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VHA to Sell 206L Main Blades Direct to Customers
an Horn Aviation (VHA) offer direct sale on its 206L LongRanger composite main rotor blades immediately following FAA certification, which is expected in July 2018. Aeronautical Accessories will continue to serve as the exclusive distributor for our other Bell 206 products—tail rotor blades for most 206 variants and main rotor blades for the 206B JetRanger.
The VHA 206L main rotor blades feature carbon fiber skin and spars, an efficient NASA-designed laminar-flow airfoil, tapered tip, and a combination of stainless steel and nickel abrasion strips that cover the entire length of the blade for erosion and lightning strike protection. The VHA blades use the identical installation configuration as the OEM blades, allowing direct replacement without hub modification.
Anticipated service life is 16,000 hours (4x the life of the metal OEM blades) with overhauls of the root grip plates, root bolts and nuts, and bushings every 4,000 hours. The overhaul is estimated to take no longer than two weeks and cost approximately $3,500.
“Essentially customers will have a choice when they hit the 4,000 hour mark on either blade,” said VHA president Dean Rosenlof. “Either they can throw away the OEM metal blade and buy a new metal blade for nearly the same price as the VHA blade, or spend $3500 on an overhaul and go another 5,000 hours with the VHA blade, and do that two more times. Our blade clearly offers the better direct operating cost.”
Introductory pricing on the 206L main rotor blades will be $55,000 per blade through December 31, 2018. Interested customers can contact VHA directly at 1-480-483-4202 or email info@vanhornaviation.com.
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For 206L LongRanger operators flying P/N 20633000-101 serial numbers A007-A009 or A012-A104, we would like to remind you that these blades are subject to AD 2022-22-08, which requires recurring tap inspections every 400 flight hours or 2,400 engine starts, whichever comes first. You can learn more about the tap test requirements and procedure in our video . These blades are likely to develop a delamination in the area of the weight pocket on the lower surface of the blade. The AD further requires removing the blades from service if the delamination reaches 6 inches in length. However, extensive company testing indicates that all blades will likely achieve their full retirement life before that occurs. So long as the delamination is monitored and does not exceed the permitted length, the blades are entirely safe to fly with no adverse effects on aircraft behavior or performance. Operators are required to report their findings at every inspection interval to VHA for tracking using the form on the last page of Service Bulletin 33000-4 . Completed forms should be emailed to info@vanhornaviation.com . Providing this data helps to ensure all operators of these blades remain safe. All of the identified blades are likely to have delaminations, so if none are detected please contact us for assistance. In addition, this AD is considered an interim action and once sufficient data is gathered it may be updated to reduce the required frequency of inspection. Refer to AD 2022-22-08 and SB 33000-4 for further information.
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