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 McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Company MD-369E is H500.
The 1985-built MDHI MD-500E s/n 0157E was registered first in Norway as LN-OMV. On 26 June 1987, the MDHI MD-369E was registered SE-HNZ
in Sweden with SAAB Helikopter AB. In 1988, the MD-500E was sold to the Vilhemina-based Flygtjänst AB in the southern parts of Lappland
county and registered with F.J. Viklund, Vilhelmina, Sweden, on 29 March 1988. After delivery of the SE-HNZ at Sywell, registration SE-HNZ
was cancelled on 16 June 2006. On 28 June, the MD-500E was registered G-RISK in the UK with Wavendon Social Housing Ltd. On 10 February 2015,
the helicopter was re-registered G-CIMJ. On 29 September 2015, the MD-369E G-CIMJ was registered with Transair (UK). On 19 January 2017, the
helicopter was re-registered G-KAYS. On 29 August 2018, the G-KAYS was registered with Eastern Atlantic Helicopters. On 4 January 2019,
MD-369E G-KAYS was registered with Webb Aviation. On 11 February 2020, the G-KAYS was registered with Eastern Atlantic Helicopters. On 29
January 2021, the helicopter was re-registered G-OBAS. On 12 March 2021, MD-369E G-OBAS was registered with Keith Abel, Basinkstoke. On
16 June 2006, the Flygjänst' MDHI MD-369E SE-HNZ visited the Heli-Holland heliport near Emmen in the Netherlands when
on delivery from Sweden to the UK.
