Dakota Air Parts Intl., Inc. a specialist in the buying, selling and support of a variety of rotor-wing and fixed-wing aircraft, turbine engines, and parts has announced that it is displaying a new to market composite tail rotor blade for the Bell 206A and 206B helicopters during Heli-Expo 2018​, February 27 – March 1 in Las Vegas. Dakota Air Parts is exhibiting at Booth # N3025.

Together with Australian manufacturer Airwork Helicopters, Dakota Air Parts is proud to introduce new-to-market composite tail rotor blade for the Bell 206 JetRanger Series helicopters. AMT-206-1 tail rotor blades are a direct replacement for OEM blades.

The blade design incorporates a non-symmetrical airfoil section and a swept tip. The blades are primarily fabricated from uni-directional Graphite (carbon fiber) and Aramid (Kevlar™) continuous fibers suspended in an epoxy matrix.

The nickel abrasion strip is designed to protect the blade under harsh operating conditions, like those encountered in agricultural work. The abrasion strip is 1-⅜ inches wide and covers 23% of the chord, providing protection to all of the blade surfaces exposed during flight, ensuring that erosion doesn’t impact the blade structure.

Operators flying in areas with stringent noise restrictions will find these blades especially valuable. Helicopters operating with the AMT-206-1 tail rotor blade demonstrate noise levels compliant with Stage 3 Noise requirements with an overflight noise level of 80.0 dB.

The AMT-206-1 composite tail rotor blades offer a 30% cost advantage with twice the life over the standard 206 tail rotor blades. Additional features include:

● 5,000 hour time life, twice the life of standard OEM blades

● 30% lower hourly operating costs

● Higher margin of safety due to increased strength

● Corrosion resistant and impervious to saltwater

● Replaceable bushings and abrasion strips

● Significant noise reduction, 68% reduction over OEM blades

● Improved ground clearance

● Complies with FAA stage 3 noise requirements

● Tested for over 51 million cycles

The blades are manufactured in Australia under an Australian Parts Manufacturing Approval (APMA) and have CASA and FAA STC’s:

● FAA STC: SR02644LA

● CASA STC: STC-SVR520

● APMA: 410142