MD520n

[helibiz]

I am thinking of buying a 520notar MD and have heard there can be a problem with the tail rotor pedal "sas" at different speeds. Any comment on owning one of these for private use. How fast are they in real use? Fuel consumption, maintenance? I know the published figures. I have 500D experience. Thanks in advance for replys

[ballar66]

I have owned two 520's. They were SN LN037, and LN050. I flew LN037 1100 HRS in 4.5 years, and never once had any problem with the system. I flew 110 HRS on LN050 and again never has any problem with its NOTAR system.

The NOTAR's fly quiter, and smotther than the tail rotored models, and offers more safety, with less maint. Noise abatement is a very big issue in Central Europe, so the quiter you are the less trouble you have with the authories and your neighbors. Between the two they averaged 120 Knots average IAS. Average burn for LN037 while flying in central europe was 200 LBS an hour. LN037 had the Fargo Aux Tank, and that gave me 2:40 total. With the Fargo system you can still take someone in the back seat, and have the under rear seat space still. Thats as good as it will get with the all 5xx series as you already know.

Pedal usage isnt that diferent. You will get used to it. You will not need allot of pedal to hold your heading in a hover no matter what the wind direction is. The pedal reaction is slower so you will need more pedal input to perform the same as what the tail rotor versions need. The SAS if working properly will not screw with you that much. I never had had any technical problems with the SAS system.

Make sure that all AD's and SB's have been complied with before buying and you should have a great time with it then.

[John Abersynth]

I have flown the MD 520N extensively and would recommend the A/C.Just check your available payload on the particular machine as they tend to be a wee bit on the heavy side.It's certainly not a 500D lifter.

[helibiz]

Thanks everyone for there reply much appreciated
helibiz

[Ian Corrigible]

I believe that Platinum Aviation (http://www.platinumaviation.com/) have the STC for the -C30 powered MD520N ("MD530N"??).

I/C

[trackdirect]

MS,

You might want to check with your local LAME, I believe that RR issued an ASB a number of years ago warning against motoring after shutdown to cool the engine..... this may be the practice for the LTS101 but can be quite damaging to the RR models....Turbine wheel cracking etc...

Trackdirect

[HeliMark]

On restart we would motor our 520's down to about 170, off the starter until about 8-9% then motor it to below 150 and lite off. This reduced the "bang" on the restart if you just did a straight motor to below 150 on a hot restart. We never motored ours down after shutdown.

[Hughesy]

Hi guys/gals

Can anyone please tell me what the fuel consumption rate is for the MD520N that they fly? Or what consumption rate they work on?

Thanks heaps for any assistance.

Hughesy

[Banzai-blades]

According to Conklin & de Decker data base 114l/hour.

Hope that helps:ok:

[nouseforaname]

Hi. I'm not Helicopter qualified but hoping to do it straight away and the copter i fancie for purchase is a MD520

can anyone tell me what advantages there are with the non-tail rotor system...one i was looking at was 2200TT for $750k USD

I know someone who has just bought a 500D with new tail and main rotor good engine. extended tanks. for c. $350 USD

seem's like good value to me compared with a 2000 md520

[helmet fire]

nouse,
the very first thing tomorrow is to go and find a helicopter purchasing consultant. Not a salesman. Not a factory rep. Not any one with an interest in your purchase (say a pilot who wants to fly for you after you get it).

You have a lot of narrowing down before getting to these two options.
Mission, payload, pax, weather, urban area ops, night, range, rangeVpayload, sex appeal, unique-ness, comfort, noise, manoeuvreability, rotor head type, running cost, availability, spares, engineers nearby, insurance, etc etc. I am thinking that if you are considering those two MD types, then "sexy" is a higher priority than most of the other things I have listed.

But, if you know best, helicopters are a great way to spend money, and they really are lots of fun. Go for it!

[Mark Six]

The 5oo's are good "working" helicopters, but definitely not something I would buy for personal use. Fun to fly but not so good for your passengers, and pretty useless for carrying luggage. I would look at an EC120 ahead of an MD 500. If you definitely want an MD product then go for a low time 500E with C20R engine in preference to the Notar. Fly both, then be a passenger (in the back) in both and you'll see what I mean.

[nouseforaname]

ye i sat in the back of a 500D when it was someone else's go in the front. it was only a short flight and it wasn't comfortable.

is there a huge improvement on the later 520 models without the blade tail rotor than a 500E perhaps??

TD

[Mark Six]

The MD520N (Notar, 500N) is the one without the tail rotor. Don't know that there's any difference between "early" and "late" models. The technology didn't change. From a handling/fun to fly viewpoint I much prefer flying the 500 with tail rotor than without.

[HeliMark]

No cockpit difference between the two. Everything that is changed is from the aft firewall back.

If you do a search on the MD520 here, you will find extensive discussions on it.

One thing you will find is that the D/E is cheaper to run then the N.