In 1961, Hughes was one of the twelve companies that submitted proposals to meet U.S. Army TS-153
requirement for a four-seat turbine-powered light observation helicopter. Model 369 was developed
and flew first on February 27, 1963. Five machines of this type were ordered as OH-6A for the
evaluation programme. The OH-6A Cayuse powered by an Allison T63-A-5A turboshaft was the winner of
the U.S. Army's contest in May 1965. Deliveries commenced in September 1966 to meet an initial
three-year commitment for 1071 machines. Next to the military OH-6A Hughes developed a larger,
five-passenger civilian version. Initially designated as the 369H and 369A during the development stage,
it emerged on the market as the Hughes 500. In 1968 the 500C with the more powerful Allison 250-C20
engine was introduced. In 1977 the 500D entered the market with a new five-bladed rotor system and the
Allison 250-C20B engine. In 1982, Hughes introduced both the 500E with the Allison 250-C20B and the 530F
with the more powerful Allison 250-C30 engine. On 6 January 1984, Hughes Helicopters became a subsidiary
of McDonnell Douglas, and subsequently re-designated the McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Company.
The Hughes 500 thus became the MD500. With McDonnell Douglas'
merger with Boeing in 1997 the MD 900 became a Boeing product. In a restructuring exercise for the new company
it was decided to disposal of the civil helicopter business. On 16 February 1999, the new formed MD Helicopters Inc.,
an indirect subsidiary of the RDM Group of Joep van den Nieuwenhuijzen, the Netherlands, purchased the light helicopter operations
from The Boeing Company, including the MD 900 Explorer. In 2004, the MD Helicopters Inc of Mesa, Arizona ran into turbulence
when technical problems delayed the delivery of 13 helicopters to customers in Germany and the Netherlands.
The US investment firm Patriarch Partners LLC bought in July 2005 a majority stake in MD Helicopters from
the RDM Holdings N.V., and started revitalizing the company. 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 Insurance, providing around $60 million of financing as debtors. Starting with a
substantial mid-2022 leadership overhaul and restructuring the company, from August 2022, MD Helicopters emgerged from bankruptcy.
The ICAO Aircraft Type Designator for the Hughes 369HS is H500.
On 15 June 1990, Hughes 369HS s/n 53-0478S was registered PH-HTH in the
Netherlands with Heli-Holland Holding B.V., Emmer-Compascuum. Before
entering the Dutch register, the 1973-built aircraft was registered in
the USA as N9143F. Hughes 500 PH-HTH was operated by Heli-Holland until
2004. In 2004, the PH-HTH was sold in New Zealand and left Emmen on
delivery to the new owner on 4 August 2004. After the registration
PH-HTH was cancelled on 12 October 2004, the Hughes 369HS was registered
ZK-HOM in New Zealand with Mr M J W M Wouters van den Oudenweijer,
Maunganui, on 26 October 2004. The owner operated the ZK-HOM out of Tauranga,
at the North Island of NZ. On 28 July 2005, the aircraft was transferred to Mr C Carlsson, Coromandel. On 6 June 2006,
the Hughes 369HS ZK-HOM was registered with Vertical Aviation Ltd, Christchurch. on 11 March 2016, the ZK-HOM was
registered with Phoenix Tradind 2002 Ltd, Christchurch. On 30 May 2016, registration ZK-HOM was cancelled as exported.
On 28 February 2018, the helicopter was registered N478NW in the USA with Emerald City Aircraft Leasing Inc. On 2
October 2018, Hughes 369HS N478NW was registered with TMDS Air Inc. On 2 September 1994, Hughes 369HS PH-HTH
was seen at the Heli-Holland heliport in Emmen.
Luchtvaart déjà vu
