Back in May, MD Helicopters reported the sale of a new MD520N helicopter, which our research suggests will be only the fifth of this model they have built since the start of 2010.  That’s not what you would readily call a commercial success, but kudos to MD for retaining all the facilities to be able to build a new aircraft.

The purchaser is the Prince George’s County Police Department, based in the city of College Park, Maryland.  The helicopter will be delivered in early 2018, and will be fitted with a Trakka A800 search light and a Star Safire 380HDc HD imaging system from FLIR Systems.  It will also be the first law enforcement aircraft with the 450hp Rolls-Royce 250-C20R/2 MD520N with the new Block 1 all-glass cockpit.  The cockpit features a Howell Instruments Engine Instruments Display, Garmin G500H EFIS and Garmin GTN 650 NAV/COM/GPS, as well as the Garmin GTN 635 COM/GPS.

Aviation Section Commander Anthony Cline recently noted in a Facebook post that the unit’s two existing MD520Ns each have around 7500 airframe hours, and the unit flies approx 1100 hours per annum.

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com