Airwolf Aerospace B206 TT Straps

[krypton_john]

Any body have any knowledge of these? I had no idea there was a 3rd party PMA supplier. Are they cheaper? As good or better?

[TRC]

As good or better?


They can't be any worse - or can they?

[B Sousa]

Dont know about the rest of the guys, but when it comes to that part of a helicopter, I would just as soon have factory parts.....and new ones.

[krypton_john]

You mean Bell factory parts? Not sure if your faith is well earned. The factory parts have been known to break down and fly apart - hence the 2 year 1200hr limit.

These ones are 'Factory Parts' and they are presumably new.

It's a simple device. I wonder what sort of stress tests were required to certify these after market ones? Given the failures of the original part, I hope the tests were far more severe than anything likely to be encountered in actual use.

[jonwilly]

Torque tension Straps are lifed from date of fitment, not date of construction.
Internal corrosion is said to be the problem.
Several cabs have been lost due to this corrosion and I seem to remember Bell where first to have the problem, losing a 212 off Norway and then introduced a Life.
Westland did not until losing a Gazelle and then a Lynx both with fatel consequences, when Main Rotor Blade parted company with Head.


john

[SuperF]

So when was the last JR to have strap failure? They had an issue years, even decades ago with machines that lived outside, right by the sea corroding, :rolleyes: what genius couldn't figure that out.

At least being Bell you can buy the spares, and it doesn't take months to get standard parts...

[Keepitup]

Just to clarify.

The life starts on first turn of the blades under power, and not fitment date. ie they can be fitted in January and the aircrafts first flight is in may, then May is the start of the life limit.
(stated in the Bell MM Chapter 4)

[jonwilly]

Not arguing Keepitup
First Flight Yes but some folk took date of fitment so as to keep the paperwork simple.
Must be honest and say I never understood the limitation being from when the TT Straps where fitted, date of construction seemed more relevant to me.
For folk who are not familiar a Strap is Two hollow Pins, say 10 inches apart, joined by a single 'Strand' of wire,
The single strand goes around the two Pins, Thousands/Tens of thousands times in a continuous 'Loop' and so provides the strength to resist the Massive Forces generated by the rotating Main rotor head.
The Wire is coated in a Flexible Plastic material and is well protected.
I never saw the coating broke on any I removed.
I have always suspected corrosion at time of Manufacture.
But just my opinion.

john:O

[krypton_john]

As I understand it the failures were on machines that spend a lot of time sitting outside in marine environments.

[Keepitup]

Hi JonWily
Agreed.

Just to go back to the original question, what is the life limit on an Airwolf TT Strap, How can it be the same as Bell requirements, these are not manufactured by Bell, therefore as stated before, what test procedures have been carried out on the PMA parts?

Do you value your life or your wallet ?

Keepitup

[SuperF]

Surely checked the same as any other pma parts? Hundreds available out there for Alison 250's, blades on JR's and 500's. Huey, 204,205,212 blades, can get all sorts of parts for 500's and older machines, from different manufacturers, so what would be the difference for TT straps? Sure if they fail not a pretty picture, but that goes for a few parts on a helicopter...

[Thai Pom]

Or are they made by a vendor for Bell...

[jonwilly]

Outside Manufacture would seem most likely, as, has been said
"I'd venture to guess that Bell's TT straps are not wound, tensioned, tested, and dipped by Bell employees in Fort Worth."
No doubt made to Aviation Standard for Bell by ?
I do wonder who manufactured the ones used by Westlands and Areospatial?

john

[Thai Pom]

There is probably one or two companies out there doing it for all of the OEM's.

[FLY 7]

It has always struck me that there is no incentive for the helicopter manufacturers to extend the service life of TT straps - they are a relatively simple but expensive component that must earn good on-going revenue - bit like ink cartriges in printers.

If an external third party could develop a superior product, with an extended life approval, then I'm sure many operators would prefer it.

[nonac]

The part number is prefixed with AA206-011-154-105 & 107 You will find them a good bit cheaper than the OEM part, they carry FAA approval, as do all PMA parts out of the USA.

As far as the 1200 Hr / 24 Month life limit goes, the OEM straps are manufactured by Lord corporation who manufacture straps for other aircraft in the same manner to the same standards, yet in other airframes they have a ten year life limit or are on-condition.

The straps used to suffer corrosion to the wires after the casing split or cracked. The material used to encase the wires these days is very different and I havent seen one cracked or split in more that 15 years,

Its quite possible that the 24 month life limit is one of the 206 parts that BHT are reviewing under their life extention programe. Lets hope:D

[Heli-wolf]

I was just reading through the blog. There were some questions about the life limits and certification of the Airwolf FAA PMA TT Straps. The life limits are currently the same for the Airwolf TT Straps as the Bell (Lord) straps at 1,200 hours/ 24 months. Airwolf is working to provide extended life straps.

As far as certification of PMA parts is concerned, the FAA put out a special airworthiness information bulletin in 2008 to address the (FUD) fear uncertainty and doubt that OEMS were spreading about PMA parts. The SAIB NE-08-40 included the following information.

"FAA-approved TC/PC holder, PMA, and STC parts are interchangeable within the certificated product since they are approved only after a full demonstration of compliance to the applicable requirements of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). A PMA or STC part, when FAA-approved for installation on a certificated product, is a valid replacement part to the TC/PC holder part according to 14 CFR;"

The Airwolf straps went through a complete certification process demonstrating compliance to the CFR’s before PMA approval was granted. The Airwolf straps are considerably less expensive and are in stock. Airwolf’s website is “airwolfaerospace.com”

[206 jock]

I had missed it along the way, but Airwolf straps are now certified for 3 years or 1,200 hours.

http://www.airwolfaerospace.com/files/7213/5315/7129/36_Month_TT_Strap_Press_Release_11-19-2012.pdf

Quelle surprise that Bell are alleged to have a 'new' product in the marketplace too that miraculously also has a 36 month life

Textron : Newsroom - Bell Helicopter Announces New 206 Series TT Strap with Calendar Life Extension (http://investor.textron.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=110047&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1660379&highlight=)

Funny how competition suddenly causes Bell to inject vigour into realigning the 2 year life after 20 years of bleeding owners dry. Albeit, the special warranty credit has gone too.

I'll continue to give my money to Airwolf.

[ericferret]

I believe the cause of the plastic cracking was put down to mishandling during maintenace.
Once cracked then the issue of corrosion became the problem with the internal wires.
The cause of the cracking was stated to be excessive angular displacement of the grips
possibly caused by not using the correct tooling when fitting/removing the head and blades.

[FLY 7]

I just received this:


Airwolf Aerospace - Heli Expo North Hall Booth: N4737


We invite you to stop at our booth: N4737
We have a lot to talk about:


· Our New 36 Month TT Straps for Bell 206 Jet Rangers, Long Rangers and OH-58 Helicopters

· TT Straps for Bell 204, 205, 212 & UH-1- Coming Soon

· TT Straps for Enstrom 480 Helicopters- Coming Soon

· New Bell 204, 205, 206, 212 & UH-1 Dynamic PMA parts- Coming Soon!

If it wears out, breaks, has a life limit, or is just too darn expensive,
Airwolf will have a PMA replacement for it.

[M1900]

Any updates as to when Airwolf TT straps may be approved for the Enstrom 480?

[FLY 7]

I think they already are approved.