McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 company, aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of the Hughes Tool Company. The company produced the Hughes ...
until 1984, when
McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas Corporation was a major American Aerospace manufacturer, 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 ...
acquired it and renamed it McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems. It later became MD Helicopters in 1999 after McDonnell Douglas merged with
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
.


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 ...
after 1955. It became the helicopter division of Hughes'
Summa Corporation Summa Corporation was a holding company for the business interests of Howard Hughes after he sold the tool division of Hughes Tool Company in 1972. Its holdings included casino hotels, aviation businesses, and television channels. After Hughes's d ...
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
McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas Corporation was a major American Aerospace manufacturer, 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 ...
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 The Schweizer Aircraft Corporation was an American manufacturer of sailplanes, agricultural aircraft and helicopters located in Horseheads (town), New York, Horseheads, New York. It was incorporation (business), incorporated in 1939 by three Sc ...
to produce the Model 300C. Schweizer was eventually purchased by Sikorsky Aircraft, which is itself now a division of
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...
. 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 primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
, and produced the
OH-6 Cayuse The Hughes OH-6 Cayuse is a single-engine light helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Hughes Helicopters. Its formal name is derived from the Cayuse people, while its "Loach" nickname is derived from Light Observatio ...
(Hughes Model 369). The OH-6 was later developed into the civilian Model 500, variants of which remain in production to this day. In 1975, the company won the contract for the
AH-64 Apache The Hughes/McDonnell Douglas/Boeing AH-64 Apache ( ) is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. Nose-mounted sensors help acquire targets and provide night vis ...
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
McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas Corporation was a major American Aerospace manufacturer, 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 ...
by
Summa Corporation Summa Corporation was a holding company for the business interests of Howard Hughes after he sold the tool division of Hughes Tool Company in 1972. Its holdings included casino hotels, aviation businesses, and television channels. After Hughes's d ...
. McDonnell Douglas paid $470 million for the company and made it a
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...
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 The Schweizer Aircraft Corporation was an American manufacturer of sailplanes, agricultural aircraft and helicopters located in Horseheads (town), New York, Horseheads, New York. It was incorporation (business), incorporated in 1939 by three Sc ...
. On August 1, 1997, McDonnell Douglas merged into
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
, 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, United States as well as commercial heli ...
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 MD Helicopters, McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (through their acquisition of Hughes Helicopters). The system uses a fan inside the tail ...
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 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...
protection for restructuration, to be acquired by a
creditor A creditor or lender is a party (e.g., person, organization, company, or government) that has a claim on the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some propert ...
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 b ...
Insurance, providing around $60 million of financing as
debtor A debtor or debitor is a legal entity (legal person) that owes a debt to another entity. The entity may be an individual, a firm, a government, a company or other legal person. The counterparty is called a creditor. When the counterpart of this ...
s. The new owners of MD Helicopters envision raising production to 50 helicopters a year by 2025 as the company rebuilds after exiting bankruptcy in August 2022. The plans are part of efforts by the OEM's new owners to turn around the company's fortunes after what new CEO described as the “rocky heritage” of the manufacturer under different owners since it was spun off from the merger of McDonnell Douglas and Boeing in the 1990s. In 2023, the company closed out a long-running dispute with Aerometals over copyright and also has built closer relations with Boeing to cooperate on the AH-6 Little Bird platform, which shares a similar airframe to the MD530F.


Products

(Under both McDonnell Douglas and MD Helicopters) * MD 500 **
MD 500 Defender The McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems MD 500 Defender is a light multi-role military helicopter based on the MD Helicopters MD 500, MD 500 light utility helicopter and Hughes OH-6 Cayuse, OH-6 Cayuse Light Observation Helicopter. Design and ...
** MD 530 ** MD 520 (Currently just support, not production line) * MD 600 (Currently just support, not production line) * MD Explorer (Currently just support, not production line) (Under McDonnell Douglas only) *
AH-64 Apache The Hughes/McDonnell Douglas/Boeing AH-64 Apache ( ) is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. Nose-mounted sensors help acquire targets and provide night vis ...
- Product line transferred to
Boeing Defense, Space & Security Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) is a division of Boeing, the Boeing Company based in Arlington, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. The division builds military Military aircraft, airplanes, Military helicopter, rotorcraft, and Missile, missil ...
in 1998 *
MH-6 Little Bird The Boeing MH-6M Little Bird (nicknamed the Killer Egg) and its attack helicopter, attack variant, the AH-6, are light Helicopter, helicopters used for special operations in the United States Army. Originally based on a modified OH-6 Cayuse, OH ...
- 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 r ...
and now as Vertical Lift division of Boeing Defense, Space & Security In 2023, the outlook looks bleak for the restart in production of the twin-engine MD902 or further investment in the company’s No Tail Rotor (
NOTAR NOTAR ("no tail rotor") is a helicopter system which avoids the use of a tail rotor. It was developed by MD Helicopters, McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (through their acquisition of Hughes Helicopters). The system uses a fan inside the tail ...
) anti-torque system technology. CEO Brad Pedersen says the company is trying to support the MD902 “where it can,” but the production line for the aircraft has been dormant for 10 years, as has the supply chain for components. “The MD902 is a difficult discussion, and we don’t have a path forward right now,” Pedersen says. In 2016, MD Helicopters had claimed it was making investments in the NOTAR technology, but Pedersen says there is no evidence of these efforts. “The question is from a business standpoint, where do we spend our time focusing, and what’s the biggest bang for the buck?” Pedersen says. NOTAR, he suggests, is not a priority.


See also

*
Hughes Helicopters Hughes Helicopters was a major manufacturer of military and civilian helicopters from the 1950s to the 1980s. The company began in 1947, as a unit of Hughes Aircraft, then was part of the Hughes Tool Company after 1955. It became the Hughes ...
*
NOTAR NOTAR ("no tail rotor") is a helicopter system which avoids the use of a tail rotor. It was developed by MD Helicopters, McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (through their acquisition of Hughes Helicopters). The system uses a fan inside the tail ...
Comparable major
helicopter manufacturer Helicopter manufacturers belong to the broader category of aerospace manufacturers. It is useful to think of helicopter manufacturers as falling into two categories, those that can design, certify and manufacture new helicopter designs from scra ...
s: *
AgustaWestland AgustaWestland was an Anglo-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica (now known as Leonardo). It was formed in July 2000 as an Anglo-Italian multinational company, when Finmeccani ...
*
Airbus Helicopters Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter S.A., trading as Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries, holding 48% of the wo ...
*
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, United States as well as commercial heli ...
*
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 r ...
*
Russian Helicopters JSC Russian Helicopters () is a helicopter design and manufacturing company headquartered in Moscow, Russia. The company designs and manufactures civilian and military helicopters. The company's principal shareholder is Rostec. It is the world's ...
*
Sikorsky Aircraft Sikorsky Aircraft is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. It was established by the Russian-American aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky in 1923, and was among the first companies to manufacture helicopters for civilian ...


References


External links


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