The MD Helicopters MD 600N is a light utility civilian
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
designed in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It is a stretched eight-seat development of the five-seat
MD 520N helicopter.
Design and development
McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems
MD Helicopters, LLC. (formerly McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems) is an American aerospace manufacturer. It produces light utility helicopters for commercial and military use. The company was a subsidiary of Hughes Aircraft until 1984, when M ...
(MD Helicopters since 1999) first announced it was developing a stretched MD 520N in late 1994, at that time designated the MD 630N.
[Frawley, Gerard: ''The International Directory of Civil Aircraft, 2003–2004'', page 156. Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd, 2003. .] The prototype, a modified MD 530F, had made its first flight on November 22, 1994. McDonnell Douglas gave the go-ahead for the production aircraft, redesignated the MD 600N, in March 1995.
McDonnell Douglas stretched the MD 520N fuselage by inserting a plug aft of the cockpit/cabin bulkhead and stretching the
NOTAR
NOTAR ("no tail rotor") is a helicopter system which avoids the use of a tail rotor. It was developed by McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (through their acquisition of Hughes Helicopters). The system uses a fan inside the tail boom to build ...
tail boom. The larger fuselage allows for an extra (middle) row of seats. Other differences compared with the MD 520N include a new six blade main rotor (the MD 520N has a five blade unit) and an uprated
Allison
Allison may refer to:
People
* Allison (given name)
* Allison (surname) (includes a list of people with this name)
* Eugene Allison Smith (1922-1980), American politician and farmer
Companies
* Allison Engine Company, American aircraft engine ...
(now Rolls-Royce)
Model 250 turboshaft.
The prototype was modified to MD 600N standard with a production standard engine and tail boom and flew in November 1995, followed the next month by the first MD 600N production prototype.
Certification was awarded on May 15, 1997, and deliveries began that June.
Following the 1997
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
/McDonnell Douglas' merger, Boeing sold the former MD civil helicopter lines to Netherlands-based RDM Holdings in early 1999.
On March 8, 2017, MD Helicopters unveiled a concept variant known as the MD 6XX. Unlike the MD 600, the MD 6XX utilizes a traditional
tail rotor
The tail rotor is a smaller rotor mounted vertically or near-vertically at the tail of a traditional single-rotor helicopter, where it rotates to generate a propeller-like horizontal thrust in the same direction as the main rotor's rotation. The ...
and shares its T-tail design with the smaller
MD 500/530F. It is currently in development, with certification originally expected in 2020. However, certification has been delayed indefinitely.
Operators
;
*
Meghna Group of Industries
Meghna Group of Industries (MGI) is one of the largest Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exc ...
;
*
Air Vigilance Service (3)
;
*
General Directorate of Security
;
*
United States Border Patrol
The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States' U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Customs and Border Protection and is responsible for securing ...
(retired)
Specifications (MD 600N)
See also
References
External links
MD Helicopters MD 600N page
{{MD Helicopters
1990s United States helicopters
MD 600
NOTAR helicopters
1990s United States civil utility aircraft
Single-turbine helicopters
Aircraft first flown in 1994