Composite tail rotor blades made by Caboolture’s Airwork Helicopters has received a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Airwork is the first Australian company to have received an FAA STC.
The Kevlar and carbon fibre rotor blades for the Bell 206 series of helicopters received the FAA’s approval on March 22 2017.
Airwork founder and chief executive Myles Tomkins has said previously the composite tail rotor blades were quieter, had twice the life of the standard Bell 206 tail rotor blades and had a 30 per cent cost advantage.
They also offered a higher margin of safety due to their increased strength and higher thrust for an equivalent power setting.
In May 2015, Airwork obtained a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) and Australian Parts Manufacturing Approval (APMA) from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to manufacture the composite tail rotor blades, following four years of development.
