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Aerometals: Filtered focus

Lisa Gordon | January 5, 2023

Estimated reading time 8 minutes, 12 seconds.

Helicopters are hard-working machines by their very nature. They’re expected to perform in all sorts of adverse conditions, despite environmental contaminants like salt, sand and dust. 

While engine air filters are common on everything from lawnmowers to passenger vehicles, helicopters traditionally haven’t used them.

However, during the 2003 Iraq War, the U.S. military noticed engines were eroding much faster than normal due to repeated exposure to desert sand. Likewise, those operating on saltwater coasts noticed shorter times between engine overhauls. 

“That brought the concept of an inlet barrier filter to the forefront,” explained Lorie Symon, CEO of Aerometals, an aerospace company founded in 1984 in El Dorado Hills, California. 

Aerometals has been producing inlet barrier filters (IBFs) for helicopters for nearly 20 years.

Today, that product line is part of a larger entity that includes 150,000 square feet (14,000 square meters) of manufacturing, design and testing facilities. With 162 employees — including more than 30 engineers and 100 production personnel — Aerometals is known for specializing in every aspect of its tagline: “Design, fly, certify, manufacture.”

Its other product lines include Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved PMA (parts manufacturer approval) spare parts and the recovery of obsolete electric components, along with being a Department of Defense contractor. 

In 2016, Aerometals worked with the FAA to certify an inlet barrier filter (IBF) for the Sikorsky S-92 twin-engine helicopter. It took a little over six years to get that supplementary type certificate (STC).

“We are one of the world’s leading experts on this technology,” Symon said.  

Currently, Aerometals holds 19 IBF STCs across a range of helicopter types, including Sikorsky, Airbus, Bell and MD. 

“The last STC we received was for the S-70/H-60 model, commonly known as the Black Hawk,” Symon continued. “Prior to that, all of our IBF STCs had been for commercial aircraft.” 

Aerometals’ success with the Black Hawk STC led to a contract with the U.S. Special Operations Command, announced in March 2022. It will see the company’s IBFs installed on U.S. Army special operations MH-60M helicopters over the next five years. 

Going global 

With its Black Hawk STC in hand, Aerometals has identified foreign militaries operating in places like Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, where sand and pollutants are more common. 

The company has begun educating helicopter manufacturers, operators and pilots about IBFs and how they function. 

“It’s a natural follow-on to reach out to foreign militaries,” Symon said. “The response right now is honestly a bit tentative, because IBFs are not commonly flown outside North America. We’re doing a lot of education, answering a lot of questions — dispelling myths.”

She said a common concern is that installing an IBF will negatively affect airflow to the helicopter engine, thereby reducing power. 

“The concept I’m really trying to get across to people, especially pilots, is that any time you put something in front of an engine, yes, you can affect the performance. Restricting airflow can slightly reduce the power reserve,” Symon said. “However, what they’ll find is that by trapping the particles that cause erosion, we end up preserving the remaining aircraft power. If that engine is allowed to erode over time, it has to work faster and hotter as it continues to degrade. By filtering the air, you can preserve that existing power reserve.”

Symon said the most powerful reason to install IBFs is found in the operational bottom line.

“Most of the time, an IBF will double the time between overhauls. If you can skip just one engine overhaul, you have more than covered the cost of an IBF. The return on investment is big.”

Erik Blanck, director of sales and marketing at Aerometals, is in charge of promoting the IBF business case to manufacturers and operators. 

“With engine OEMs, they are coming to the idea that IBFs are beneficial,” he said. “They were against them early on, but now they have customers running power-by-the-hour programs, and they are finding there is a need for an IBF.”

Blanck said the Aerometals booth at the 2022 European Rotors show will include an “intuitive interface” detailing what IBFs are, how they are installed, and how they perform. Filters will be onsite for visitor inspection. 

“There are a lot of preconceived myths out there about IBFs,” Symon said. “Some of the older filters prompted these, but technology has changed over the last 20 years. We’ve been able to correct power hits and limitations in our new STCs.”

Symon said two new IBF programs are underway and one, perhaps two, will be announced at European Rotors. 

The company is spooling up production to fulfil its Special Operations contract, with an emphasis on vertically integrated manufacturing. It is currently hiring and aims to grow its staff to 200 employees. 

Symon concluded with a message for new customers: “Aerometals has a solid, stable presence in the industry and we will be here for years to support you.” 

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