MD 520N NOTAR Helicopter review and flight 

Man that's a sporty, smooth, powerful machine!

I love how the guy answers questions totally his own way, as if the question was never asked or something.

Great interview, however the pilot didn't know what he was talking about on many of the systems. The barber pole (red line on the airspeed indicator) is at the 129 knot mark. This 129 knot mark represents VNE on certain aspects of flight. Doors off or if there are items attached to the outside of the helicopter. It's not your "cruise Speed" indicator like the pilot stated. Auto rotation speed is generally done at 60 KIAS, not 130-150 knots like the pilot indicated by pointing near the top of the airspeed indicator. The YSAS switch has nothing to do with smoothness of flight in the cyclic or as the pilot stated, "takes the firmness out of the stick." He is confusing the YSAS with the one-way lock (which actually contains hydraulic fluid). There is a yaw detection gyro under the co-pilot seat. If the device detects any sort of yaw movement in flight, a signal is sent to the rear vertical stabilizer (co-pilot side) and it automatically adjusts so that the aircraft remains in trim. The pilot has absolutely no idea how the notar system works. He never discussed what actually causes the anti-torque. It has nothing to do with the rotating cone in the back. The exhaust directed toward the left produces no thrust whatsoever. The exhaust is directed in this direction so that it doesn't disrupt the coanda effect which is precisely how the anti-torque works. This is how the notar system works: There is a 13 bladed variable pitch fan enclosed in the upper portion of the tailboom. As more pedal is applied, the notar fan blades pitch angles change to force more air down the tailboom. The moving of the pedals also change the rotating cone and the pilot side vertical stabilizer. The moving of the rotating cone is only for directional control in a hover. In a hover, the anti-torque works using the Coanda Effect. On the co-pilot side of the tailboom, there are 2 slots that extend along the side of the tailboom. Low pressure air exits these slots and hugs the skin of the tailboom. High pressure air (downwash) from the main rotor system hugs the curvature of the tailboom, accelerates around the striker plate (or strake) on the pilot side of the the tailboom and dissipates as it reaches the bottom. The high pressure on the pilot side from the rotor downwash creates a lift vector in the opposite direction (since the co-pilot side consists of low pressure air from the slots). Is sounds complex but it is actually very simple. The tailboom acts like a wing. High pressure on one side and low pressure on the other.

Thanks for getting those NOTAR shots Nick! I've always wondered about the physical nature of those systems.

“I don’t know why no ones accepting this design” 3 seconds later “MD own the patent”

This is a re-edited version of this video, I have added some additional footage, cleaned up some of the sound issues at the end and added CC

Nick, interesting. I flew these for Phoenix PD. It is a 500. Very fun to fly and very responsive to inputs but not powerful in hot weather. Phoenix is above sea level and experiences high temps. We referred to the NOTAR as a the SLOWTAR. The "aerodynamic" nose slows it down compared to the D model's round nose. In forward flight the pointy nose is more flat plane drag (remember that the nose pitches down in forward flight and presents the upper part of the windscreen in a flat fasion). The pilots who flew both said the D model was considerably faster inspite of its smaller engine. The Notar is inefficient for power used for anti-torque, especially compared to tailrotors (I have been told that as much as 55% of the C250-20R's horse power is needed for HOGI in a NOTAR compared to only 15% for a traditional tailrotor model). The pedal inputs are mushy compared to a very crisp and responsive tail rotor version. I can only assume that that is why the US Army didn't want them. We patrolled the city with nine of them (first seven produced), did lots of rescues in our mountain preserves (150' long line), swift water rescue, fought fires with a very small bambi bucket and inserted our SWAT folks on the skids. The department was averaging over ten thousand hours a year with the first seven NOTARS. We got rid of them because of poor product support and went back to tailrotors with another manufacturer (Eurocopter-Airbus) who could support us, and even a small twin Agusta for hoisting rescues. The 520N NOTARs are very successful Police Helicopters at sea-level. Above sea level and hot temps; no bueno. The NOTARS are great for Great Brittain (902 is quite popular there) and coastal areas in the US, where there are generally low DA's that allow it to shine.

*36:34** Tower: guys you're doing all the landscaping there*

Thanks Nick and Evan for such an in dept coverage. Good interview and Evan is great at explaining stuff plus great piloting skills. I'm glad he did the demo flight at low level so everyone could see how maneuverable this thing is. Beautiful machine!

I used to see two of these all the time and was always impressed with how quite they are and their subtle sound.

Great video Nick! Really love this chopper

Excellent look at the MD500 range of copters! Watched the entire review and must say it really shows the level of advancement from my days as a forward observer in a army observe platform from the early 1970s! Thanks for the review Nick!

Evan is quite a good pilot. He makes flying look easy.

Nick, this video is VERY informative and Evans 'easy translation' and operation of the 520N is simply brilliant. Thanks to you both for the time and effort taken to present this to the wider public. FANTASTIC!!

Probably the best walk through I have seen. Always loved this bird. never knew 99% of what they talked about.

Thank you to Nick and Evan for an awesome tour ! Loved it ! More more !!!

This Heli is awesome... The pilot evidently knows his way around this aircrafts maneuverability as well... great vid... love all the info included and shots made... nice!

I've been a fan of the notar system for some time, but I always assumed it was shooting exhaust down the tail. now i see how it really works thank you for this video. one of my favorites!!! :-)

What a beauty this chopper is and that signature md sound is fantastic.

Thank you Nick for sharing these video's. I have, since a child always fantasized about helicopters, heli's have always been my biggest and first love. At school as a kid every project I had to produce was about helicopters. It just makes me realize how I have wasted my life by not fulfilling my dream of piloting these awesome machines as nowadays it is way too expensive to be a student, especially at my age but I take absolute solace and pleasure at knowing that there are people like you that produce videos like this where I can somewhat enjoy the dream... Keep bringing them on mate....

Cool video Nick!!! I love watching these☺️

Nick you are a natural at interviewing. Evan has a brilliant calm re-assuring manner, exudes confidence. Impressive. Many thanks to both of you, & your crew. Cheers

Amazing video, I have always loved the Little Bird, such an agile chopper in all of its' forms. Especially effective during special forces insertions and extractions, you can set it down on a wall with a good enough pilot. These were known as Loaches during the Vietnam War, and were key in effective small squad insertions in enemy controlled territory by elite special forces such as SOG. What an amazing aircraft!

Very VERY! Nice Demo. Wanted to fly since i was 12 years old from the first time i saw a Bell 47. i got the Bug and it still lives in me to this day. i guess I'll never know the exhilarating joy. Thanx for sharing.

Always got to be some jet pilots who taxi in for a photo op in the background! Definitely maneuvers very smoothly and efficiently in close quarters behind hangar. Shows how well it operates in tight areas. Nice job. Makes my goal of saving more money for flight school even more achievable.

It is amazing this was filmed 6 years ago , time flies !

Loved the detail on how the notar works. Thanks to the owner who explain it all. Always loved the looks of this heli.

Nick, This has been one of the most enjoyable of your videos ever. For someone that knows next to nothing about helicopters, I felt that I'd actually learnt something with this one with Evans patient explanations and demonstrations, He should have his own channel!!

This was cool to recognize my home airport right from the beginning! Ive always wondered about this specific NOTAR machine being a pilot working on my rotor transition.

This aircraft is amazing. Thanks Evan for the tour and explanation of how everything works. I like the sound it makes and I to can't figure out why the NOTAR is not more commonly used, it is far safer. Even the helicopters with the closed in rotor is safer. I like the teardrop look with the pointed nose. Big improvement on it older model looks. Just no storage for anything, but then it was a military derived helicopter. A great looking and brilliant machine. Thanks for showing us around one.

Thanks for the post, very interesting...the EC135 has always been my favorite heli but this one looks like a lot of fun.

Evan's an awesome guy to hang around, always willing to help or give rides in his helicopter specially to kids. All around great guy!!

15% faster than a Cessna.... and 10,000% more money and 8x’s the operating cost... I NEED IT!!!!! :D

Nice video and very interesting, great machine. I've prefer the look of the older, domed shaped MD500 but appreciate reasons for the change.

Nick that was a wonderful presentation! Big thank you goes to you and Buddy. We want Buddy to present every single chopper that he has flown.

Awesome video on my favorite helicopter, what a work of art and engineering

Nick, I am a fanatic with this type of helicopters,NOTAR, actually I love the whole MD serie,since it was HUGHES,you should do a review on the MD900 EXPLORER,keep up the good work and keep those great videos coming.

You made my day! This was sooo interesting! Never seen such a helicopter :-)

Really nice bird. Thanks for the great interview with such an experienced owner/pilot.

Thanks for this review. I’ve always wondered about the NOTAR and why it seemed to fade away, but it turns out after all these years they are still produced. Wonderful machine. I’m not a pilot, but am lucky to have rides in Bell 47, Jet Ranger, Huey. Keep up the good work.

Helicopter... by far the coolest machine ever built by man!

As a non pilot I say that was an amazing flight. I rarely watch a review longer than 20 minutes, but this one was so enjoyable even thought I didn't understand jack.

Always wondered how those things worked with no rail rotor. Very interesting, thanks for the post.

Awesome work as always Nick!!!

1.25 million dollar aircraft and the man has a flip phone ...Nice

Great video, thanks for posting.

My favorite bird, awesome work Nick!

Very interesting and well done video. Thanks for producing and what a smooth pilot. He's a great representative for demonstrating the capabilities of that fine machine.

That's amazing! When I get some big bucks I'm getting one of those!

Interviewer is a very patient man.

All this time I thought a helicopter could not work without a tail rotor. You learn something new every day.

One of the more iconic designs in aviation history, and it keeps getting better.

This man in the blue reminds me of my old boss they might even be related spooky, I always love this chopper every since Magnum Pi.

Not sure if I missed it, but I would have liked to hear a brief history of the flight experience of the owner/pilot.

I LOVE THE VIVALDI INTRO!!! It's just SO epic. Good match up.

Thank you Nick for this very informative video of how the NOTAR system works. Definitely a unique sounding helicopter 👍

"You can crab really well in this"; "In either direction?"'; "Oh yes, I'll show you"... aircraft flips orientation 180 and crabs in same direction (but opposite relative to ground due to 180)... that works in my book!

one of my favorites. I consider the MD 5xx as the Miata of helicopters and the Gazelle as the Corvette. Very small:) Been next to a Mil Mi-6 and it was HUGE. 16:35 Bonus footage: Citation 560 Ultra.

the sound design is interesting, awsome internal side prop accustics.. otherwise the typical and really lovable MD-blade sounds, gotta love it!

Mr. Nick; Thank you for all you do for those folks that love aviation, God bless you and please, bring some more. Everything you do, is an important thing for every one, again thaks. Respectfully; Andy Disable Veteran Texas

Nick, nice video. The tail fan blades are operated at constant RPM but the blade pitch does change with pedal input, I fell like this guy presented it as fixed pitch during your walk-around. He could have moved the pedals for you when looking into the fan intake area. The YSAS switch turns on/off the Yaw Stability Augmentation System. This system involves a yaw sensing gyro system and the right vertical tail stabilizer. The system enhances handling qualities by detecting yaw movements and changing the angle of the right vertical stabilizer with electric actuators. Nothing to do with the firmness of the stick.

Worked on the prototype back in 1980 or 81 at Hughes Paloma’s airport I remember the fan being very loud

Video was so soothing and relaxing to watch, my eyes were actually starting to close just sitting here...

md500 is 1 of my favroite helicopter. Also you explain every so well

Nick, I'm a retired British Airline Captain. Never flown a helicopter.That was very interesting... as are all your videos. Thanks for that.

When he red buttoned the phone call😅.. this guy reminds me so much of my dad even kind of looks like him my dad flew an 800 back in the day he would have loved this model.

I enjoy your videos so much! Thank you very much for teaching us, and showing us all about the different types of aircraft!

Here's my NOTAR story. Forever as a kid my doodles were always aircraft. Existing A/C or imagined. Coincidentally, while in school at Hanscom field to obtain my A&P, I was killing some time and drawing a futuristic helicopter that had no tail rotor and instead, ducted engine exhaust down the tail boom and metered the exit to manage the anti torque. This beautiful machine seems to have a better system. When I drew that concept helicopter was many years before MD introduced this machine. I was so amazed the first time I actually saw one of these which was in Naples, Florida. Great videos dude.

Headphones and engine on at about 32:50, then a beautiful flight demonstration. 🎧 🚁 🤘🏻

thats a sweet leaf blower...

What a cool guy. Took his time to explain everything.

Thanks for the Famil of the MD520NOTAR Nick. It's great to see someone like Evan, who you can see loved this aircraft, his passion shows in his talk of the helicopters feature's. I always thought the NOTAR System was the Engine Exhaust, not a push fan at the start of the boom, so learned something there. Very interesting aircraft

1.25 million. How much for the little one you have in your hand? I'm on a budget.

I love how helicopters and I like the music

Well done ..... Perfect presentation .. I love that chopper ...

Nick, your videos are very detailed. The first one I watched was the one about the Huey and got hooked. BTW loved the keychain in the helicopter, "big bucks"

I flew in a tail rotor version of this in Texas for a hog shoot. We flew over hundreds upon hundreds of acres blasting the hell out of pest hogs. It was glorious

wonderful

Great video, Nick!

Today Evan took me for a ride in this beauty. Heck of a ride and I wish I had your job. Thanks!!

Shoutout to this guy for still having a flip phone. Lol!

I always thought they use the exhaust pressure for this instead of an extra fan.

A man of many talents Nick. 👌🇳🇿

Great video , I’m only a novice but Evin flow it with ease just looked so smooth in flight thank you

I Just Lean So Must It Make Me Feel So Good, I Thank You Guys So Must. John L

this was a cool video for a non helicopter savy person, ive always been impressed by things that i don't know how works..um, yeah. anyways the owner was very thorough (i think id be annoyed if i knew my shit thorough) and had that old man wiseness and stubbornness to boot. great video, you kiwi.

The engine and checklist is similar to the OH-58 Kiowa and TH-67 (Army flight school). I sure do miss flying these works of art! God bless!

Thanks to Evan for taking the time to do this. I hope MD helicopters recovers from financial ruin and continues to operate.

Couple of unquestioned answers here :-):The civilian 500s are flown from the left seat (primary) to make it easier to configure for three across seating in front. I have heard that the inefficiency in the NOTAR versions is mainly internal aerodynamics in the tailboom. The Coanda effect of the boundary layer control around the boom helps cancel torque "automatically" when you pull pitch, but I wonder how much of a benefit that really is to the pilot? That's what the pedals are for, and the two-bladed tail rotor works fine, costs less, is more efficient, etc. What's the verdict among pilots who have owned it and flowned it? :-)

30:50 For start up and flight.

What an awesome program. Thank you. If I win the Lottery that is the 2nd thing I will be buying...and that dude Evan, what a nice guy, makes all the difference.

the pilot is like the rock of Gibraltar.. solid. very educational production... a big like

I think the 520 series is a very sexy bird...

He said we can do auto rotation but never showed it. :(

So awesome! Thanks for posting!

Great video and impressive ship. Thanks Evan!

Wow! I want one. (Reaches for lottery ticket...)

Walking into a tail rotor....hmmm. maybe it's just time to go then, thinning the herd

I love that helicopter. Oh what toys you get to have when you got the cash. How the boys will play! Thanks for the demo Loved it!

Wow another great Helo. I loved this one too.