MD500E Flying - Part 3 Start-up and Night Flight

Night flight of an MD500E helicopter from a private site in the west of England back to Denham airfield, London
Flight details below:
Transit through Brize Norton military airspace - Fairford overhead - to avoid an A400M and Chinook doing radar approaches - then direct trackto Denham, via Chalgrove. Benson MATZ was shut so some blind calls made on 120.90 MHz before transfer to Farnborough Radar (132.80Mhz) for a traffic Service. Change to Denham Radio (130.725mhz) near Amersham for join instructions at Maple Cross- Runway 24.
As a quiet night, only one R44 in the circuit doing night training and a light aircraft taxing out.
We are after ideas for the next video -leave comments below on what you want to see!!
The flight was filmed using a Garmin Virb Camera, link below:
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[@deimos2k6]

Finally, a good video where we can see a pilot starting up, flying and landing a chopper all the way through, without commentary and silly music in the background. A real-time experience. Just what I was searching for. bravi!

[@ABHelicopters]

Thanks for the comment - glad you enjoyed the flight !!

[@jeffszurgot]

I love the fact when blades started rotating, atmospheric air pressure changed (increased) around heli and we can see altimeter altitude drops

[@ABHelicopters]

Good spot

[@NJ-Tech]

Great video and a beautiful bird! I'll never forget my instructor's response (ex military) when i asked him where would be the ideal place to land if the engine ever quit. As dry as they get, he said 'near a pub'.

[@ABHelicopters]

Fantastic reply!

[@keithbrandt261]

Start up gives goosebumps every time! Keith Brandt

[@TheWendable]

You had no passengers yet, took 122,071 people with you 🧐 🤗 Thank you AB Helicopters

[@ABHelicopters]

Thanks! Glad that I could share the ride with you all!

[@TransferAir]

I loved to watch the end when this 🚁 floats to it's "parking slot" ;] with such a mellow touch down. My favorite Chopper is the MD 500-D but every version of the 500 series looks good! 🚁👍🏼

[@ABHelicopters]

The 500 (or any aircraft with dampers on the skids) ‘flatters’ the pilots as it makes the touch down seem slightly smoother than ‘rigid’ skids. But thanks anyway - we will take the compliment!

[@abdulraziq98]

wow flight at night is adventurous

[@ABHelicopters]

The view is spectacular at night

[@Christian-tw7me]

Very relaxing the flight at night 💤

[@tone569]

my bucket list to fly and own MD500 it my favorite heilcopter ❤️

[@grahamwillie2664]

I like ❤ this much one pilot to another

[@ABHelicopters]

Thank you !! It was a great flight in a very tidy helicopter!

[@bernardanderson3758]

Don’t let nothing keep you down from flying to keeping you and me current

[@ABHelicopters]

Hi there - thanks for the comments and the encouragement! Don’t worry, lots of flying still going on and a new video to launch very soon! In the mean time, take care and I look forward to your feedback on the next video shortly !

[@jamesamos9552]

that's was awesome your a great smooth pilot . Great night for flying . Enjoyable flight to watch thanks for sharing cheers

[@ABHelicopters]

Thank you for the feedback!

[@bernardanderson7569]

The last time was in a Helio was years ago and it was in a MD-500 and know you have been there for me and that's why enjoy flying alongside you in each flight

[@ABHelicopters]

Thank you ! Doing some night flying in a Robinson today- not a turbine I am afraid - but will try and get some pictures

[@ABHelicopters]

Or footage

[@DilvaCh]

Wooow... Thank guys for your video, great I like this..

[@ABHelicopters]

Thanks for the feedback !

[@DilvaCh]

I am from Indonesia..

[@bernardanderson3758]

I always love to have the opportunity on the controls in the right seat ride along

[@ronny2835]

Real life BUZZARD❤️ #GTA5 btw awesome video

[@ABHelicopters]

Thanks!

[@yumyunrangLOAL]

The real life buzzard is the MH-6 Little Bird, Although there have been many variations of the "M" series of helicopters, civilian ones usually have doors, less powerful engines and so on.

[@ronny2835]

Dark Flight thanks for the update😊

[@michaelbrown5838]

I'm a fan of the 206B Jetranger III as well, but there's nothing like a MD500. It may be the best helo of all time.

[@grahamwillie2664]

Beautiful video I miss mucho

[@VolareHelicopters]

Nice one! Looked like a peaceful night!

[@loudsubwoofer8492]

ok, that was different. very nice.

[@bernardanderson3758]

I miss not seeing you on the channel because you keep me posted on knowing the MD-500

[@bernardanderson7569]

We did some hovering and it wasn't easy as I thought it would be

[@helicopterovirtual-msfs6254]

Fantástic.

[@ABHelicopters]

Thank you ! Happy new year too

[@hotliner2872]

And to whomever made this video... I have a pretty good life, I made it and it is not by accident, and I like it. A lot. But holy smecklles, I like yours a lot more! At least this part. Jealous! That is awesome, sign me up.

[@bradnicolaisen910]

Great videos

[@ABHelicopters]

Thank you

[@vadimposp1513]

very nice

[@ABHelicopters]

Thanks !

[@Nick-xe2hu]

Stuck the landing. Nice flight

[@bernardanderson7569]

I love the 500 Helio. I had the opportunity to fly rightseat in that type over the valleys and landing on a cart isn't easygoing and you have to push down on the right rudder to keep your heading during level flight in windy conditions

[@ABHelicopters]

Where did you fly?

[@tanagra2]

@@ABHelicoptersover the valleys

[@prodromospartheniou639]

Perfect ..

[@mikeraia2605]

Need to install a dome light in that sucker!

[@hotliner2872]

I can't fly RC simulator helis. Simulators are easy. And I can fly. Kudos to heli-folks, when I get bored with fixed wing I will enter your wacky world of procession and discs!

[@ABHelicopters]

Don’t worry, with your back ground, you will have no issues picking it up

[@alasamosia6629]

Why are you flying so low? only about 500 ft agl

[@prideintechstudios1127]

Serious question. When u go near the airport, I didn’t hear you talking on radio, don’t you need to talk to someone over radio for traffic and other planes and things like that when out in the air or so u just be caution for others

[@ABHelicopters]

Very good question- so there are some airports that do not have a ‘control tower’ - and there is a general advisory frequency where pilots can make calls to one another advising what they are doing, however, for any controlled airport - there may be a number of frequencies a pilot has to listen and speak on- starting from the ‘ATIS’ - automated terminal information service- where details on the weather , runway and other pertinent info is broadcast, then a ‘ground’ frequency , where taxi instructions and flight clearance is provided, moving onto a ‘tower’ frequency - for take off and manoeuvres in the immediate vicinity , before going to an information, radar or departure frequency for onwards clearance. In the video, I may have omitted to include the audio on this occasion, but certainly there was a radio conversation occurring!

[@ralphmadera4366]

I bet that the person that thumb down this video don’t even know how to flight RC helicopters !😂

[@ABHelicopters]

Thanks for the support! Let me know if there is anything you would like us to cover in our next video

[@devilstudios2687]

@@MtnPeakEnduro I've tried to fly one i crashed it i need someone to teach me my dad said he would The helicopter was ok it was a little scratched

[@dkoz8321]

Much respect! I would not attempt it. I need to see towers, powerlines, obstacles, road lines, tree lines.

[@ABHelicopters]

You have to be very careful when landing ‘off airfield’ for all the reasons you just described!

[@dkoz8321]

@@ABHelicopters Are powerlines and high strung wires in UK required to have that scintilated coating on them that appears extremely bright in IR and low light amplification night vision? It's common in California as well as rubber ball weights on wires. There are also strict no flight below 300 and high caution below 500 feet AGL standing NOTAMs . Despite the rules and enforcement, California airspace still is most dangerous to Robinsons. Cali, Oregon, Washington State, and Canadian British Columbia are Robinsons Graveyard. California is just naturally rough mountainenous terrain. From Northern Cascades to Southern California Santa Barbara range. With Pacific cold air mixing with hot air from High Desert , both VFR fixed wings and rotors find themselves in inadvertent IMC. Yet FAA and CaLDOT does not require private , light charter, and commercial light helicopter license to be instrument qualified. Only to be trained in recognizing and avoiding entry into IMC, and self grounding on IMC days.. Most days in Sourhern and Central Coast are VFR days. But when IMC monster strikes, the ceiling is pretty low and thick.

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

Typically a helicopter gets most of its lift from the main rotor, that's why is has to spin so fast. I just wanted to point that out. Don't thank me, I know you're all impressed. Now, on to how boats float...

[@ABHelicopters]

and I thought it was black magic! Learn something new every day

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

@Sam Thanks. I just enjoy helping people understand things

[@devilstudios2687]

I would love to go on a night flight

[@ABHelicopters]

It can be very relaxing flying at night , the air is cooler and there is usually less aircraft traffic !

[@devonhoneycutt]

Doesn't matter to me day are night 🥰🚁👍💯💯💯💯😍🤣

[@ABHelicopters]

Glad you liked the video either way!

[@grahamwillie2664]

You make it😂 look so simple

[@nonorne5680]

trop de la chance !

[@ABHelicopters]

Merci!

[@DJBoysToys]

Awesome video loved it anyway of getting some atc on the next one little something to listen to though the flight?

[@ABHelicopters]

Sure thing sir ! Next video will have ATC

[@ABHelicopters]

Thought it was rather quiet this evening- a quick routing through Brize Norton airspace - Fairford overhead - to avoid an A400M and Chinook doing radar approaches - then straight over to Denham. Benson was shut so after some blind calls and checking in with Farnborough radar - it was onto a Denham Radio (130.725mhz) for join instructions at Maple Cross- only one R44 in the circuit doing night training and a light aircraft taxing out

[@ABHelicopters]

With atc! MD500E Start Up sequence, take off and autorotation Flight kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5urXoZ4a9hgjKc

[@mbenkelley1]

Cool! Why are the gauges not back lit???

[@mbenkelley1]

Never mind....... the head lamp had me fooled there for a while

[@ABHelicopters]

Don’t worry - the lights come on with the nav lights but first need to check everything whilst the battery is off!

[@bernardanderson7569]

Night flying at night isn't easy because you lose all your horizons that you use during day operations. Your decision on your decent approach speed changes and with out proper lighting to maneuver around and also you tend to look harder towards the ground beforehand to make sure that the area is clear and landings should be made straight ahead then what you would do during daytime landings. I was told that if you can rub your head in a clockwise position and take your right hand and. Counter clockwise your stomach you can master the Helio

[@troelskiel1167]

What about night flying during the day?

[@planesteve]

Love this helicopter any chance of a lift?😂

[@ABHelicopters]

Would love to be able to offer free rides, but alas, I haven’t flown this particular helicopter for a while !

[@bernardanderson7569]

I always wanted to know the status of the hot start procedures

[@ABHelicopters]

Hi Bernard The aircraft has a turbine temperature limitation - if it is looking like this limit will be exceeded -927 degrees Celsius for example - the pilot has to roll off the throttle to cut fuel supply whilst continuing to motor the starter motor to reduce the temperature by blowing cold air through the engine

[@dylanherbert8097]

hey man what kind and how many choppers do you fly

[@ABHelicopters]

Hi Dylan, currently we offer flight instruction on the R22/44/66 and the MD500

[@etienneleroux6253]

I don't get how you guys mange to navigate at night visually. Watched another vid where it's explained that they have reporting points, follow rivers/roads but during the pitch black of night? I'm sure a moving map might help but surely they don't allow you guys to rely on those exclusively? Suppose it's easier if you have experience flying the airspace/routes during the day. Always wondered. Enjoying the vids.

[@ABHelicopters]

Hello Etienne, Thanks for your note- flying at night takes a little more planning for the navigation- the same principles as the day can be used, but you look for large scale towns or roads that are illuminated. Other navigation aids can be used to supplement this - VOR radio aids , or as you mentioned , the GPS moving map too. The fall back position is ‘dead reckoning’, where you fly a certain speed for a certain time and you should be at a certain place

[@etienneleroux6253]

@@ABHelicopters Ah ok makes sense. Thanks for the reply!

[@ABHelicopters]

Pleasure - please feel free to ask away on any questions - for this video or any of our others !

[@Repented008]

Really, manufacturer couldn't spring for a backlit instrument panel?

[@3204clivesinclair]

Truth's Knight_0777 The instruments have backlights, but you have to find the power switch - no interior light when you open the door ;-) Another reason for the head torch is in case of panel lighting failure.

[@LK-zt9vf]

how do you move the landing lights like that?

[@ABHelicopters]

There is a deployable pilot controlled landing light - that is moved via a control on the pilot side collective

[@bernardanderson7569]

108 kts is great

[@ABHelicopters]

The Vne - or maximum speed of this aircraft is 152 kts- in the D model it is 156kts

[@tdgdbs1]

To save fuel

[@bernardanderson7569]

I flew out of a airport in Va

[@bernardanderson7569]

What location are you departing from on each flight?

[@ABHelicopters]

The departure is a private site in the west of the UK- near Kemble . The airfield is Denham - north west of London

[@mikeread8001]

How much do these cost per hour to run?

[@ABHelicopters]

Hi Mike- the hourly rate we charge is £850

[@mikeread8001]

AB Helicopters Ltd wow, I thought they would be about 2K I’ve just had a 90 minute lesson in a R44 in the USA cost $1020 I love those Md 500’s my first ever passenger ride was about 30 years ago in a 500D loved it!

[@JcXtreme72]

For bush flying. MD500 or Jet ranger?

[@ABHelicopters]

Depends on doing what and what terrain !

[@JcXtreme72]

@@ABHelicopters Idaho/Montana.

[@ABHelicopters]

Mountain flying - take the 500- if you want passengers in the back - 206

[@ibtm]

Are you a CFII?

[@ABHelicopters]

Afraid not- only hold an instructor rating and instrument rating - not an instrument instructor rating

[@DavidSmith-qo1se]

I thought helicopter pilots usually fly from the right-hand seat.

[@ABHelicopters]

Hi David - that’s correct but the 500 is set up (in the civil version at least ) for the pilot to sit on the left - to do with the optional 3 seats up front

[@Powerstroker250]

With all the commercials I stopped watching

[@dkoz8321]

Please park it on a postage over there thank you. Here in USA, middle class homes have wood BBQ decks bigger then the helo pads in UK (?). With MD500, pne does not pilot this helicopter. One wears it while flying.

[@ABHelicopters]

Agree about strapping it on! Yes space is a premium, certainly in the south east of the U.K. , so spots can be quite tight. But even medevac helicopters need 2 x the rotor diameter for day time emergency landings , and 4 x for night !

[@dkoz8321]

@@ABHelicopters How many hours can your MD500 live, regardless of maintenance, before airframe is retired? Are you bound by 500 hour tailboom life? Or has that increased? For that matter what do you do with lifed out airframe? Is it sold to British version of AMARC? Sold piecemeal? Turbine there, gearbox to France, hub to Italy? Does MD Helicopters buy back at salvage cost the whole? EC has or had this civilian program where they would buy back hard landing airframes, or aged out airframes, that could no longer be certified, for study. They would rebuild the airframes then use them for destruction testing. Building their models for predicting airframe aging.

[@dkoz8321]

@@ABHelicopters Check out that mishap with BSO EC135. Developed engine bay fire. Tried to make it back, instead of autorot immediately. Fire ate through tailboom join bulkhead and boom separated. Turns out the airframe was aged out, but they still flew it. My guess is that vibration unseated engine or gearbox mounts, severing fuel lines. Engine and gearbox were overhauled 6 months ago, but undisclosed how many hours that was.

[@ABHelicopters]

It’s a horrible accident, looking at the ground trace, they had so little time to react to the fire, especially as they thought it was initially an engine failure. Whilst no doubt the cause will be revealed in the NTSB investigation, but it is a timely reminder to crews to revise procedures such as engine fire, cabin fire, electrical fire, battery overtemp, and generator overheat, any of which could have caused the issue - (there are other videos that show the fire intensity greatest around the battery bay too)

[@dkoz8321]

@@ABHelicopters There was one fatality among crew. But pilot and Co pilot survived with minor injuries, and another medical crewman was injured. A person in apartment also perished. That's a miracle . That spin into building looked fatal for all. The ground track looked like the crew diagnosed emergency and tried to make it back to field. I know the area. It's densely urban with many roads and parking lots. But also lots of cars , antennas, and powerlines everywhere. So crew may have had little option. The emergency appears to have developed during initial climb out from field. Weather was hot and humid. Crew was two flight deck and two EMS. I am guessing max performance take off to 300 feet AGL , then turn to course to response location. The fire broke out during max performance climb. Pilot turned around to return to field. Obviously, with hindsight, he should have autoroted into a parking lot. But he may not have wanted to hazard people and property on ground. So he opted for return. But fire damaged his airframe to point offailure, leading to in-flight separation of tailboom. Emergency procedure for EC135 engine bay fire is to shut down engine, activate fire suppresion,and land immediately. Not land when convenient , or even ASAP. Immediately. That means autorotation . Even into a lot full of cars. If a few powerlines get clipped , oh well. EMS EC135 have wirestrike kits on em.

[@grahamwillie2664]

Don’t know you butter would trust you

[@grahamwillie2664]

Sorry your a great pilot God bless the 500 mean it

[@markjones338]

Thought helicopter pilots sat in the right seat

[@ABHelicopters]

The 500 is set up to fly left seat - though there are some military ones with right hand captain

[@ABHelicopters]

to do with it being set up with a bench seat - 3 up front - collective had to be on the left

[@UAPJedi]

AB Helicopters Ltd i heard in some helis it had something to do with the direction of the rotors?

[@AndrewMurphy8383]

next time use red light less hard on your eyes and does not mess with your night vieson

[@ABHelicopters]

Good tip- it doesn’t come out so well on the film but it is a red light

[@tanagra2]

Not much of a clue about night vision

[@ABHelicopters]

Sorry, not sure I understand ?

[@mahonrai6822]

Now I'm afraid of helicopter because of what happened to Kobe and his daughter.. RIP legend

[@seerdavid8388]

Mà dove cazzo vai in giro di notte 😂😂😂😂

[@ABHelicopters]

Plan ahead!

[@grahamwillie2664]

Please watch your payload of fuel who wtf 😮please please 🙏 never take Alison behind you she won’t ever leave you all except a hot start, fuck sakes I’m preaching to choir