Originally Posted by
nomorehelosforme
If the leading edges need protection with tape after a few hundred hours
This is a bit out of context. The only thing a blade needs is proper care and to be operated in an environment for which it was designed. Tape or the STC above are merely supplemental attempts to extend blade life in extreme environments. In the case of the 206 blades there are literally 1000s of blades that made retirement life without a single piece of tape installed.
Originally Posted by
nomorehelosforme
is there anything that can improve this in the manufacturing process?
It’s not so much a manufacture issue as it is an environmental issue. Even blades designed with hard metal leading edges, e.g., titanium, stainless steel, nickel, will prematurely erode to limits if operated in certain environments. For example like the blade below, but it wasn’t the leading edge that eroded excessively in this case.
Originally Posted by
nomorehelosforme
Who manufacturers the tape that you guys talk about as a help in reducing the leading edge corrosion/erosion?
As mentioned, 3M is a main one. But there are others which usually reside in the same country as the aircraft is manufactured. I just don’t remember the German or French, etc. companies at the moment. But also as mentioned the use of blade tape does have its own issues. And in some/most cases the addition of tape to the airfoil will degrade aircraft performance as well.
