The Lord Corporation has produced an Improved Vibration Control System (IVCS) for the Boeing CH-47Chinook helicopter. It reported the completion of all program milestones under a contract awarded by Boeing in September 2013. The system is being incorporated on all new-production CH-47Fs.
Stuart Hartwell, business development manager for Lord Global Aerospace & Defense, said that IVCS “represents a major step in bringing significant weight savings to the H-47 platform.” The IVCS technology uses accelerometers that measure aircraft vibration levels. A centralized computer processes these signals through a software algorithm that interprets the data and sends commands to force generators located under the pilot seats. These force generators create “anti-vibration” that stops the progression of vibration due to the main rotor and creates a more comfortable vibration environment for the aircrew.

The Lord product is a direct/dro-in replacement for the previouslyused and heavy passive-tuned vibration absorber. According to Mike Janowski, manager of electromechanical design at Lord, the IVCS is easily installed using existing mounts on the aircraft and outperforms the legacy system. It could be retrofitted to the MH-47Gs of U.S. Special Operations Command, as well as existing CH-47Fs and Chinooks that have been exported via the Foreign Military sales (FMS) process.

The company first demonstrated IVCS in 2008 on a CH-47 belonging to the Mississippi Army National Guard. IVCS offers a triple-digit weight-saving benefit, helping to offset increases caused by the addition of other new systems. Lord provides similar systems to Boeing for the AH-64 Apache and the V-22 Osprey.