Brazilian airline selects Michelin-Safran connected tire

Paris - Brazilian airline Azul Airlines has selected a connected tire, developed jointly by Michelin and aerospace engineering company Safran, for its fleet of nearly 110 aircraft.

The Azul fleet will be equipped with PresSense tires, which allow for remotely measuring aircraft tire pressure just 45 minutes after landing, said Michelin 22 June.

Presently, Michelin said, most operators perform the mandatory daily maintenance checks manually, using a pressure gauge positioned on the valve.

In order to be performed in complete safety, the operation requires waiting for the tire to cool down, which generally is three hours after landing.

PresSense comprises an electronic pressure measurement sensor, developed by Safran, integrated into a Michelin tire.

To check the tire pressures, maintenance agents need to place an RFID (radio frequency identification) reader in front of the tire.

The information is read instantly on a smartphone app and sent to a database, Michelin explained.

The data can be stored for analyses and predictive maintenance operations at a later stage, whereas the manual pressure measurements are not kept.

According to Michelin, the tires reduce the downtime of aircraft on the ground by over two hours every day, enabling airlines to optimise the availability of their fleets.

At fleet level, the tire is claimed to reduce operating costs, as the maintenance operations take “a few seconds”.

Michelin said the tire has been the subject of “several successful operating tests with various airlines”.

This is the first selection of PresSense tires for a fleet after its debut at the Paris Air Show 2017.

“This milestone marks the completion of several years of work between our teams to refine this innovative, reliable, and high-performance solution,” said Francois Bastin, Safran Landing Systems CEO

“The selection of PresSense by Azul, a major player among the South American airlines, validates the relevance of our technical choices,” said Sophie Brechoire, president of the Michelin aeronautic activities.

Azul, she went on to say, will benefits from the “safety, digitisation, and efficiency” offered by the tire.