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VHA's AS350 Tail Rotor Earns STC/PMA
VHA received FAA Supplemental Type Certification (STC) and Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) for its new AS350 Tail Rotor in mid-February 2025. Developed entirely in-house at Van Horn Aviation, the new AS350 Tail Rotor replaces the current spar-and-paddle design with two composite tail rotor blades attached to a steel hub using self-lubricating spherical bearings. This design eliminates the problematic elastomeric half-bearings in the current tail rotor — along with associated inspections, replacements and several Airworthiness Directives — while reducing control loads and increasing performance.
“When we first tackled the AS350 Tail Rotor design, our main goal was to solve the maintenance problem posed by the elastomeric bearings,” said VHA CEO Dean Rosenlof. “Through four years of research and redesign, we’ve not only solved that issue but also produced a system that noticeably enhances tail rotor performance on the venerable AS350.”
The VHA AS350 Tail Rotor includes the following components:
• Two individually-replaceable swept-tip composite tail rotor blades
• Removable pitch horns to allow interchangeability with various pitch links
• Steel hub with industry-standard teeter axis for reduced pitch link loads
• Spherical bearings to eliminate elastomeric bearing inspection and replacement issues
• Drive shaft extension and teeter stop
• New tail rotor bolt and installation hardware
“Our AS350 Tail Rotor introduces several major improvements over the OEM system, from allowing operators to replace a single damaged blade to eliminating the time and expense of frequently replacing elastomeric bearings,” said VHA Flight Operations Manager Terry Tyner. “In addition, they are great blades to fly. They’re very responsive.”
The service life of Van Horn Aviation’s AS350 Tail Rotor is 4,800 hours, which is 800 hours more than the OEM tail rotor. List price for the VHA AS350 Tail Rotor is comparable to the Airbus product. Deliveries to customers will begin in March. For more information, see our
AS350 Product page.
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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.
AS350 Tail and Manufacturer Tech Briefs Given at Verticon 2025 Posted Here
Eurosafety Pilot Kevin Nelson
