St. Louis, MO., Feb. 23, 2006 – Aerospace Filtration Systems, Inc. (AFS) today delivered its 1,000th UH-60 BLACK HAWK Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) Inlet Barrier Filter (IBF) kit to the U.S. Army. Initial production deliveries of APU IBF systems began in February 2004. APU IBF kits are provided for the two qualified UH-60 APUs, the Hamilton Sundstrand T-62T-40-1 and the Honeywell Engine System GTCP36-150 [BH].

In 2001 AFS began development of an IBF system for APU inlets; a patent for the design concept was filed in December 2002 and issued in November 2004. Development was focused on solving the erosion problem with APU compressors. This erosion is exacerbated in military applications operating in adverse environments. AFS provided two development systems in November 2002 to the U.S. Army for desert evaluation to verify the performance, operability, and maintenance of the system on the UH-60 BLACK HAWK platform. A one-year evaluation of the system was completed to substantiate the fielding concept and economic value the IBF system offered. 

“The APU IBF is designed to solve a serious compressor erosion problem and eliminate sand and dust from APU bleed air for reduced maintenance on aircraft pneumatic systems,” said Joe Wilson, engineering design manager for AFS. “We addressed all these maintenance issues with application of AFS barrier filter technology to the APU inlet.” Design criteria for the APU introduced significant challenges, including physical constraints, high velocity airflow, high operating temperatures and torturous APU heat soak back, according to Wilson. In addition, AFS challenged itself with developing a common filter assembly configuration for both APUs, although the mounting systems were required to be unique to each APU vendor.

“The unique designs AFS adapted for the APU were subjected to military engine test cell and flight test evaluations with both clean and contaminated filter assemblies to verify performance and operability,” according to Thomas Newman, project engineering manager for AFS. Prior to military fielding, the Army did a thorough evaluation to substantiate the design. Inlet performance analysis tools were used to predict clean and clogged filter pressure loss characteristics so representative tests from a temperature and pressure distortion aspect could be completed.

AFS was recognized by the U.S. Army with its prestigious Aviation Materiel Readiness Award (2003) for a contribution by a small business organization.

AFS has also developed similar systems for the CH-47 Chinook APU and AH-64 Apache APU; both configurations are also in production for the U.S. Army. The Chinook CH-47 APU IBF shares a common filter assembly with the UH-60 BLACK HAWK, allowing lift and utility units to stock the same filter configuration. The Apache AH-64 APU includes a fully shrouded inlet design with internal filters to address the complex design constraints of the Apache APU compartment.  Earlier Apache APU filter systems fell short in performance and integration areas and the focus of the AFS development program was to introduce a fully integrated design.

Filtering out more than 99 percent of dirt and sand, AFS barrier filtration systems have been proven by both commercial and military operators in more than 500,000 flight hours, including high tempo desert combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Barrier filter systems actually enhance engine performance when compared to traditional particle separators, deliver more engine temperature margin (thus more load carrying capacity), and provide a greater margin of safety. Additional benefits include reduced operating and overhaul costs and reduced engine operating temperatures for increased engine life. Proven technology for the most demanding missions, AFS filters are available for many applications with new systems being introduced throughout 2006.

About Aerospace Filtrations Systems, Inc.

AFS is the rotorcraft industry leader in the design, development and manufacture of high-performance engine IBF systems for commercial and military rotorcraft propulsion systems. AFS has delivered more than 1,300 systems and 12,000 filters to military and commercial customers worldwide for main engine inlets and Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) inlets.  In addition to the APU systems, the company also produces certified commercial filtration systems for the Bell 206B, Bell 407, Bell 206L-3/4, Bell 206L-1/C30 and MD 369 (MD 500H/D/E/F Series). AFS military systems are available for the Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, Bell UH-1H Huey, Bell OH-58A/C, Boeing AH/MH-6J/M Little Bird, Sikorsky UH-60 BLACK HAWK main engine and APU, Boeing AH-64 Apache APU, and Boeing CH-47 Chinook APU.

AFS will display its IBF systems at booth 1289 at Heli-Expo, Feb. 26-28 in Dallas, Texas. AFS will also exhibit (Booth 760) at the upcoming AAAA convention, April 9-12 in Nashville, Tenn.

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For more information, contact:

Aerospace Filtration Systems, Inc.
Jay Foster
Engineering Sales and Marketing
(636) 300-5050
foster@afsfilters.com