four
34:04adjustment at the same time to a trim
34:07tab, a pitch link, put some hub weight,
34:11and that is okay when you begin a new
34:15system. But if you're trying to do some
34:18finetuning, you don't want to do that.
34:21You just want to do one thing at a time
34:24and see how it goes, if it's beneficial
34:27or not. That way, you be able to
34:30pinpoint if there's a a problem that
34:33you're working in the right or wrong
34:35direction.
34:35>> Is there um any uh fieldproven
34:39techniques or or uh faster
34:42troubleshooting that would be helpful
34:44for the maintainers to keep in mind when
34:46talking about the track and balance for
34:48505? Often time with track and balance,
34:52if you want to take a shortcut, that'll
34:55end up being a longer time to to work
34:58the rotor. When you use the equipment,
35:00the rads will give you predictions and
35:05you want to keep an eye on these
35:06predictions because if you do the move
35:09and then the outcome is not per the
35:13prediction from the rads, you may have a
35:16different response in your rotor system
35:19because the rads works against a
35:23database against an average. So maybe
35:26your specific aircraft is not exactly
35:30like that and you made to uh do smaller
35:34or different adjustment.
35:36>> So we've been using the term track and
35:38balance and that's what most people call
35:40it. They call it rotor smoothing but it
35:42comes down to a larger field of
35:44vibration analysis and elimination. The
35:47RADS kit is great for that. You can use
35:50it for vibration on many parts of the
35:53aircraft called the spectrum vibration.
35:55And on the 505 specifically,
35:58some areas of vibration that occur in
36:01your main rotor system if the live
36:04mounts are not properly serviced, that
36:06can be a source of vibration. But also
36:09the oil cooler fan shaft. There's two
36:13spline adapters, one in the front of the
36:14fan shaft, one in the back of the fan
36:16shaft. If those spline adapters have
36:19been worn or not properly lubricated,
36:22that can give you vibration as well. And
36:26just like the 206 series and the 407
36:29series, your tail rotor drive shaft
36:31hanger bearing hanger bearings, if those
36:34are not properly serviced, that can give
36:37you some vibration as well. Normally
36:40vibrations that are after the engine are
36:42what we call high frequency vibrations
36:44because you got that tailrotor drive
36:45shaft spinning really fast and the
36:48tailrotor uh spinning really fast. So if
36:51your pilot tells you you have a high
36:52freak, start looking at those spline
36:55adapters, those hanger bearings before
36:58you blame your tail rudder. There's a
37:00lot of possible sources that you can
37:02eliminate without hanging your rad's kit
37:04onto your aircraft. Yeah, that's the
37:06sort of helpful context in
37:08troubleshooting and really expanding the
37:11understanding that when the pilot could
37:14be leaning you in one direction in terms
37:16of trying to troubleshoot something and
37:18it's look it's worth looking at the
37:20aircraft in a a whole perspective
37:22especially when we're talking about
37:24vibration. I even remember um Greg Jud
37:28talking on an on a previous one that it
37:30could even be from a perspective of
37:32vibration on on doors and latches and
37:35some of those perspectives that can
37:37really start to to throw um the the seat
37:41of the pants feel for a pilot or even
37:43yourself when you're doing some of that
37:45troubleshooting and the reality that the
37:48the helicopter is going to be
37:49experiencing vibration throughout the
37:51entire entire airframe. Next up is the
37:54directional control cable tensioning.
37:56Um, can you lay similar to the previous
38:00topics sort of the groundwork for us on
38:02the 505, what makes getting the tension
38:05right so important and what does a
38:08technician need to understand before
38:10getting into the procedure itself?
38:12>> Well, that is something special to the
38:15505
38:17cable in the controls on the bell model.
38:20I I don't think we ever had that on the
38:22light aircraft anyway before. The manual
38:26is quite clear on the procedure to
38:29follow and and the tools to use. We call
38:33out for a tool, but any equivalent cable
38:37tension tool can be can be used.
38:41>> So the cable tension is
38:44measured very similar to the cable
38:46tension on a fixed wing aircraft that
38:47uses control cables. You use a properly
38:50calibrated tensometer. The book is very
38:53clear as to where you measure it. You're
38:57actually going to be measuring it very
38:59close to your adjustment turnbuckles and
39:01it's in the avionics compartment of the
39:04aircraft. So, it's an easily accessible
39:06area. But it's very important that the
39:09ambient temperature and therefore the
39:12cable temperature be within a very
39:15specific range called out in the manual
39:19cuz as we know steel shrinks and expands
39:22depending on temperature. So the
39:25criteria that are given to you in the
39:27book are within that temperature range.
39:30Now say you're in a situation where
39:32that's not an option. It's either really
39:35cold or very warm where you are.
39:37>> We have to go to engineering every time.
39:39The reason behind that is as you
39:41mentioned with temperature the uh
39:45tension in the cable will change because
39:47the the size of the cable change with
39:51temperature and that steel and the
39:53structure around is aluminum. They don't
39:56have the same uh response to the
39:59temperature change. So it could be
40:02difficult to uh to give exact number. So
40:05we have a range.
40:07>> If you're in a situation where you just
40:10cannot be within the range dictated in
40:12the manual, there is a note in the task
40:15that specifically tells you to contact
40:17product support and they can give you
40:19more information on the proper
40:22tensioning of your system given your
40:25specific uh temperature needs. Yeah, the
40:28idea that you can find yourself,
40:31not necessarily true field maintenance,
40:33but in the field maintenance and
40:36operators in 66 different countries that
40:39could find themselves in some pretty
40:41unique scenarios. definitely seems uh an
40:44important point to highlight whether it
40:46be environmental considerations
40:49um as well as the fact of the uniqueness
40:51for this uh specific airframe. Has Bell
40:55or Bell operators encountered anything
40:58in the field that really illustrates why
41:00getting this right matters so much?
41:03>> Okay. Yes, the tension is important
41:06because you of course want you want
41:08enough tension to be able to have a
41:11direct control and response but not too
41:15much tension. Uh we did issue a an ASB a
41:20few years ago to inspect at the end of
41:23the cable the swaging. There are
41:26slippage mark at at the end of the um
41:29swaging piece at end of the cable and
41:33you have to inspect for any any gap in
41:36these marking that would indicate that
41:39the cable start slipping out of the uh
41:42turnbuckle or end of the end of the
41:46cable. The idea being that the the
41:48monitoring of the the cable in that
41:52specific case is is something that has
41:54been of importance uh in Fielder that
41:58you're seeing from an operator
42:00perspective that that's a key detail for
42:02them to be uh picking up on and
42:05monitoring.
42:06Yes, they have um a regular interval
42:09check to do on the cable on the uh
42:13switching these slipping mark and also
42:17on on the tension uh itself.
42:20>> We also have uh as a point the idea of a
42:24recommended sequence and tensioning and
42:27verification. So the sequence itself is
42:30that something that uh you want to touch
42:32on Eric or Jason? It's more or less
42:34follow the the book. I mean the it's a
42:37very simple task that's outlined very
42:41clearly in the book. Unless you had
42:43something else on that, Eric.
42:44>> No, not really. Post question. Where
42:47about what to do if you're outside of
42:50the ambient temperature range to uh to
42:54apply the correct tension?
42:56>> Having covered all of that, Eric and
42:58Jason, is there anything that we missed
43:00before we wrap up? Is there anything on
43:01the 505 we haven't touched on today that
43:04you'd really want maintainers listening
43:06to take away from the podcast?
43:08>> Huge thing on the 505 for maintainers to
43:11remember is you have great accessibility
43:15on that aircraft by being able to take
43:17large body panels off. The screws on
43:20those body panels are all titanium and
43:23they're going into steel nut plates. If
43:27you use a drill or any kind of power
43:30tool to take those screws out, th that
43:34those titanium screws will heat up and
43:36they will gall. So now you're going to
43:38have a screw that's stuck in there and a
43:40nut plate you need to replace. You can
43:43use your speeder handle. You can use
43:44your bracing bit handle. Do not use any
43:47kind of a power tool to take those
43:49screws out. The time that you save is
43:51not going to be worth the time that you
43:52spend to fix it. one of those times
43:55where the time it takes to do the
43:56process is a chance for you to be
43:59looking over the aircraft as a whole
44:01regardless. And uh faster is not always
44:04better.
44:05>> 100%.
44:06>> Eric, is there anything that uh we
44:08weren't able to touch on yet for the 505
44:11that you would want maintainers to know?
44:13I really don't have anything specific
44:16but if I may a lot of operator of the
44:19505 by nature of the model they're
44:23sometime new to the model they may even
44:26be new to the Bell product they even new
44:30to aviation so don't hesitate and call
44:34your CSC and call PSC if you have any
44:37question there's no stupid question will
44:40help you out
44:41>> definitely never a stupid question for
44:44sure. And that's the the beauty of the
44:46the podcast, a chance to get that more
44:50expanded knowledge and have a bit better
44:52of an understanding of the 505 even
44:55hypothetically before you've turned
44:57turned a wrench on the uh the airframe.
45:00So hopefully this is going to be a
45:02helpful helpful tool for maintainers
45:04already in the field or maintainers that
45:06will be soon to be working with the 505.
45:09Thank you, Eric and Jason, for taking
45:11the time and sharing some of that field
45:13knowledge and and the knowledge that you
45:15have gathered over your time with Bell.
45:18Um, for the audience and to everyone
45:20listening, if there's a Bell maintenance
45:22topic you'd like to hear the team tackle
45:24on a future tech talk, let us know and
45:27we'll be back with you for more and the
45:29Bell team soon. Thanks so much, guys.
45:31>> Thank you. It was a pleasure.
45:33>> You have a great day, David. Stay safe.
45:35>> Thanks for listening to the Bell Tech
45:37Talk segment of the Vertical Podcast. We
45:39want to hear from you. Have a technical
45:41topic for the team or a favorite
45:42technical tip? Let us know. Our email is
45:44tech [email protected].
45:46That's teec t-bellflight.com.
45:50If you're having a technical issue with
45:52the aircraft, as always, our team is
45:54here 24/7 at product support
45:56atbellflight.com.
45:57If you like what you heard, subscribe
45:59and come back for more.

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