Alan Szabo and I have been helping Vic Campbell with the testing of the new “TST” blades for a couple of months now. TST stands for “Textured Surface Technology”.

These new blades from Campbell Manufacturing are quite revolutionary; they have a rough surface that traps air on the blade minimizing drag and improving the tracking characteristics of any helicopter. This is all achieved without sacrificing the “pop” that V-Blades are known for. Unlike any other blade on the market, V-Blades are made out of a very stiff, but light wood core. This wood core combined with a proprietary technique used to apply the carbon on the blade creates a very stiff blade that has very little torsional flex. This simply means that when you demand a certain amount of pitch on your collective under a load, the blades do not flex as much resulting in near equal pitch deflection at the root and tip. Flexible blades made out of foam cores “give” too much torsionally, which results in much less pitch deflection at the tip of the blade under heavy loads, which minimizes response and creates a “mushy” feeling.

I would never consider flying any other blade. I suggest you try a set of the new TST V-Blades when they become available. Visit the V-Blades web site for more information.