Airplane's Health Trend Monitoring System A First In Business Aviation

The FAA recently granted approval to Gulfstream for its G650 Flight Operations Risk Management Service (FORMS) program. The G650 FORMS program is the only in-service program with an FAA-approved Implementation and Operations plan and it meets the EASA Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) requirement for commercial operations.

The FORMS program is an ever-expanding database that provides valuable feedback to operators to refine operating, training and maintenance procedures, and delivers safety-improving data to Gulfstream and its training partners. Any customer taking delivery of a G650 is offered a one-year, free-of-charge subscription to the FORMS program. In addition to the G650, FORMS is available for the Gulfstream G550, G450, G150, GV and GIV through installations of a Quick Access Recorder (QAR).

“With nearly 200 aircraft in the program, many Gulfstream operators have experienced the benefit of the FORMS program,” said Randy Gaston, vice president, Flight Operations, Gulfstream. “FORMS provides our operators with critical data to help them continuously improve their operations.”

FORMS collects data during all phases of flight and identifies when certain criteria have been exceeded. When this occurs, the system identifies and analyzes the conditions present and provides a summary to the operator. Operators receive event-based reports as their data is processed by the system, in addition to quarterly reports reflecting their specific operations. Gulfstream also receives consolidated fleet data, which is used to enhance pilot training. Operators enrolled in the program receive quarterly reports with key parameters highlighted for further assessment by flight departments. Every operator in the Gulfstream fleet has access to the annual fleet report, which consolidates all the results from FORMS-enrolled aircraft. This data can be used to modify techniques, procedures and training, as necessary, even for operators not enrolled in the FORMS program.

The recently released 2012 FORMS Annual Report indicates that operators enrolled in the program for five years had 50 percent fewer unstable approaches than first-year enrollees. FORMS is part of a family of safety features available on the G650. Owners and operators of the G650 are also provided a subscription to a health and trend monitoring service – PlaneConnectHTM. This system, a first in business aviation, records up to 10,000 predefined parameters and provides near real-time aircraft condition monitoring for high priority Crew Advisory System (CAS) events and engine health data. PlaneConnectHTM also allows FORMS data to be sent automatically from the aircraft after each flight, requiring no maintenance or pilot action.

“No one else in the industry is performing this level of data analysis, which allows for the trending of aircraft systems and enables predictive capabilities,” said Robby O’Dell, program manager, G650 Technical Development, Gulfstream. “PlaneConnectHTM, provided free to all G650 operators for the first year in service, reinforces our commitment to safety, reliability and availability.”

(Gulfstream G650 image from file)

FMI: www.gulfstream.com