MSP Aero Obtains FAA Supplemental Type Certificate For Appareo’s Vision 1000 On AW109/AW119 Helicopters

The FAA has recently granted a Supplemental Type Certificate to MSP Aero for the Appareo Vision 1000 Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) device on AgustaWestland AW109/119 series rotorcraft. The Vision 1000 is a part of Appareo Systems’ ALERTS family of FDM products. ALERTS – Aircraft Logging and Event Recording for Training and Safety – is a comprehensive FDM system designed for light and legacy aircraft. ALERTS include both hardware devices like the Vision 1000 and a powerful suite of software and web-based applications that allow aircraft operators of any size to experience the significant safety and training benefits of a comprehensive Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) program.

“MSP Aero is pleased to partner with Appareo to bring the Vision 1000 to Augusta AW109/119 helicopters,” said Jon Ness, director of business development for MSP Aero. “Using the ALERTS system propels aircraft operators to the next level of safety excellence. With Appareo’s FDM technology and our extensive avionics experience, we’re very well positioned to pursue additional STCs for the Vision 1000 in other aircraft, making this great product for safety available to even more operators.”

The Vision 1000 is a compact, lightweight device that is mounted on the ceiling of the aircraft; it captures detailed flight data, video cockpit imagery and ambient audio with optional intercom system integration. Weighing less than half a pound and requiring only power and ground from the aircraft, the Vision 1000 is easily installed in both fixed and rotor-wing aircraft. All data is stored on a crash-hardened internal memory module as well as a removable SDHC memory card for easy access.

Once downloaded from the SD card, flight data is automatically transferred to Appareo’s ALERTS servers where it is analyzed against the operator’s standard operating procedures (SOPs). Any flights with events falling outside the SOPs are flagged for later review and all flight data is stored for historical trending with AS Web Analyzer, the web-based component of the ALERTS system. The AS Web Analyzer offers operators a powerful set of tools to identify dangerous trends before they result in an incident and to quantify fleet performance over time.

“Appareo is glad to be working with MSP Aero on their efforts to certify the Vision 1000 in these AgustaWestland aircraft and other aircraft in the future,” said Jeff Johnson, Appareo’s vice president of business development. “Their work in pursuing this STC has illustrated their strong commitment to safety and their position as a leader in FDM. We’re also excited that the Vision 1000 will now be an easy choice for operators of these popular helicopters.”

FMI: www.mspaero.com