Richard’s World

Mon 10 May 2010

A New Journey Begins – MD500e Restoration

Posted by Flyboy under Flight Stuff , From the World of Richard , MD500e Restoration Project
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On Sunday, May 2nd, 2010 I delivered my MD500e helicopter to arguably one of the top helicopter shops in the world – Phoenix Heliparts. Phoenix Heliparts is located in Mesa Arizona and they specialize in restoring, refurbishing and repairing the 500/369 variant of helicopters. I have engaged them in what is going to be a 3 or 4 month project to completely restore my 1986 MD500e (369e) helicopter. In the coming months, I will be following that restoration step by step here on my blog with commentaries and pictures as the project progresses.

The story of Phoenix Heliparts as told by Husband and Wife team Darin and Tina is amazing. What started in their garage has spawned to 40,000 sq. feet of facility and shop space. This coupled with their highly skilled staff allow them to meticulously repair and restore 500s. Long before I delivered my 500 to them, I had been talking with Darin and Tina along with Ryan, Rich, Jerry, Carl and others on their staff about my project. It became evident that their passion for their work was second to none and their knowledge on the 500s was nothing short of incredible.

After much discussion and hundreds of emails and calls, we schedule the date for my delivery. Since their rapid expansion had caused them to move off the Falcon Filed Airport (KFFZ) I had to coordinate my landing (in their parking lot) with their Chief Pilot (and former Mesa PD Chief Pilot) Steve Raether. Steve helped me coordinate my landing with the Mesa Police Department and on May 2nd, a beautiful, clear morning I landed N52550 in the back parking lot of the Phoenix Heliparts facility.

Phoenix Heliparts Parking Lot

Within a very short period of time, Ryan Howe (PHI’s Chief of Maintenance) had a nice new home for my 500 all set up, had the blades removed and had 550 moved into their facility where it would be for the next 3 to 4 months. From the moment I entered the PHI facility, I knew I had made the right choice. Their entire operation is computerized – every part, every item, every job, every work order, every second anyone spends on my helicopter is methodically entered into PHI’s vast computerized tracking system. Every document, every scrap of paper, 337s, POH inserts – everything is cataloged and entered into 3 ring binders. Before they had my ship, Ryan had already started 2 or 3 different binders for my ship – all in preparation for its receipt and the work that would follow.

N52550 Maintenance Bay

Upon arriving at PHI, I was given a tour by Darin, Tina and Ryan – and needless to say I was impressed. The shop is meticulous, everything has a place, everything is computerized and everywhere you look everything is clean and neat. It was obvious to me (and I have owned and operated aircraft for many years) that they really knew what they were doing. If that was not enough of a clue, the sight of 10 or 15 500s all in various states or work or repair (from brand new ships with 4 hours on them to 25 year old ships with 15,000 hours on them) really made the point! And we are not talking just a little light work here and there – we are talking full blown restoration projects:

PHI Shop

Just to give you a good idea of the capabilities of Phoenix Heliparts – take a look at these three photos – Before, During and After repairs. This is a ship that needed a lot of help and attention!

Wrecked MD - Before

Wrecked MD - During

Wrecked MD - After

Please check back often as I will be keeping everyone up to date with the progress that PHI is making with my helicopter. Thanks!

Richard J. Sears

Hi – I am the author – Richard Sears. I have been a pilot and flight instructor for over 20 years!

If you live in the San Diego area and would like to arrange a free airplane or helicopter flight for your child (age 8 to 18) through the EAA Young Eagles program please email me at richard@sears.net

If you are a Scout Master, I can work with your troop on the Aviation Merit Badge and provide all ground training and flights necessary to meet the latest requirements of the Aviation Merit Badge. I am a registered Merit Badge Counselor with the BSA San Diego – Imperial Council.

All my flight time is donated, there is no cost to the parents or the troop.

Parents are always welcome to ride along and get hooked!

Fri 7 May 2010

MD500e Inspection

Posted by Flyboy under Flight Stuff , From the World of Richard , MD500e Restoration Project
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MD500 Getting Taken Apart for Inspection

Starting on January 31st, 2010 and taking almost three full months, N52550 – my 1986 MD500e (Hughes 369e) underwent a massive inspection and parts replacement. The inspection that it underwent was an annual, 100 hour and 300 hour inspection which included an entire laundry list of stuff that needed to be checked on the helicopter to ensure its safe and proper operation while being flown. Civic Helicopters (located in Carlsbad California) was the shop responsible for the inspection and replacement of the parts. This inspection was very important for several reasons. The first was that the ship had hit another 100 hour mark and required the inspection. This inspection, as it’s name implies, has to be completed every 100 flight hours. Second, there were several Airworthiness Directives that needed to be completed and third, it was the first inspection the MD500 underwent since its purchase six months earlier.

During these inspections, the helicopter basically gets torn down to a point where the mechanics can get to everything they need to see or check. Since helicopters have a lot of moving parts – almost all of them very critical to safe flight – this is a lot of work just to get to the point where the ship can be inspected. Once it is torn down, then the inspection can begin.

MD500e Taken Apart

In the picture above, the MD500 has been taken down even further. The main rotor system was removed, the tail rotor system was removed and the entire interior has been removed including the doors to facilitate its inspection. Once the ship had been taken apart, a complete inspection is done and a list compiled of all the things that need to be fixed or updated. In my case, I wanted a lot of stuff replaced that was still “technically” serviceable but I wanted replaced anyway. This type of inspection is time consuming and can be very expensive if you have not taken care of your helicopter. In this case, it was the first inspection with me as the owner and a lot needed to be done in regards to getting the helicopter back in the air safely. Since I never carry people in my helicopter that I do not like, safety is very important to me!

Since the goal is to have the helicopter fully restored (more articles on that coming soon), I stuck with all of the things I really needed for safety of flight and some reworking of the instrument panel. Since I was not really sure how long it would take to get my ship into the shop for the restoration, I wanted to make sure everything that I needed for flying was done and taken care of during this inspection. Needless to say, there were items that HAD to be taken care of in order to get the annual signed off and get back in the air.

Instrument Panel Work

Main rotor removed for inspection

Example of Bearing in rotor head that needed replacing!

Panel all back together

Richard J. Sears

Hi – I am the author – Richard Sears. I have been a pilot and flight instructor for over 20 years!

If you live in the San Diego area and would like to arrange a free airplane or helicopter flight for your child (age 8 to 18) through the EAA Young Eagles program please email me at richard@sears.net

All my flight time is donated, there is no cost to the parents or the troop.

Parents are always welcome to ride along and get hooked!

Wed 5 May 2010

Comedy about “Chopper 4″ Commercial

Posted by Flyboy under Flight Stuff , From the World of Richard
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I posted a video yesterday of a commercial about a news helicopter. This is a comedy routine about that same commercial. Pretty funny! Enjoy!

The Sklar Brothers – Chopper 4

comedians.comedycentral.com

Tue 4 May 2010

News Helicopter with “Whisper Mode”

Posted by Flyboy under Flight Stuff , From the World of Richard
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I thought this was pretty funny!

Mon 3 May 2010

MD500e / Hughes 369e Purchase

Posted by Flyboy under Flight Stuff , From the World of Richard
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MD500e

Ever since I started flying helicopters I have dreamed of flying a turbine ship. At the time I could actually make that happen, the used market was such that people were asking for, and getting, stupid amounts of money for ships with tons of time on them and not much else. At the time, my good friend and instructor Chin suggested getting a new Robinson R44. For the new price ($400k) of the R44, I could not touch a turbine (206, 500, etc). So I made a decision and weeks later I was the proud new owner of a R44.

Over the next couple of years I would put almost 500 hours on the R44. It is a great bird, fast, pretty comfortable on sub 2 hour flights, has air conditioning, good range and a host of other great qualities. But it was still a piston helicopter. I have made many trips across the desert in the 44, and the air conditioning was a thankful addition to each of those flights. I have flown over a hundred kids in the R44 through the Boy Scouts and EAA Young Eagles programs. I donate flight time to charities and help in search and rescue activities from time-to-time. Anyone around me has taken a ride in that helicopter if they stuck around for any length of time. Yet, it was still a piston.

Of course, everyone knows about the market crash and the havoc it wreaked on industries all over the country. Aircraft sales were no different. It went from being a sellers market to being a buyers market with everyone trying their best to get ride of expensive toys or unneeded inventory. I once again started looking at turbine ships. First at the 206 line, the Schweitzer 333, the MD500. Ships that had commanded $1M a year earlier were at $600k…striking distance for a purchase.

Again, using my great friend and long-time 500 pilot Chin, I set out to find a ship that had what I wanted at a price I could afford. The goal was to buy cheap, restore or rebuild and then fly it for 3 to 5 years while the markets corrected and the used prices started to stabilize once again. Best case, I could make a nice profit, worst case I would be “stuck” with what is arguably the most fun helicopter around. I win in either case. We targeted mid to higher time ships that still had good component times, no damage history, no long line, power line or other heavy duty and often time abusive work history. The fewer number of owner/operators the better as far as I was concerned.

After looking at and flying more than a few 500s, we happened upon N52550 which was auctioned off by the State of Indiana. Chin and I flew down to Florida and inspected the records and the ship, and then flew it as well. It was well outfitted with a Garmin 530, SL40, KMD150, Auto Pilot, XM Weather and music and more. In addition, the magic numbers – 35 hours on a newly overhauled engine ($160k according to the receipt), less than 200 hours on new HTC main rotor blades, single owner since new, single pilot over 95% of its life, no long line, no pipeline, powerline or lifting work in its history, and no damage history. All documents including the original hand typed letter from the State of Indiana to MD for the purchase. And one of the best parts – it had come from my home airport – KCRQ. At the time of its sale, Flight Trails was located at KCRQ and was the finishing center for all MD helicopters. After a long search, it seemed like I had finally found a good bird.

After working on the price and details of the purchase, we headed back to California to arrange payment and the flight back to California. We arrived in Florida to pick up 550 and lifted off around 6am Florida time. By 6pm the following night, we were parked on the Civic Helipad in Carlsbad California. The trip took 21 flight hours, 7 fuels stops, a night in a hotel and about 600 gallons of Jet-A and went off without a hitch! We could not have asked for better weather or a better flight.

Sunrise in Miami Florida

The video above is the first start with me taking possession of the 500. Its a great sounding machine and one that took us from Florida to California without any trouble at all. Not only were we in a 500, but we flew 2,600 miles in a helicopter, from coast-to-coast, looking at the world from 500′ above the ground!

Click on the pictures above to be taken to my photo album where you can look at all of the pictures from the flight.

Richard J. Sears

Hi – I am the author – Richard Sears. I have been a pilot and flight instructor for over 20 years!

If you live in the San Diego area and would like to arrange a free airplane or helicopter flight for your child (age 8 to 18) through the EAA Young Eagles program please email me at richard@sears.net

All my flight time is donated, there is no cost to the parents or the troop.

Parents are always welcome to ride along and get hooked!