We have been watching on the radar this gorgeous MD600N owned by HELIUS Ltd. working in California for quite a while and we made plans with ‪@KamovRider‬ to try catch it. We left early our base from Modesto and drove three hours all the way down to Reedley Municipal Airport where we were extremely lucky to get there just on time for startup and takeoff. We stopped next to the fence and spoke to the mechanic who was a very nice guy from HELIUS and welcomed our enthusiasm towards MD helicopters. A few moments later, startup began. It is still hard to believe that we were only a few meters away from this beautiful, powerful and iconic machine.
After takeoff it was heading to the mountains nearby to pick up workers at a prearranged spot and bring them onto several transmission towers using a longline sling. In the gorgeous settings of the valleys of California, this MD600N looked and sounded absolutely incredible. It is sad, that this iconic piece of aviation is disappearing from the US and Europe, however folks in New Zealand are lucky to have still quite a few flying in also incredibly beautiful settings. I hope that soon we`ll be able to visit them too!

The MD600N:
McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (MD Helicopters since 1999) first announced it was developing a stretched MD 520N in late 1994, at that time designated the MD 630N. McDonnell Douglas stretched the MD 520N fuselage by inserting a plug aft of the cockpit/cabin bulkhead and stretching the NOTAR tail boom. The larger fuselage allows for an extra (middle) row of seats. Another difference compared with the MD 520N is a new six blade main rotor (the MD 520N has a five blade unit).

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.

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Timecodes:
0:00 Startup
0:50 Helicopter overview
1:17 Engine runup
2:20 Takeoff
3:24 Longline #1
3:51 Longline #2
4:13 Longline with people
4:31 Longline with people #2
4:50 Descending into the valley
5:03 Arrival and cool rotor sound
5:37 Longline #3
6:21 Longline turn with people
7:12 Longline people offload on transmission tower