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Mc Donnell Douglas - Part II


Back to Part I

1973 : Hughes Model 77 (YAH-64) wins US Army AAH (Advanced Attack Helicopter) competition

September 30, 1975: The YAH-64 has it first flight

1976 : Hughes received the AH-64A full-scale development contract.

August 1981 : AH-64A development completed

1983 Hughes licenses the Model 300 product line to the Schweizer Aircraft Corp

January 1984 : Mc Donnell Douglas acquired Hughes Helicopters

February 1984 : Mc Donnell Douglas AH-64A Apache deliveries began.

1986 : The Hughes Model 300 product line is finally sold to Schweizer

1990s: Commercial Helicopters MD 500 series NOTAR (NO TAil Rotor)

This configuration uses jet thrust rather than blades to give the directional stability , providing the world's quietest helicopters.

MD 600 series
MD 900 Explorer ( MDX )

1992 : Venezuelan helicopter pilots Francisco Pacheco and Tomas Spanier flew a record-setting, trans-Atlantic trek from Venezuela to Spain on a MD 500D . Beginning on October 11, 1992, from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and ending at Palos de la Frontera on December 16, the flight was marked as the longest over-ocean flight

1997 : Boeing acquired Mc Donnell Douglas. Bell Helicopters ( Textron Inc. ) try to buy the MD 500 and 600 series, but didnīt want to buy the Explorer because they have their own twin turbine models, so it future is unknown.
The AH-64 Apache is now owned by Boeing.

1998 : The initial planned sale of the commercial line to Textron Inc. fell through after the Federal Trade Commission raised unspecified concerns.

MD Helicopters
February 19, 1999 : Boeing sold commercial line to RDM. MD Helicopters Inc is formed.
The dutch company buy the MD 500E and MD 530F single-engine helicopters with conventional tail rotors, the MD 520N and MD 600N single-engine NOTAR helicopters and the MD Explorer series of twin-engine, eight-place helicopters.

Sept 14, 2006 : MD Helicopters NOTAR Fleet Clocks 670,000 Flight Hours

Contribution:
MD Helicopters Inc
Mc Donnell Douglas Corp ( Company press releases between 1986 and 1997 )

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