Hi, i´m new here. I´ve found this:
Agustawestland is pleased to announce that the certification ofthe new Tail Rotor Blade has been achieved on February 9th, 2012, as stated by EASA major change approval 10038371, well in advance of the estimated period (first quarter 2012) as foreseen in our previous statement dated December 2011.
The new Tail Rotor Blade has been certified initially with a life limit set at 1200 Flight Hours or 3200 Landings, whichever occurs first. Activities are currently underway with the Certification Authorities progressively to extend these thresholds in the course of 2012, with the target to stay ahead of the fleet leader in order to prevent any requirement of new blades replacement.
In order to sustain the demand generated by the in service fleet and new helicopter
deliveries, Agustawestland is processing also the qualification of an additional source of raw material from an alternative Supplier. In conjunction with the certification of the new Tail Rotor Blade, production process has been launched with the target to start the deliveries in the second quarter of 2012.
Since the introduction into service of the new Rotor Blade will require a complete set for each helicopter, Agustawestland will continue to supply the previous configuration Tail Rotor Blades, as necessary. This will allow the support ofthe current fleet operations until an adequate number of new Tail Rotor Blades will be made available by production.