Cougar Helicopters has made a significant donation to College of the North Atlantic’s (CNA) Non-Destructive Testing program at its Port aux Basques campus. The donation is a main rotor blade removed from one of Cougar’s Sikorsky S-92 aircraft, which has a replacement value of approximately USD $500,000. Taking part in the presentation were, left to right, Robin Walters, CNA’s Vice-President of Industry & Community Engagement; JJ Gerber, Operations Services Manager at Cougar Helicopters; Chris Patey, CNA’s Dean of Industrial Trades; and Bob Pardy, Maintenance Manager at Cougar Helicopters.
Students enrolled in CNA’s Non-Destructive Testing program at the Port aux Basques campus are excited at the prospect of working on this main rotor blade from a Sikorsky S-92 aircraft, which was donated by Cougar Helicopters. The blade has a replacement value of approximately USD $500,000.
Cougar Helicopters has made a significant donation to College of the North Atlantic’s (CNA) Non-Destructive Testing program at its Port aux Basques campus. The donation is a main rotor blade removed from one of Cougar’s Sikorsky S-92 aircraft, which has a replacement value of approximately USD $500,000.
The blade measures approximately 26 feet long with the cuff (connection point to the helicopter), is just under three feet wide and weighs approximately 260lbs. The blade was deemed unserviceable and removed from Cougar’s aircraft in 2015 following a lightning strike.
“Our students are very excited at the prospect of working with this piece of equipment. It’s a significant unit of infrastructure that will provide them with valuable hands-on experience,” said Robin Walters, CNA’s Vice-President of Industry & Community Engagement, who noted the donation also opens possibilities for the college.
“CNA continues to explore ways to include our Non-Destructive Testing program in the aerospace and aviation sectors, so having our friends at Cougar Helicopters make this donation strengthens our ability to introduce students to the testing techniques that are specific to aerospace, and could possibly lead to further industry involvement in our program.”
“Cougar Helicopters is pleased to support CNA’s NDT program with the donation of this component,” said Bob Pardy, Cougar’s Maintenance Manager. “It is our hope this will assist with the training of NDT personnel to the benefit of the aerospace industry and the skill base of local NDT technicians in the performance of composite inspection and flaw detection.”
The principle components of the main rotor blade are a composite spar and cuff, composite pocket (honeycomb core/composite skin) and a composite sheath and de-icing blanket (on the leading edge skin over the spar).
Students enrolled in the Non-Destructive Testing program will use the main rotor blade to conduct a number of tests and inspections, including Liquid Penetrant Inspections, which helps to recognize surface flaws in components that appear as a result of capillary action. Ultrasonic Testing will require the students to use high frequency sound energy to conduct examinations and make measurements to determine surface or internal cracks or flaws, while Radiography Testing will look deeper into the material through the use of radioactive energy (X-ray) to determine whether or not there are internal flaws or cracks.
To learn more about CNA’s Non-Destructive Testing program visit www.cna.nl.ca.
-30-
Media Contacts:
Roger Hulan
Communications Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
(709) 643-7938
roger.hulan@cna.nl.ca
Candace Moakler
Public Affairs Officer
Cougar Helicopters Inc.
(709) 758-4041
cmoakler@cougar.ca