Onboard Systems has announced that its new C-40 Cockpit Indicator has been certified by the FAA for use in one of Onboard’s load weighing kits for the Airbus AS350/H125 helicopter. Onboard has also submitted this kit to Transport Canada and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for certification.
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This is the first Onboard Weighing System approved to use the C-40 indicator, which was built from the ground up to incorporate many operator-requested features; it uses advanced microcontroller technology to measure and display the cargo weight on a hook.
“After many years of testing and development, we are excited to begin the process of rolling out our new C-40 cockpit indicator across our entire line of Onboard Weighing Systems,” said Karsten Lemmon, vice president of sales and marketing for Onboard Systems. “The H125/AS350 is used by many of our customers for external load missions, so it made sense to launch the C-40 indicator in one of our load weighing kits for this aircraft. We look forward to announcing certification for the C-40 on many additional kits and aircraft in the months ahead.”
Onboard Weighing Systems provide pilots with the exact weight of the load on the cargo hook via a display monitor mounted in the cockpit, allowing them to maximize load efficiency while reducing airframe stress. Weight on the cargo hook is measured by an electronic load cell using state-of-the-art strain-gauge technology. The load cell is temperature compensated and requires little maintenance. A quick glance at the cockpit-mounted indicator shows the full weight of the cargo on the hook to within 10 lb./5 kg.
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The C-40 Cockpit Indicator offers many improvements over the current C-39 indicator (which has been in use for more than 20 years), including simplified hook TBO tracking, improved LCD screen contrast, and a digital weight reading with an analog bar display. A forthcoming data logging software upgrade will allow operators to record time, load weight, and GPS coordinates for pick-up and drop-off locations.
Future software upgrades can be downloaded from the Onboard Systems website onto a thumb drive for fast and easy field installation. And because the C-40 is upgrade-compatible from the C-39, current operators who would like to take advantage of the advanced features provided by the C-40 can simply replace their existing C-39 with a C-40 as kits are certified for use on additional aircraft.
The Model E-86 Onboard Weighing System with C-40 Cockpit Indicator for the Airbus AS350 B3, B3e and H125 (P/N 200-310-01) is now in production. Operators who are already using this kit with the C-39 indicator can easily change it out for a C-40 unit if desired.
