Duke Energy, an American electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, has served as a new STC partner on the Bell 429. GPMS has received an FAA STC for its helicopter health monitoring system Foresight MX on the B429 GlobalRanger. GPMS's system offers advanced flight data monitoring and health and usage monitoring in one integrated package, making it ideal for safety-conscious operators.

Duke uses the Bell 429 for both executive transport and utility patrol. GPMS CEO Eric Bechhoefer says: “We began working with Duke Energy in 2019 when it was looking for a solution for its 407 fleet. This expansion to Duke's new 429 aircraft represents a vote of confidence in Foresight MX and demonstrates the operator's commitment and investment in safety.”

Helicopters are complex machines with many moving parts that cannot be easily inspected before each flight. Foresight MX provides continuous engine and drivetrain monitoring on over one hundred Bell 429 components with predictive remaining useful life estimates on trending parts. Additionally, the system offers rotor track and balance with optimised 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 provides 'anywhere, anytime' application access.

Foresight MX breaks from legacy solutions by fitting the weight and financial requirements of today's operators. On the Bell 429, Foresight's onboard kit has an STC weight and balance of 7.29 pounds and cable weight of seven pounds. The system is sold on a service model that lowers upfront cost and generates an estimated two times annual return on investment after year one. In the case of Duke Energy's Bell 407s, GPMS and the consultancy Conklin & deDecker calculated their annual return on investment for Foresight MX to be $45,920.

“For the last year, we've heard from corporate, air medical and utility customers that they wanted Foresight MX certified on the Bell 429,” says Jed Kalkstein, president of GPMS. “We are excited to complete this work, especially given current STCs on the 407, 212/412 and AS-350 and line of sight on the H135 and MD500 series. Not only is Foresight the most advanced system in the category, it is now an outstanding monitoring solution for mixed fleets.”

Foresight MX on the Bell 429 is available from GPMS and select agents.