Patent ID: 7176812

Claim:
A helicopter blade monitoring system, said monitoring system comprising: an indicator responder unit including at least one structural integrity sensor attached to a helicopter blade capable of being filled with a pressurized gas; said indicator responder unit capable of detecting, processing, and transmitting information associated with the structural integrity of said helicopter blade; an interrogator unit in wireless communications with said indicator responder unit; an operational control and display unit providing operational control of said indicator responder unit and said interrogator unit, and for displaying the status of the structural integrity of said helicopter blade, said operational control and displaying unit in operational communications with said interrogator unit; wherein said indicator responder unit is comprised of a sensor module attached to said helicopter blade; a machine controller in operational communications with said sensor module; a first wireless communicator module in operational communications with said machine controller; and a first antenna in operational communications with said first communicator module; and wherein said interrogator unit and said operational control and displaying unit are contained within a handheld device.