Van Horn Aviation | Composite Rotor Blades

Spotlight on A&P Helicopters

California operator A&P Helicopters uses a fleet of light and medium utility helicopters to accomplish a wide variety of tasks in construction, law enforcement, power and pipeline patrol, and more. Fred and Willa Young founded the company in 1988 with a single MD500. Now 30 years later and under the leadership of current owner Vickie Compton, the A&P fleet has grown to include one UH-1H Huey, one 206B3 and one 206L3—all equipped with VHA tail rotor blades—plus two MD500s.

One example of the can-do attitude and professionalism of the A&P team occurred in 2013, when the A&P Huey lifted 124 air conditioning units to the roof of the then-new Amazon fulfillment center in Tracy, California, in a single day (see video below). Starting at 7:30 am on a Sunday morning and averaging less than three minutes per lift, the Huey delivered more than 180,000 pounds of equipment to their assigned places on the roof by the day’s end. In July 2018, A&P lifted 50 air conditioning units to the roof of another Amazon building in Stockton, CA.

Based at Richvale Airport about 90 miles north of Sacramento and at the edge of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, A&P Helicopters also conducts a lot of high altitude work in both sun and snow. Occasionally A&P helicopters ferry hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts to the famed Rubicon 4×4 trail that ends near Lake Tahoe, but more often they are long-lining utility workers to towers high above the already high terrain of the Sierras. Working in all seasons, A&P helicopters assist with both fire fighting and snow surveys, and even serve as a videography platform for the film industry.

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AD Compliance Reminder for Certain 206L MRB Operators

By Kim VHA • April 25, 2025

For 206L LongRanger operators flying P/N 20633000-101 serial numbers A007-A009 or A012-A104, we would like to remind you that these blades are subject to AD 2022-22-08, which requires recurring tap inspections every 400 flight hours or 2,400 engine starts, whichever comes first. You can learn more about the tap test requirements and procedure in our video . These blades are likely to develop a delamination in the area of the weight pocket on the lower surface of the blade. The AD further requires removing the blades from service if the delamination reaches 6 inches in length. However, extensive company testing indicates that all blades will likely achieve their full retirement life before that occurs. So long as the delamination is monitored and does not exceed the permitted length, the blades are entirely safe to fly with no adverse effects on aircraft behavior or performance. Operators are required to report their findings at every inspection interval to VHA for tracking using the form on the last page of Service Bulletin 33000-4 . Completed forms should be emailed to info@vanhornaviation.com . Providing this data helps to ensure all operators of these blades remain safe. All of the identified blades are likely to have delaminations, so if none are detected please contact us for assistance. In addition, this AD is considered an interim action and once sufficient data is gathered it may be updated to reduce the required frequency of inspection. Refer to AD 2022-22-08 and SB 33000-4 for further information.