HANGAR TALK Industry news relevant to your business
Erickson Debuts Composite Main Rotor Blades
Erickson Incorporated recently announced FAA approval of its next-generation composite main rotor blades.
After many years of manufacturing metal blades, Erickson has invested in the future of the S-64 rotorcraft by designing, certifying, and building composite main rotor blades that will bring many dramatic benefits. Erickson began the process of designing the new blades in 2008, working closely with the FAA and various industry partners. In 2013 Erickson collaborated with Helicopter Transport Services (HTS), so the blades could be utilized on CH-54 rotorcraft as well. To maintain close control of blade manufacture, Erickson built a composite manufacturing facility from scratch in
2015. After thousands of hours of design, testing, and analysis by Erickson’s engineers and partners, the new composite main rotor blades are now approved by the FAA for the S-64E with an initial life that will increase as fatigue testing continues. Certification for the CH-54A is expected to follow quickly in the coming weeks, and certification for the S-64F and CH-54B is expected this summer.
“The CMRB program shows our commitment to innovation and next-generation programs for the modernization of the S-64 Air Crane®
helicopter and legacy fleet. As an OEM provider and air
operator, Erickson continues to push the envelope to find new and reliable solutions to keep our customers flying longer, safer, and always for the best price.”
Able Aerospace Doubles In-House Machining Department Capacity
Able Aerospace Services recently grew its business capabilities and doubled the bandwidth of its machining department by adding new equipment for large-scale part repair work.
The new machining equipment is part of an overall growth effort by the company – including the completion of a brand new, 60,000-square-foot facility expansion in late 2019 – to position itself to serve new product line opportunities. The equipment upgrades include a state-of-the-art machining center, new next- gen lathe and mill technologies, and enhanced state-of-the-art grinding capabilities.
“These machines add significant capacity to our repair pipeline. They also allow Able to service new sizes and categories of parts, including full helicopter transmission cases and large-scale commercial fixed-wing components,” said Michael Vercio, general manager of Able Aerospace Services. “The expanded capabilities
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allow us to complete a larger range of repairs in house and offer improved efficiency to our customers.”
The capability represents a new generation of sophistication, to which Able has added even more accuracy packages to repair and inspect parts requiring highly tight tolerances. This includes automating Able’s component repair and overhaul (CR&O) process to now support parts weighing up to 4,000 pounds (2,000 kg) and measuring up to 80 inches (2,000 mm) in length. It also accounts for an envelope size big enough to service large category helicopter transmissions and large-scale fixed-wing parts for commercial and military applications.
The expanded Able machining department is now fully operational and processing repairs. It joins a 260,000-square-foot Able headquarters facility that offers more than 10,000 FAA-approved fixed- and rotor-wing repair, overhaul, and parts solutions, and a team of more than 450 aerospace experts who successfully process more than 95% of all jobs on-site.
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