[Peetwo]

Update to previous good news post (above) -

Quote from AMROBA newsletter:

"...Many thanks should be given to Mr Myles Tomkins, CEO of Airwork Helicopters, Caboolture, Qld who’s STC was used as the trial STC during negotiations with the FAA. Some product certification processes not done by CASA had to be processed by the FAA to obtain FAA approval..."    

The knock on effect as reported in Oz Aviation :

Airwork Helicopters obtains FAA supplemental type certificate for composite tail rotor blades
March 24, 2017 by australianaviation.com.au Airwork Helicopters chief executive Myles Tomkins and the CASA approved advanced composite Bell 206 tail rotor blades. (Airwork Helicopters)

Pps Passing strange 6D mentions this in regards to the dreaded "A" word (aviation), yet he is still not trying to garner favour for his recently released legislative instrument SOE to the CASA Board - see 6D's attempt at humouring the IOS.

Update to the update -

Via the Oz today:

Blade runner leads way to US

Developing a better tail rotor blade for the Bell 206 helicopter has been Myles Tomkins’s passion for seven years.

Developing a better tail rotor blade for the Bell 206 helicopter has been Myles Tomkins’s ­passion for the past seven years, and last week he achieved his dream by becoming the first ­Australian supplier to crack the US helicopter parts market.

Mr Tomkins, who began his aviation career as a helicopter muster pilot 40 years ago, has ­developed a composite rotor blade for the Bell 206 that has now won approval to be sold as an aftermarket part in the US.

It’s a big win for Mr Tomkins, and Australia’s aviation parts ­industry more broadly, and it came with no less than a bilateral agreement between the Australian and US governments to allow access to the US market.

As Transport Minister Darren Chester said, the signing of amendments to the bilateral ­aviation agreement between Australia and the US last week would make access to the US aviation market easier and cheaper.

“There are more than 40 ­Australian aviation design organisations and more than 80 ­aviation production organisations that will have lower costs and less red tape when exporting to the US market,” Mr Chester said. “A range of Australian design and manufacturing approvals will now be accepted in the US without the need for additional and sometimes costly work.

“People and organisations wanting to sell their aircraft into the US should have fewer regulatory hurdles to contend with. These amendments save money and streamline regulatory requirements without in any way compromising safety standards.’’

The amendments have been made to the Implementation ­Procedures on Airworthiness made under the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement between Australian and the US.

And the first cab off the rank is Tomkins’s Airwork Helicopters, which employs 16 people in the town of Caboolture. Coinciding with the amendments, he secured a Supplemental Type Certificate, which allows his composite blades to be sold in the US.

Mr Tomkins has spent more than $1 million developing the blades and securing the STC, and had to obtain permission from CASA to make the blades. He says the STC allowed helicopters to “bolt on new parts, like going to Supercheap Auto”.

And one of the parts that can bolt on is his composite blades. He says the US market is vast, with about 7000 Bell 206s in the air. And his blades are 25 per cent cheaper.
The win has prompted him to look at other products to sell into the US. “Now that we have proved we can do it, we are starting to look at other carbon fibre products.’’

The kevlar and carbon fibre blades also offer twice the life over the standard tail rotor blades. The blades also offer a higher margin of safety because of their increased strength and higher thrust for an equivalent power setting, as well as a very substantial noise reduction.

This could allow helicopter operators that fly in and around noise-sensitive environments such as national parks and built-up areas.

MTF...P2