The 525 Interactive Electronic Maintenance Manual - Linking Advanced Avionics and Wiring to Fault Isolation

Abstract

By incorporating sophisticated avionics, intelligent components, and increased interconnectivity with its Integrated Vehicle Heath Management (IVHM) system, the Bell 525 is raising the bar on safety. These features are combined with Bell's MissionLink® desktop application to link the aircraft HUMS data directly to Bell's Interactive Electronic Maintenance Manual (IETM) to manage the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICAs). In flight, the aircraft can self-diagnose and broadcast information on component health and the supporting power or data pathways, allowing ground teams to prepare for corrective actions while the aircraft is still enroute. In the hangar, maintainers utilize the 525 IETM, which contains ICA procedures for locating, inspecting, testing and replacing hundreds of Line Replaceable Units (LRUs). However, unlike typical applications with only logical wiring diagrams, the Bell 525 IETMs can also trace thousands of connectors, and tens of thousands of pins that define the complete wiring pathway for aircraft data and power. If a corrective action is hidden within a harness, connector, junction box, or passthrough and splice, troubleshooting can be accomplished quickly, and the fault site can be rapidly located. This paper presents the technology, operational features, and development procedures that enable efficiency in the 525 maintenance environment.