MD Explorer
ICAO EXPLA light twin with no tail rotor at all, used by European police forces. Live MD 902 Explorer positions.
Flying right now
Live · 30s
No MD Explorer is transmitting ADS-B at the moment.
Military aircraft are not obliged to broadcast, so this happens regularly. The count refreshes every thirty seconds.
Airframe
- Manufacturer
- MD Helicopters
- Role
- Police, rescue and utility helicopter
- Class
- H2T — Helicopter, 2 turboshaft engines
- Crew
- 1 to 2
- First flight
- 18 December 1992
- In service
- 1994
Operators airborne
Nothing of this type is up right now.
About the MD Explorer
The Explorer has no tail rotor. Instead it blows engine exhaust through slots along the tailboom and out a steerable nozzle at the end, using the Coandă effect to counter the main rotor's torque — a system MD calls NOTAR.
That makes it unusually quiet and removes the most dangerous moving part on a helicopter, which is why police and air ambulance operators liked it. Belgian Federal Police, Dutch police and several European services fly it.
It appears on this feed as a state operator rather than a military one, and usually on short urban sorties.
Callsign prefixes
- POLICE
- Belgian and Dutch federal police
- RESCUE
- Air ambulance tasking
How to recognise it
- —No tail rotor — the single most distinctive feature of any helicopter in service.
- —A thick, slotted tailboom ending in a nozzle and two small fins.
- —A rounded five-blade main rotor head and a wide cabin with sliding doors.
Common questions
+ How does a helicopter fly without a tail rotor?
The NOTAR system blows air through slots along the tailboom, which changes the airflow around it and generates sideways force, with a steerable jet at the end for direct control. It replaces the tail rotor entirely.
+ Why is the Explorer used by police?
It is much quieter than a conventional helicopter, which matters over cities, and removing the tail rotor removes the biggest hazard when operating near people and obstacles.
+ Is the Explorer still made?
Production has been intermittent. MD Helicopters has been through several ownership changes and the type has not been built consistently in recent years.