Rotor Blade Track and Balance - Past and

Present

Asking seven helicopter maintenance professionals for their insight on rotor

blade track and balance is like asking seven sportscasters which is the best
college football team you will get seven different answers. No answers are
.wrong they just differ from each other
Most fixed-wing aircraft are inherently stable. That is, if you place the aircraft
in straight and level flight and take your hands off of the controls, the aircraft
will pretty much stay where it is. Helicopters, on the other hand, are
inherently unstable, and if you put one in straight and level flight and take
your hands off the controls, it will undoubtedly try to roll over on its back. A
helicopters flight dynamics are so different from a fixed-wing aircrafts that
.we encounter maintenance issues that are totally unique to helicopters
Many perceive a helicopter as a conglomeration of rotating parts that, in
order to fly, work in unison to beat the air into submission. This is probably
not too far from the truth, but the whole concept of rotating parts is where the
tracking and balancing of the main rotor blades comes into being. Tail rotors
also need to be tracked and balanced, but we are not going to address that in
.this article
? What is Track and Balance
I guess a good place to start is to ask the question, Why do rotor blades need
to be tracked and balanced? Rotor blades travel around a hub at a given
speed. In flight, they also change their pitch angle to generate the helicopters
direction of flight, speed and lift. Ideally, if all the blades are perfectly
identical and have been installed exactly to specifications, then for a given
cyclic and collective setting, the rotor blade tips will all track through the
exact same point in space at a given point in the rotation around the hub. If
the blades are out of balance, they will cause a vibration or beat frequency
that is transmitted into the rotor head, transmission and airframe. This
vibration will also be felt in other components on the helicopter. Excessive
vibration levels can lead to premature wear and failure in components, and
this leads to increased maintenance costs and aircraft downtime.
Balancing of the main rotor system is accomplished in the helicopters main
rotational frequency. This is expressed as the n-per-rev, where n = the
number of blades in the system. A three-bladed rotor system would have an
inherent
three-per-rev frequency, a four-bladed system an inherent four-per-rev
frequency and a five-bladed system an inherent five-per-rev frequency. When
the mechanical condition of the helicopter is suspect, these vibrations can be
.quite noticeable once the main rotor 1-per-rev vibration is reduced
Vibrations
Vibrations can be separated into two different types, vertical and lateral.
Vertical vibrations can be caused by several different factors, but result in the
rotor blades producing unequal lift at a given point in their rotation. This
occurs due to slight variations in the manufacturing process that can cause a
slight change in blade chord profile, or by the improper adjustment of the
.pitch change links and blade trim tabs
Lateral vibrations are caused by the rotor blades being of unequal mass
distribution. Again, this can be due to the manufacturing process where there
.may be slight differences in components

Other factors that may cause lateral vibrations are improper alignment
techniques, assembly procedures, etc. Lateral vibrations can also be induced
.by a rotor system that is out of vertical balance or out of track
You would think that to achieve the smoothest possible ride, the ideal goal
would be to balance all the main rotor blades exactly the same and have all
the blade tips pass through exactly the same point in the rotational plane.
Well, the concept is true, but in reality, that does not always lead to the
smoothest ride. It is not uncommon for some helicopters to have a smoother
ride with what is called a track split. That is to say that not all the blade tips
pass through the same point in the rotational plane. There is a split in
position among the blades. However track and balance is achieved on your
helicopter, when the job is done, the helicopter should have the smoothest
.ride possible
The Evolution of Tracking Test Equipment
To get some sense of how track and balance techniques have evolved over
time, I traveled to Sharkeys Helicopters in Lebanon, NH. It specializes in Bell
and Enstrom helicopters and provides service, parts, charter and flight
instruction. Company president Roger Sharkey is well recognized in our
industry in performing helicopter track-and-balance maintenance. Sharkey
started operations on Oct. 24, 1973. The first aircraft he bought was an ex-
army surplus Hiller 12 C. The second aircraft was a Bell 47G and they both
had wooden rotor blades. As of this writing, he had eight helicopters for sale:
one Bell 407, one Bell 206B3, four Enstrom model 480Bs, one Enstrom
model 28F and one Enstrom model F28A. Sharkey and I sat down and he
provided me with an interesting one-on-one tutorial on how the mechanics of
.helicopter rotor blade track-and-balance techniques have evolved over time
In the Beginning
In BC (before computers) times and the days of wooden rotor blades,
helicopter manufacturers and mechanics used what was referred to as static
balance equipment to achieve rotor system track and balance. This equipment
was usually in the form of a balance-beam assembly with a bubble-type level
and a set of tracking flags. The static balance device was used to adjust the
main rotor span and chord-wise mass distribution. A long, vertically-held
pole that had two horizontal arms protruding from it would have multiple
pieces of tape (tracking flags) attached between the horizontal arms. The
individual main rotor blade tips were coated with differently-colored grease
.pencil or chalk
With the helicopter running on the ground, the tracking flags were moved in
toward the rotor blade tips. As the blade tips made contact with the flags, each
left a mark corresponding to its assigned color. If the marks were vertically
separated, a pitch-change adjustment was needed to move the blade tips
closer together. If the marks overlapped one another, no adjustment was
required. The downside to this method is that it was dangerous and could
.only be done on the ground
The next step in improving how rotor blade track was accomplished was with
a constant light fixture used in conjunction with a sighting tool and reflectors
.placed on the end of the blades
The good news about this system is that it was inexpensive to buy and easy to
setup. The bad news was that you could only do two main rotor blades at a
time and track was perceived. If you had a three- or four-bladed system, then
you would track the third and fourth blade to the master blade. Any blade can
be the master, but is usually best to pick the lowest-serial-numbered blade.
We say that the track of the blades was perceived because there was no scale
to measure against. Without a metric, it was up to the individual performing
the work to say when perfect track was achieved. There was also no way to
balance the rotor blades. Since we, as individuals, can sometimes look at the
same thing and see it differently, perfect track in this case is perception. How
did the individual performing the track adjustment determine that they
?finally got it right
Chadwick Model 177
The next evolutionary step in performing rotor blade track and balance is a
Chadwick-manufactured system called the model 177. Even today, I still hear
other brands of track-and-balance equipment called a Chadwick. Jim
Chadwick did the helicopter industry a big favor with his constant desire to
improve on his equipment. Sharkey appears to be one of Chadwicks biggest
fans. A good number of even Chadwicks earliest machines are still in service
today. This was the first big improvement over the constant light method in
that if you had a two-, three- or four-bladed main rotor; it could perform a
track on all the blades at the same time. It could also do a balance on the
main rotor and on the tail rotor as well. It can also handle engine rpms up to
.99,000
The bad news is that compared to todays newer systems, the Model 177 is
analog and uses older technology. It does not perform spectrum analysis, it
would easily get out of calibration, does not print out results, and it hates any
kind of moisture. To properly use this system on a piston-powered helicopter
or one without a governor (back
then, what was a governor?), the Chadwick operator and pilot must work
together. If the rotor speed is allowed to vary due to wind gusts or inattention,
then the results will change if not caught and corrected by the operator. This
is naturally undesirable. All in all, however, it was a large leap in the right
.direction
Chadwick Model 192
Then that great helicopter mechanic in the sky smiled down on us and the
next evolution in track-and-balance test equipment was the Chadwick Model
192 spectrum analyzer. This was a giant step forward in its day. This machine
was loved by some and hated by others. There are many mechanics today that
swear by the Model 192. By using the term spectrum analyzer, Chadwick
was saying that the Model 192 would show the peak frequency of everything
that is vibrating on the helicopter, from the most to the least vibration. By
determining the frequency of the vibration, it would give the mechanic the
ability to see if he or she had a one-per-rev, two-per-rev or three-per-rev of a
particular frequency. By doing some research, the mechanic could determine
which component or system was causing the vibration. Being able to change
the color of the pens for each run was a great advertising tool when you gave
the customer the read out in color. Back then, anything in color made your
.work stand out
The Model 192 measured vibrations by connecting to various points on the
helicopter and then the engines and rotor system would be run at 100
percent. The Model 192 incorporated a chart drive that would plot the
vibrations on a paper that the mechanic could see. The pen was driven by a
rubber belt drive and moved at a constant speed. This was factored into the
system to provide the vibration analysis printout. The system did not give the
mechanic any corrective action to take, but it did provide him or her with a
tool to help determine where to start looking for the problem. This also
provided a means to show the customer what the vibration level was when the
helicopter was brought in for maintenance, and what the vibration level was
once the problem was solved. Keep in mind that customers love fancy,
!equipment-generated paper with understandable and positive results
As with all systems, there are pros and cons. We have mentioned the pros.
The cons, although not numerous, were there none the less. The biggest one is
if you are not done using the machine and leave it in the helicopter and forget
to turn it upside down and cover it, you wont make that mistake again. The
sun really does a number on the rubber bands and pens. The other con was
that when the Model 192 first came on the market, there was no such thing as
a loaner pool when it required a trip back to the factory. If you were a small
operator, you could not afford to buy two of them. When the Model 192 was
sent back to Chadwick for service, it took quite some time to get the unit
.repaired and returned. This left you hurting for a bit
Chadwick Model 8500

The fourth and probably largest step (much of its technology is still in use
today) in the evolutionary ladder of track-and-balance fixtures brings us into
the realm of digital technology with the Chadwick Model 8500. This unit is
smaller, lighter and has more capability than its predecessors. This was a
huge leap forward in not only determining the source of the vibratory
problem, but in its ability to check track and balance throughout the
helicopters entire flight envelope. It would then offer a customizable solution
which was sent to an onboard printer. The Model 8500 takes the best features
of earlier track-and-balance fixtures and improves upon them. Trying to see
changes measured in millimeters with our eyes is difficult. The Model 8500
includes an optical tracker (camera), which allows the mechanic to also see
blade spread and lead and lag data. The Model 8500 provides real time
numbers and again, we can show our customers what their helicopters
.vibration condition is before and after maintenance is performed
The pros we have just touched on a few of the major ones, and there are many
more. All in all, this is a nice piece of equipment. The cons are that the Model
8500 comes with a pretty hefty price tag and takes longer to acquire that first
run data. It does a lot more and to do more, it looks at more data and takes
longer in doing so. This translates into more run time for the customers
helicopter and that costs more money. I believe this is a small price to pay for
.the excellent results that are achieved from the Model 8500
Chadwick Vibrex 2000 Plus
As we continue down the evolutionary path of track-and-balance test
equipment, we come to the Chadwick Vibrex 2000 Plus. This is also a digital
unit so it is small, lightweight and quick and easy to install. Its cost is
affordable and it has its own self-contained power supply. It also has a
battery-operated portable printer option that can be purchased off the Web
for almost free, as helicopter tools go. Another great feature is a built-in
memory, so the track-and-balance information can be stored and printed at a
later time and place. The unit is bullet proof to rain and snow. Sharkey said
they got one of the very first Model 2000 units, it was not even a Plus, and it
has never gone back to the factory for any repair. It still works as expected!
The Vibrex 2000 Plus uses an electric eye or magnetic interrupter to see the
master rotor blade and velocimeters to determine the amount of out of track
.or balance which is read out on a display
Talking with Sharkey, the only con he observes with the Chadwick Vibrex
2000 Plus is with complex rotor systems. By complex, Sharkey says he is
talking about a four- or five-bladed system. In most two- and three-bladed
rotor systems, the balance is checked in a hover. To correct the balance, either
the blade is swiped and/or lead fishing shot is added as required. There is a
paper chart to help determine how much weight or sweep is needed. The
balance is then checked again. If the balance is good, you then proceed to
flight tracking the blades. Blade track has a big effect on blade balance, but
balance does not have a large effect on track. That is why balance is
.performed first
In complex rotor systems, balance is also used to help control the lead and lag
of the blade. If the system is out of balance, then the blade dampers have to
work overtime to try to keep the rotor system in balance. This is why blade
match is so important when you move beyond a two-bladed rotor system.
Each blade must be balanced and tracked individually, but must fly together
for the whole system to work in harmony. This equates to more adjustments
to be made, which calls for more run time on the helicopter, with more cost to
.the operator
According to Sharkey, The 2000+ is the best bang for the buck in tracking
.and balancing simple rotor systems
Chadwick/Honeywell VXP Acquisition Unit & Lap Top
The last unit in our litany is the Chadwick/Honeywell VXP acquisition unit. It
does everything all the predecessors did and then some but 10 times better
and four times faster! As with the 8500+, there are no paper charts or
guessing how much all of this is done for you. You also have the ability to
display data on any Windows-based PC. Sharkey says the best part is that you
can change a parameter such as fewest adjustments, best track, best balance,
track and balance, or even drop one of the fields you acquired because they
just dont add up and you think that they may be skewing your solution. An
example might be 60Kts let down and ask it to give you a new prediction. If
this does not work, you can just put it back in. The VXP system will send the
change to the acquisition unit, which in turn does new computations and
.sends the new data for PC display
This unit does it all: track, balance, lead and lag, and trend monitoring. It
even has a program to check all the other rotating components. Complex rotor
.systems are handled with ease
I have tried many different kinds of track and balance systems, we even ran
the VXP and brand X on the same helicopter at the same time so we could get
a real feel for which one was actually better, says Sharkey. The VXP beat the
other system badly! I personally believe that the VXP is the best track-and-
.balance system ever built period
At the time of this writing, Sharkey and I were hopeful to add the Honeywell
Zing Elite portable diagnostic test set to our list of track-and-balance test
.equipment, but it was not yet available for our evaluation
From the past to the present, there has always been a need to track and
balance a helicopters rotor system. The tools available to do this changed
with the times and went from analog to digital and became computerized
along the way. Many thanks to Sharkey for providing his insight on the
progression of Chadwick track-and-balance test equipment. While there are
other manufacturers out there that manufacture track-and-balance
equipment, this article discussed only Chadwick equipment because its what
Sharkey uses and knows best.It is meant as a way to see the evolution of
.equipment through the experience of one user with one manufacturer
Tracking and balancing helicopter rotor systems is not an exact science, but
rather a slowly-acquired art form that is developed over time. I am a big
believer in the saying, you can teach from experience, but you cannot teach
.experience