South Africa’s Paramount Group to Make Composite Blades for Mi Helos in U.A.E.

Paramount Aerospace Systems, a subsidiary of Paramount Group is gearing up production of composite blades for Mi-type helicopters with the establishment of a production facility in the United Arab Emirates.

In February, Paramount Group said it signed an agreement with Sharjah-based AAL Group Ltd. to locally manufacture main and tail rotor composite blades for the helicopters and upgrade helicopters across Africa.

AAL Group provides a full range of services and support for Mi-type rotary-wing aircraft.

The companies’ production resources will be situated within a newly established facility located on a plot of land directly connected to the airside.

Paramount has established an extensive composite blade design and development capability for Mi-type helicopters. The composite blades offer a clear advantage over metal blades.

Paramount Global CEO, Steve Griessel, stated: “Paramount’s composite main rotor blade development started in 2006, in response to a customer requirement. The composite blades were designed to provide the same functional and performance capability, including shape, size and weight as the metal blades, enabling installation without any recertification of the helicopter platform elements, limiting certification only to the composite blades. This substantially reduces the development and qualification process and does not affect any other major or structural parts.”

The composite blades have a significantly increased operational life, at least five to eight times more than the metal blades but also allowing individual blades to be replaced in the event of damage rather than the whole set. In the event of damaged blade or a set can be easily repaired at location and returned to service in a short period of time. Although the production of the composite blades is more expensive than metal blades, the operational life makes the overall cost of operation substantially cheaper.