Taken from the Roto&Wing website:
MD Helicopters have just announced the development of a new variant of their popular MD500 helicopter. This move is seen as a step to combat the rising market share of rival Eurocopter in the US market. The new MD500HS will be in direct competition with Eurocopters EC120 model. It is said that the MD500HS will be considerably cheaper in acquisition and running costs and also feature the following improvements:
Completely re-designed main and tail rotor:
The new design achieves a higher lift to weight ratio with shortened blades. This will help to minimise the footprint of the aircraft both in terms of noise and downwash.
High skids:
The extended skids will increase the aircrafts usefulness in rough terrain or tall grass and also allow the mounting of various types of equipment under the aircrafts fuselage. These modifications should attract new customers in various sectors.
MD Helicopters is confident that this new addition to the MD500 range will be a serious competitor on the US market and fill a market niche which currently exists in the law enforcement industry.
The new model can be seen
here.
Woolf