BITD!
The then Hughes demo party trick was ~120 knots at about 6 ft. Roll the throttle, zoom climb as described here previously, roll left when down to about 60 knots, haul it around in a descending turn and flare to touch down back where you started!!
Remembering that it all started from here -
And the basic blade hasn't changed much over the years.
All they have done is make it a bit longer and add a few more so there are limits as to what can be achieved.
Chan Morse at Prescott AZ ( I think) ~ 5000'.
As the retreating blade stalls at low Nr and conveniently drops into the tailboom.
FYI I was pilot/mechanic on the second MD600N in service, the first went to South Africa, and before anyone in the U.S. operated them. Talk about being a guinea pig!!
We did all the delightful things and went through all the initial teething problems like rebuild the instrument panel because the original engine instrumentation guys went out of business, FADEC EMI testing, replaced the undercarriage with upgraded items, overrunning clutch mods, fan shroud replacement, FADEC sockets the wrong size, tailboom attach fitting mods, removal of the thruster cap to improve flight characteristics, MGB oil pressure switch mods, swashplate offset mod, cyclic stick mod, cyclic electrical connector mods, fuel system mods and its pitfalls, and on and on.......................
The thing is still flying in Venezuela somewhere I think.
Although it was nearly 20 year ago I can't think of anything it did really well.
Just goes to prove that unfortunately you still can't polish a turd.
For perspective I can compare it to about 12 other types I have flown.