At a press briefing this lunchtime, Leonardo revealed that Helitune has joined a number of other UK companies as part of Team AW149 UK. Helitune joins more than 70 companies from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that form the onshore Team AW149 UK supply chain for Leonardo’s latest-generation AW149 helicopter, which is being put forward for the UK’s New Medium Helicopter requirement.
Leonardo and Helitune have been working together for more than two decades across the OEMs platforms. Helitune has a proven track record within the arena of vibration health monitoring solutions and specialises in the design and manufacture of electronic systems for rotor track and balance (RTB). The optical rotor tracking device “RT-TipTrak” of Helitune spans the Leonardo helicopters portfolio from the AW149, AW189, AW139 to the AW169. The RT-TipTrak cutting-edge technology monitors the individual blade heights and spacing to milimetre precision during flight, enabling the reduction of vibration, minimising stress and strain on the airframe. Commenting on the announcement Raf Lobato, CEO of CMTG, said: “Helitune has been working in collaboration with Leonardo Helicopters for over 25 years and, as a UK Company, we are delighted to be able to continue to support them as they look to develop their onshore supply chain for the AW149 helicopter”.
