MD Explorer
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MD902
I fly for a EMS company in the US. Within the next year or so we will be replacing some of our aging Bell 222s, mainly due to the rising cost of Bell parts. We are seriously looking at the MD902 as a replacement and would like any comments from those of you flying one now or with recent experience on the type. I myself have some experience with the 900, dating back about four years, and was impressed with it. I'm wondering about the impact of the PW 207 on performance, range, etc. Anyone flying it SPIFR? Thanks in advance.
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I hope one of the 902 operators responds to you. We have enough of them flying the beastie now however I,m not sure whether the 207 P&W's are installed yet...might be wrong though. Currently the UK operates about 6 HEMS/POLICE 902's a/c and by all accounts they seem to be producing the goods. No funny business from them that we have heard about.....yet! Try your post again and include the words "HEMS and POLICE" in the heading.. Safe flying
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Thermal runaway.
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Thermal runaway.
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Try contacting Medical Aviation Services as they have operated the Explorer for a couple of years now in both the Police & HEMs roles. Try e-mailing '[email protected]' and hopefully someone will pick up on it and respond.
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I have heard that the rotor blades have been suffering from cracks on the leading edges, that the fuel indication is suspect but it flies well on one engine and the ducted fan doesn't like rain.
Is this true or just hearsay?
"trying to listen out again"
Is this true or just hearsay?
"trying to listen out again"
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West Yorkshire Police (UK) are shortly to take delivery of a 902 with 207 engines as are Greater Manchester Police. Get in touch with Mark Woodward at MAS.
[email protected]
[email protected]
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I heard that the HEMS Explorer had an engine flame-out recently. Seems one engine simply ran out of fuel! The Explorer's fuel system leaves something to be desired, it has one tank split down the middle by a baffle. This can result in a fuel imbalance and, as each engine is fed from either side of the baffle ... you can work the rest out for yourselves. In addition it seems that the fuel gauge is pretty inaccurate!
So far the Explorer's problems have been kept fairly well under wraps, I think the lid may be starting to be prised off the can of worms. Good luck all you Explorer pilots.
So far the Explorer's problems have been kept fairly well under wraps, I think the lid may be starting to be prised off the can of worms. Good luck all you Explorer pilots.
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The 902 is certified and legal SPIFR in the US and JAA countries (any delays in the UK are probably courtesy of the CAA). In its IFR version it is as well, if not better equipped than most of the IFR aircraft operating on the North Sea. I believe that Sussex Air Support Unit are happy with their aircraft which has a full Police and Hems fit,(although it has to be said that they do not operate IFR).
The lack of information about any potential snags with the 902 may be because there are few that cause any of the operators any real concern. The current rotor and wing magazine contains an unbiased report of the 902 which should convince you that it is a capable machine for HEMS work.
Personally speaking, I can't believe that I'm lucky enough to have flown in one!
The lack of information about any potential snags with the 902 may be because there are few that cause any of the operators any real concern. The current rotor and wing magazine contains an unbiased report of the 902 which should convince you that it is a capable machine for HEMS work.
Personally speaking, I can't believe that I'm lucky enough to have flown in one!
Gen Info MD902
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Perhaps this thread can bring in some comment some UK MD Explorer operators from the meeting in the Humberside area last week? All UK Explorer operators met face-to-face with MD. Why was this meeting required? 
What views were being aired? What was the outcome? Will the Explorer be the better aircraft for it?
What views were being aired? What was the outcome? Will the Explorer be the better aircraft for it?
A great aircraft, worthy of holding its own with any other new generation helo. HOWEVER, there is an awful lot of secrecy surrounding anything to do with the 902 in operation...why is that?
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I've been flying the Explorer in Police & HEMS ops for 2.5 years and it's a great aircraft. It handles well and has stacks of power even with the 206 engines. It is Helipad capable at MAUW up to +26 deg and sometimes above dependant on QFE. The large boxy cabin is ideal for emergency services ops, giving room to work and great flexibility.
There have been anumber of maintenance problems, some down to PAS disorganisation and some down to the aircraft or more correctly to the spares supply from MDH.
The recent meeting at Humberside of the MD 902 user group was largely to address these problems rather than any gripes with the aircraft itself.
The specific engineering problems were largely inherited by MDH from Boeing who did little to sort them out or promote the aircraft.
The blade delamination has been solved by modded blades although not everyone has a full set of new blades yet. The MGBx oil system has been modded and new gearboxes are shortly to come on line. Notar out of balance problems have been largely solved by balancing the fan regularly pending modified blades.
None of these have caused a major problem other that the length of time that it has sometimes taken for spares to arrive which is a problem that MDH are also trying to solve. We have found that MDH have worked hard to sort out technical problems and provide a mod when required. Although these sometimes take longer to come through than the operators would like this may be a little unrealistic given that MDH was a brand new company 2 years ago and they seem to have inherited a disorganised and undeveloped programme from Boeing and that the MD 902 is only one of their products.
Hope this helps !!!
There have been anumber of maintenance problems, some down to PAS disorganisation and some down to the aircraft or more correctly to the spares supply from MDH.
The recent meeting at Humberside of the MD 902 user group was largely to address these problems rather than any gripes with the aircraft itself.
The specific engineering problems were largely inherited by MDH from Boeing who did little to sort them out or promote the aircraft.
The blade delamination has been solved by modded blades although not everyone has a full set of new blades yet. The MGBx oil system has been modded and new gearboxes are shortly to come on line. Notar out of balance problems have been largely solved by balancing the fan regularly pending modified blades.
None of these have caused a major problem other that the length of time that it has sometimes taken for spares to arrive which is a problem that MDH are also trying to solve. We have found that MDH have worked hard to sort out technical problems and provide a mod when required. Although these sometimes take longer to come through than the operators would like this may be a little unrealistic given that MDH was a brand new company 2 years ago and they seem to have inherited a disorganised and undeveloped programme from Boeing and that the MD 902 is only one of their products.
Hope this helps !!!
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I can concur with Bear, but the most outstanding features are that there is virtually NO vibration, almost NO noise and more importantly its the first heli in which I can sit up straight and look around with plenty of headroom.
The instrumentation is quite intuitive but quite daunting at first to the analogue brains amongst us.
Its also nice to have plenty of power and a tail rotor (NOTAR) which is more efficient than it needs to be.
Even the seats are comfortable!
The instrumentation is quite intuitive but quite daunting at first to the analogue brains amongst us.
Its also nice to have plenty of power and a tail rotor (NOTAR) which is more efficient than it needs to be.
Even the seats are comfortable!
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The 902 gets my vote. A great aircraft that does the job extremely well. Any relatively new aircraft will have it's share of teething problems (Merlin !!!!!)- but at least MD do seem to be trying to resolve them.