One of the key areas of interest for prospective users of CDB is its ability to maximize component life throughout the drivetrain and indeed the aircraft. By reducing harmonic resonant high frequency vibration (HRHFV) in the drivetrain, and periodically checking and re-balancing the aircraft as required, the aircraft can achieve and maintain a minimum vibration profile over its life. Helicopters without CDB will have a certain (higher) rate of vibration increase, which is as components wear over time; their vibration levels will increase at a certain rate. This rate historically is exponential in nature.

CDB is a "Preventive Maintenance Process"; it keeps the component vibration deterioration rate low and moves component lifetime closer to TBO. The longer a dynamic component remains on-wing, the lower the operating cost to the operator



Even to a relatively new helicopter fleet, PREVENTING MEASURES such as Customized Dynamic Balancing (CDB) could bring significant benefits in extending the life of the helicopter airframe by maintaining a minimum HRHFV profile throughout the airframe's life.

The figure below conceptually illustrates how preventive maintenance using CDB can maximize component life.

For illustrative purposes, data from the CDB technician's past experience with the Apache Helicopter around the world was studied to show the possible impact to Apache component's life and cost savings. Five years of data were merged as the basis for this analysis. Thirteen different components from the drivetrain were selected, based on their cost and critical nature to the aircraft. Flight hours were used as the basis for normalizing all data for comparison purposes and parts usage was analyzed on a per aircraft basis. The data shows dramatic reduction in component replacement. To learn more about the direct impact on drivetrain components and the positive impact on the fuselage please contact us.