A challenging aspect to wildland firefighting is managing the array of large airtankers and the array of helicopters that work to support the ground firefighters. In 2004, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) informed the Forest Service that they were responsible for the airworthiness of the heavy airtankers instead of the contractors with FAA oversight. With the need for more structural integrity monitoring of the airframes in the heavy airtanker fleet, the Forest Service used nCode Automation from nCode International to help them do just that…
A challenging aspect to wildland firefighting is managing the array of large airtankers and the array of helicopters that work to support the ground firefighters. In 2004, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) informed the Forest Service that they were responsible for the airworthiness of the heavy airtankers instead of the contractors with FAA oversight. With the need for more structural integrity monitoring of the airframes in the heavy airtanker fleet, the Forest Service used nCode Automation from nCode International to help them do just that…
The Forest Service used a data acquisition system to measure operating loads and aircraft status data on each mission and an nCode Automation monitoring system from nCode to automatically handle the data transfers, manage the massive amounts of raw data, process and intelligently disseminate the data, and to produce reports on request. During the mission, a lot of data are recorded; typically measurements of acceleration, airspeed, flap positions, landing gear positions and a GPS reference signal. Mission data is sent to the Forest Service by the aircraft operators, with routinely kept records of fuel and retardant load, takeoff time and airport to complete the record. This information is safely archived in nCode Automation (based in a server farm in Boise, Idaho) which already fulfils a NTSB recommendation – the data cannot be lost, overwritten or otherwise corrupted, while audit trails now track who does what and when to this resource. One of the key aspects of setting up the nCode Automation system was to ensure that the data processing and upload was streamlined to support the Forest Service’s unique requirements. Data is coming from all over the country through operators that need to concentrate on their firefighting support task. Because of the remoteness of some bases, mailing the complete data to the Forest Service was considered the most effective and reliable method. It also simplified the workload of the pilot. nCode worked closely with the Forest Service and the hardware supplier to then automate the analysis process. Each mission is now extracted, checked for validity and automatically loaded into nCode Automation. During the upload, the data is analyzed to find all identifiable maneuvers and their maximum loads. As a result of this effort, an entire set of missions is now uploaded in a few minutes. nCode Automation is more than a web-enabled data repository. It now allows authorized users to login and access copies of the raw data, and to even process the data itself. For example, a typical application could be to search the records for maneuvers, looking for peak loads or trends.
This will bring together HBM, Brüel & Kjær, nCode, ReliaSoft, and Discom brands, helping you innovate faster for a cleaner, healthier, and more productive world.
This will bring together HBM, Brüel & Kjær, nCode, ReliaSoft, and Discom brands, helping you innovate faster for a cleaner, healthier, and more productive world.
This will bring together HBM, Brüel & Kjær, nCode, ReliaSoft, and Discom brands, helping you innovate faster for a cleaner, healthier, and more productive world.
This will bring together HBM, Brüel & Kjær, nCode, ReliaSoft, and Discom brands, helping you innovate faster for a cleaner, healthier, and more productive world.
This will bring together HBM, Brüel & Kjær, nCode, ReliaSoft, and Discom brands, helping you innovate faster for a cleaner, healthier, and more productive world.
