Honeywell Brings In-flight Maintenance Alerts, Talk, Text And Tracking To Helicopter Fleets With Sky Connect Tracker III

LAS VEGAS, March 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- HELI-EXPO -- Honeywell (NYSE:HON) announced the availability and certification of Sky Connect Tracker III, giving helicopter operators an all-in-one system that enables concurrent voice, text and tracking of their fleet in a single box. By using the Iridium® satellite network for the communications function, Sky Connect Tracker III is ready to be used across the globe, wherever the Iridium satellite network can be accessed.

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Sky Connect Tracker III is also the first connectivity product for helicopter operators that integrates with Honeywell's Zing Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS), for real-time vehicle health status and maintenance alerts. This integration enables ground maintenance and operations personnel to instantaneously see when a HUMS maintenance alert is flagged, so maintenance personnel can schedule maintenance when the aircraft lands. The system is also first to provide a power-down message without the use of a battery.

About Sky Connect Tracker III

Sky Connect Tracker III is the next generation in the Sky Connect Tracker product line that has provided text, tracking and voice connections for helicopter operators around the world. The new integration with Honeywell's Zing HUMS creates a cost-effective way to increase operational efficiency, simplify in-flight mission management and enhance crew safety. Features of Sky Connect Tracker III include the following:

• Easy interface with a flight management system (FMS) by eliminating the need for additional converters
• Simultaneous texting and tracking capabilities, even during lengthy voice calls
• Uninterrupted reporting capabilities with the new Last Position Vector PowerBank, which enables the helicopter to send final position reports after the pilot powers down the aircraft or if any incident interrupts aircraft power
• Integration with Zing HUMS that enables near real-time reporting of HUMS status to the ground and operations crew, from simple alerts to more discrete messaging of HUMS faults
• Comprehensive aircraft health status tracking that collects and reports information such as fuel status, aircraft system status, limit alarms and other aircraft telemetry

What is HUMS?

HUMS is a sensor-based monitoring system that enables preventative maintenance by measuring the health and performance of mission-critical components. By continuously monitoring aircraft flight data and vibration at numerous points throughout the drivetrain and pinpointing mechanical faults before they become catastrophic failures, HUMS provides helicopter operators with actionable information that enables them to anticipate mechanical failures and make anticipatory maintenance decisions, before the issues arise. Zing HUMS is permanently installed on the helicopter to perform these functions:

• Provide full-time vibration monitoring of all critical rotating components during flight
• Eliminate the need for portable rotor track and balance system
• Enhance safety through early detection of mechanical faults to prevent component failures
• Reduce maintenance hours and test flights to do rotor, track and balance
• Monitor parameters to calculate operational and engine usage and exceedance
• Monitor flight data parameters used in operational procedures such as Helicopter Flight Data Monitoring

Supporting Quote

• Brian Sill, Vice President, Defense and Space Americas Aftermarket, Honeywell "Sky Connect Tracker III provides helicopter operators with the crucial information to keep their fleet safe and efficient. And, when integrated with Honeywell's HUMS product, data can be transmitted in real time to the ground and operations crew while flight operations are underway, increasing aircraft safety and availability while reducing maintenance man-hours and parts costs."

Supporting Resources

• Read more about HUMS
• Read more about Honeywell Aerospace
• Follow @Honeywell_Aero on Twitter
• Subscribe to Honeywell's Corporate RSS feed

Thousands of Honeywell Aerospace products and services are found on virtually every commercial, defense and space aircraft worldwide. The Aerospace business unit develops and integrates technologies that span air traffic modernization, flight and runway safety, engines, cockpit and cabin electronics, connectivity, logistics and more that deliver safe, efficient, productive and comfortable transportation-related experiences. For more information, visit http://aerospace.honeywell.com or follow us at @honeywell_aero on Twitter.

Honeywell ( www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; turbochargers; and performance materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell's shares are traded on the New York, London, and Chicago Stock Exchanges. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywellnow.com.

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