GE Aerospace has announced that Bell Textron, Inc., a Textron Inc. company, has approved the use of the Rotor Analysis Diagnostic System Next Generation (RADS-NG) across Bell’s fleet of commercial helicopters such as the Bell 505, Bell 429, Bell 412, and Bell 407.
“Enabling the use of RADS-NG will differentiate the Bell fleet of helicopters as a leader in cutting edge vibration analysis”, said Van Wilson, director of Customer Solutions at Bell. “The distinct advantage of performing regular, proactive vibration measurements and monitoring of this data with GE Aerospace’s latest technological advancements will provide a real-time benefit in enhancing component life and passenger comfort.”
“The RADS-NG will allow operators the ability to complete their rotor track and balance operations and diagnostics in fewer flights while significantly reducing flight and pilot time and saving fuel,” said Matt Burns, general manager of Avionics for GE Aerospace. “One of our first operators reported a 10% torque savings after using RADS-NG.”
Burns continued, “Our team developed the system with input from Bell and a variety of customers, enabling more control over adjustment solutions and providing configuration flexibility to meet the needs of future novel aircraft concepts such as tilt rotors, co-axial rotors and eVTOL aircraft.”
The RADS-NG will replace RADS-AT (Advanced Technology) and AVA (Aviation Vibration Analyzer) as GE Aerospace’s portable Rotor Track and Balance (RT&B) solution for vehicles where permanent installation is not practical or to supplement permanent fit systems.
GE Aerospace delivered the first RADS-NG system to Henley Air in 2024, who operate a fleet of Bell and other aircraft. Training and support were provided by GE Aerospace in commissioning the RADS-NG capability across Henley’s fleet. GE Aerospace have since delivered RADS-NG for use at Bell facilities for flight test and pre-delivery checks.
RADS-NG builds on more than 30 years of reliability as the go-to Rotor Track and Balance (RT&B) solution with the flexibility to service multiple helicopter models with a faster, easier-to-use interface.
As the industry standard for RT&B and standard equipment for the U.S. Army and the UK Navy, one RADS unit can support an entire fleet. Approximately 5,000 RADS-AT units have been supplied supporting civil and military rotorcraft around the world. The system’s versatility also offers fixed-wing vibration diagnostics for aircraft such as the Lockheed C-130 Hercules and the capability to support the new generation of eVTOL aircraft.
