MD Helicopters, LLC. (formerly McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems) is an American aerospace manufacturer. It produces light utility helicopters for commercial and military use. The company was a subsidiary of

Hughes Aircraft The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of Hughes Tool Company. The company was known for producing, among other pro ...

until 1984, when

McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it pro ...

acquired it and renamed it McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems. It later became MD Helicopters in the late 1990s when McDonnell Douglas merged with

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

History

The company began in 1947 as a unit of Hughes Aircraft, then was part of the

Hughes Tool Company Hughes Tool Company was an American manufacturer of drill bits. Founded in 1908, it was merged into Baker Hughes Incorporated in 1987. History The company was established in December 1908 as Sharp-Hughes Tool Company when Howard R. Hughes Sr. ...

after 1955. It became the helicopter division of Hughes' Summa Corporation in 1972, and was finally reformed as Hughes Helicopters, Inc. in 1981. However, throughout its history, the company was informally known as Hughes Helicopters. The company was sold to

in 1984. Hughes Helicopters produced three major designs during its 37-year history. The Model 269/300 was Hughes' first successful helicopter design. Built in 1956, and entering production in 1957, it would eventually become part of the Army inventory as a primary trainer, designated

TH-55 Osage The Hughes TH-55 Osage is a piston-powered light training helicopter produced for the United States Army. It was also produced as the Model 269 family of light utility helicopters, some of which were marketed as the Model 300. The Model 300C wa ...

. In 1983, the company licensed Schweizer Aircraft to produce the Model 300C. Schweizer was eventually purchased by Sikorsky Aircraft, which is itself now a division of Lockheed Martin. In May 1965, the company won the contract for a new observation helicopter for the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

, and produced the

OH-6 Cayuse The Hughes OH-6 Cayuse is a single-engine light helicopter that was designed and produced by the American aerospace company Hughes Helicopters. Its formal name is derived from the Cayuse people while its "Loach" nickname comes from the acronym f ...

(Hughes Model 369). The OH-6 was later developed into the civilian Model 500, variants of which remain in production to this day. AH-64A on FOB Speicher

In 1975, the company won the contract for the

AH-64 Apache The Boeing AH-64 Apache () is an American twin- turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night v ...

attack helicopter. By December 1981, six AH-64A prototypes had been built and the Army had awarded a production contract to the company. Production would reach more than 1,100 by 2005. In January 1984, Hughes Helicopters, Inc. was sold to

by Summa Corporation. McDonnell Douglas paid $470 million for the company and made it a subsidiary with the name ''McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems'' in August 1984. In 1986, McDonnell Douglas sold all the rights to the Model 300C to Schweizer Aircraft. On August 1, 1997, McDonnell Douglas merged into

, but Boeing's subsequent plans to sell the civilian helicopter line to

Bell Helicopter Bell Textron Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A subsidiary of Textron, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft at facilities in Fort Worth, and Amarillo, Texas, as well as commercial helicopters in M ...

in 1998 were thwarted by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).Frawley, Gerard: ''The International Directory of Civil Aircraft, 2003-2004'', p. 155. Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd, 2003. In 1999, Boeing completed the spin off of the civilian line of helicopters to a newly formed ''MD Helicopter Holdings Inc.'', an indirect subsidiary of the Dutch company, RDM Holding Inc. The line included the MD 500 and variants as well as the family of derivative

NOTAR NOTAR ("no tail rotor") is a helicopter system which avoids the use of a tail rotor. It was developed by McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (through their acquisition of Hughes Helicopters). The system uses a fan inside the tail boom to build ...

aircraft that originated with Hughes Helicopters Inc. Boeing maintained the AH-64 line of helicopters and rights to the NOTAR system. After suffering dismal commercial performance, the company was purchased in 2005 by Patriarch Partners, LLC, an investment fund. The company was recapitalized as an independent company, ''MD Helicopters, Inc''. MD Helicopters is based in Mesa, Arizona.

Lynn Tilton Lynn G. Tilton (born April 22, 1959) is an American businesswoman and collateralized loan obligation (CLO) creator, owner and manager. She is the chief executive officer and sole principal of Patriarch Partners, LLC and its affiliated entities, ...

, the Chief Executive Officer and sole principal of Patriarch Partners, was CEO of MD Helicopters until she relinquished control in March 2020 following bankruptcy court rulings related to Patriarch holdings. By March 2022, the manufacturer filed for US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for restructuration, to be acquired by a creditor consortium led by Bardin Hill Investment Partners and

MBIA MBIA Inc. is an American financial services company. It was founded in 1973 as the Municipal Bond Insurance Association. It is headquartered in Purchase, New York, and as of January 1, 2015 had approximately 180 employees. MBIA is the largest bo ...

Insurance, providing around $60 million of financing as debtors.

Products

(Under both McDonnell Douglas and MD Helicopters) * MD 500 ** MD 500 Defender ** MD 520 ** MD 530 * MD 600 * MD Explorer (Under McDonnell Douglas only) *

- Product line transferred to

Boeing Defense, Space & Security Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) is a division (business unit) of The Boeing Company based in Arlington, Virginia. It is responsible for defense and aerospace products and services. It was formerly known as Boeing Integrated Defense System ...

in 1998 *

MH-6 Little Bird The Boeing MH-6M Little Bird (nicknamed the Killer Egg) and its attack variant, the AH-6, are light helicopters used for special operations in the United States Army. Originally based on a modified OH-6A, it was later based on the MD 500E, w ...

- later under

Boeing Rotorcraft Systems Boeing Rotorcraft Systems (formerly Boeing Helicopters and before that Boeing Vertol) is the former name of an American aircraft manufacturer, now known as Vertical Lift division of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The headquarters and main ...

and now as Vertical Lift division of Boeing Defense, Space & Security

References

External links

MD Helicopters official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Md Helicopters Helicopter manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Arizona Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2022

History

Products

See also

References

External links