GPMS Foresight MX HUMS for MD530F

GPMS, March 13, 2023 - Waterbury, VT – GPMS International, Inc. has entered into a collaboration agreement with MD Helicopters for Foresight MX, the industry’s leading predictive Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS).

The agreement provides new and existing MD 530F operators with a Foresight MX OEM installation option at MD Helicopters’ facility in Mesa, Arizona.

“Installing Foresight MX when acquiring a new aircraft is the easiest path to knowing your aircraft is healthy from day one”, said Ronnie Ries, GPMS’ Vice President of Marketing.

“The factory team can utilize Foresight’s advanced capabilities to monitor the aircraft’s health during testing and show the results to their customers during delivery. The power of Foresight HUMS enhances this laser-focus commitment to customer success and support from the new leadership team at MD Helicopters.”

“We want to build a closer relationship with all of our operators,” said Ryan Weeks, MD Helicopters’ Vice President of Customer Support. “The more data our operators can share on the health and usage of their aircraft, the better we can support them and keep them flying. With Foresight MX, the generational leap in HUMS capabilities makes it easy for operators to share details on how the aircraft is performing, which allows MD to troubleshoot and resolve issues faster and improve our spares and repairs forecasting accuracy.”

Since the STC announcement last year at HeliExpo, three installations of Foresight MX have been completed on the MD 530F platform. The system provides continuous engine and drivetrain monitoring with predictive Remaining Useful Life (RUL) estimates on trending parts. Additionally, the system offers Rotor Track and Balance with optimized adjustment solutions at the end of every flight and Flight Data Monitoring with exceedance alerting. Data acquisition and transfer are automatic, and the cloud-based system allows operators to monitor their fleet anywhere, anytime, on any device.

Ries continues, “We greatly appreciate MD Helicopters’ confidence in our technology and in bringing Foresight MX as an option to their customers. Gaining the trust of an aircraft OEM speaks volumes to operators, and we’re proud to play a supporting role in enhancing their MD Helicopters customer experience.”MD Helicopters and GPMS are exhibiting in Atlanta at HeliExpo 2023. If you are attending the show and want to learn more about Foresight MX HUMS, stop by MD booth C2729 or GPMS booth B3214.

MD Helicopters and GPMS were in Atlanta at HeliExpo 2023 MD booth C2729 and GPMS booth B3214.

Helicopter accident prevention

In 2020, the International Helicopter Safety Foundation (IHSF) analyzed more than 1,000 helicopter accidents and found eight areas that provide the best opportunities to prevent helicopter accidents.

Three of the eight are fulfilled with installing Foresight MX.

Structured programs to fully comply with manufacturers’ recommended maintenance practices;

- A structured program for initial and recurrent training;

- The implementation of safety management systems (SMS);

- The implementation of manual Health & Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS);

- Installation of wire strike prevention systems;

- The implementation of flight data monitoring (FDM) programs;

- The implementation of automated HUMS;

- Usage of night vision systems when warranted.

Including Foresight MX HUMS as a factory option will lead to higher adoption rates amongst some of the lightest aircraft on the market that fulfill some of the most dangerous “low and slow” missions.