AKV Inc. has been selected by Air Methods Corporation to outfit its fleet of Airbus EC145 medevac helicopters with the Safran-validated Dual Engine Cycle Counter.
Air Methods Corporation is an American, privately-owned helicopter operator. It operates a fleet of approximately 400 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft and provides emergency medical services to approximately 70,000 patients every year, servicing 48 states.
AKV president and founder Jonathan Gunn commented, “Back in 2009 when I developed the twin version initially for the BK117 and based our popular single engine counter, I decided to contract with Air Methods Products Division under their ODA capabilities to provide STC certification. Now, with the 10-plus years of in-service history it’s fulfilling to find Air Methods in a position to outfit their large fleet of EC145s.”
“The AKV cycle counters are a quality product that will enhance our safety by lowering pilot workload in the cockpit, and ensuring accuracy in our cycle reporting,” said Air Methods executive VP of operations Leo Morrissette. “The product also reduces our cost of operation, with digital accuracy allowing longer on-wing use of our engines. We are proud to be a partner with AKV, they are industry experts that are focused on safety and operational challenges in our industry.”
The AKV Dual Engine Cycle Counter kit, part no. BK1172XCC, is FAA, EASA and CASA STC approved for the BK117 A1 – C2 (EC145). It is approved for both the LTS101 and Arriel 1E(2) engines. It is also a Safran (Turbomeca) validated system that complies with the latest changes regarding partial cycle counting for the free turbine (Np).
In addition, an FAA approved “Daily Coherence Check” via the Instruction for Continued Airworthiness (ICA) provides a means to conform to the Safran validation requirements and is designed as an alternate cycle counting system over the OEM system which is subject to an FAA and EASA AD in the EC145.
The AKV line of engine cycle counters for the Arriel 1, LTS101, T53, T55 & Makila 1 are designed to replace the pilot’s manual counting method with an accurate, fully computerized counter, and will save on average 25 to 30 percent in accrued cycles compared with manual cycle counting alone.
The system accumulates and display’s Ng and Np daily flight cycles with separate cycle totals along with real time rpm’s for Ng and Np, Ng Max, an engine start counter, Ng and Np operations counter, flight time and engine run accumulation times on two independent computers and LCD screens. The optional Ground Support Programming Kit P/N CC-GSE allows maintenance to enter current data into the cycle counter.
