SA Flyer — Edition 263 — September 2017

61 SA Flyer Magazine

flight test

MD500

in Hollywood

Text: Christoph Andrykowsky

I

S it possible that the MD500 holds

its elevated status due to something

as superficial as looks? After all, on

paper, it isn’t really superior in design

and performance.

Granted, looks shouldn’t influence

the rational pilot, but it wouldn’t be the

first time men have been led astray by such

a quality. And perhaps it’s worth noting

that MD Helicopters’ CEO and owner Lynn

Tilton has a certain (admittedly subjective!)

femme fatale quality to her.

To many, the R66 looks exactly like its

little brother – the R44. No points scored

there. The Enstrom has maliciously been

said to look like a tadpole or guppy and

JetRangers just look like JetRangers, as

any toddler will tell you.

Looks matter, certainly in Hollywood

• and what better marketing than being
  featured in a Hollywood blockbuster? The
  JetRanger has featured in close to 500
  movies, almost five times as many as the
  MD, but can you recall one film where it
  played a significant role?
  The MD500 immediately throws out
  three memorable movie appearances: the
  Magnum PI series (Tom Selleck cruising
  around Hawaii with Roger Mosely ‘TC’), the
  Italian Job with Charlize Theron (pursuit
  of the gold truck into the train station), and
  Mission Impossible (flying right into the
  Eurotunnel – as unrealistic as that may
  seem). The Robinson 66 or Enstrom 480

have yet to make a screen appearance;

however, the Enstrom piston version at

least made it briefly into Jaws and The

Death of the Incredible Hulk way back in

the ‘70s. j

The MD500 was a central

character in the Magnum

PI series as Tom Selleck

cruised around Hawaii

with Roger Mosely.

ABOVE - MD Helicopter CEO Lynn Tilton

knows that looks matter, even though they

shouldn't influence a rational pilot.