Helicopter Maintenance News

Sunday, March 10, 2024 - 20:12
PHI MRO Services, a provider in maintenance, repair and overhaul services, receives European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification to provide services as a Part 145 maintenance organization. EASA is responsible for aviation safety throughout the European Union (EU).

Helicopter Maintenance Blogs

Tuesday, June 13, 2023 - 11:30

Although the main theme of Drone Scents is sUAS maintenance, it is always underscored by safety. 

Event Calendar

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Digital Edition


April/May 2024 Helicopter Maintenance

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A Hot Topic Worth Repeating

Just like last year Summer is rounding the corner in the Northern Hemisphere.  Just like last year I am reminding you:  “To NOT stay thirsty my friends.”  Heat and Humidity, the curse of a helicopter mechanics’ workday, is coming to a hangar near you.

VSR700 Tested at Sea in Full Operational Configuration
VSR700 Tested at Sea in Full Operational Configuration

Airbus Helicopters and the French Armament General Directorate (DGA) test the unmanned aerial system (UAS) VSR700 for the first time in an operational configuration from a ship at sea. At the beginning of May, the VSR700 performed 80 fully autonomous take-offs and landings from a civil vessel equipped with a helicopter deck, cruising off the coast of Brittany in the west of France.

Whose Job Is It?

Just finished reading an article written by Arron Karp published in the March/April issue of Avionics International: “Aviation Maintenance Technician Shortage Threatens Post Covid Rebound”. The article begins: “As demand for aviation roars back generally—and for passenger airline services in particular—demand for aviation maintenance technicians (AMTs) is rapidly rising. Now, a long-feared AMT shortage has arrived, according to experts and industry forecasts, and is not expected to get better anytime soon.”

Aw Nuts!

B-nuts to be specific. The NTSB has released Safety Alert 086 titled Mechanics: Ensure B-nuts Are Properly Secured! You can view the Safety Alert by visiting https://www.ntsb.gov/Advocacy/safety-alerts/Documents/SA-086.pdf.

The Safety Alert starts off saying, “B-nuts are a small piece of hardware that can cause a big problem if they are not properly secured.”

It goes on to discuss “The problem.”

Garmin Receives Operational Excellence Award from Airbus Helicopters
Garmin Receives Operational Excellence Award from Airbus Helicopters

Garmin (NYSE: GRMN) announces it recently received the 2022 Operational Excellence Award from Airbus Helicopters at its annual Supplier Conference in Marignane, France. In addition to recognizing excellence in on-time delivery and quality, the award highlights Garmin’s outstanding performance amid a period of global supply-chain challenges.

Iridium Partner SKYTRAC Provides Truly Global Connectivity for Offshore Search-and-Rescue Helicopter
Iridium Partner SKYTRAC Provides Truly Global Connectivity for Offshore Search-and-Rescue Helicopter

Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM) announces that partner SKYTRAC is providing Iridium® satellite connectivity to a Sikorsky S-92®, which will be used for search and rescue off the shores of Guyana. SKYTRAC will enable truly global, weather-resilient, reliable connectivity for the helicopter with its ISAT-200A solution as well as BIue Sky Network’s Iridium Certus Connected® SkyLink 7100.

LYTE Aviation Reveals 40-seat Hybrid eVTOL
LYTE Aviation Reveals 40-seat Hybrid eVTOL

LYTE Aviation, the world’s newest advanced air-mobility innovator addressing advanced urban mobility and connectivity, reveals its 40-seat (hybrid) eVTOL SkyBus and SkyTruck program. LYTE Aviation’s LA-44 design is powered by four conventional turbine engines running on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) complemented with four electric motors at the wingtips powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The SkyBus and complementary SkyTruck cargo variant, designed around a 4.5 tonne payload, is the accumulation of three years’ R&D. The result is a game-changing vertical take-off and landing vehicle designed to be five times more fuel-efficient than current helicopters.

Trade Show Etiquette

The Helicopter Maintenance magazine team was in Atlanta March 7-9 attending HAI Heli-Expo 2023. It was nice walking the show talking to the exhibitors and learning about all the new products and services available for helicopter maintenance professionals. Thank you to all of you who stopped by our booth to say hi. It was great meeting new people as well as catching up with longtime acquaintances.

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