US Helicopter Registry

MD500series(Hughes369)

680 MD 500 series (Hughes 369) helicopters hold a valid FAA registration, 5 percent of the US fleet and the number 7 type by count. It is a light single-engine turbine helicopter, the class the Helicopter Class Comparison describes for charter, built by MD Helicopters. 69 of them fly on a Part 135 certificate.

680
Registered in the US
69
On a Part 135 certificate
1982
Median year built
4
Seats (FAA reference)

Variants the FAA lists

The FAA lists it under 18 model strings, folded together here. The strings are the manufacturer's own designations as typed on the registration, so a suffix marks a sub-model, an engine option, or sometimes only a different clerk.

Model as registeredRegistered
HUGHES 369D207
369E152
369FF95
369HS69
500N40
369A34
600N24
OH-6A23
369A (OH-6A)12
3695
OH-64
369HE3
500-E3
500C3
369F2
369HM2
369H1
520N1

Where the MD 500 series (Hughes 369) is registered

By the registrant's state. A trust or leasing company can put a whole fleet at one address, so a state's count is about paperwork as much as flying.

When they were built

  • 1960s 416%
  • 1970s 14221%
  • 1980s 13820%
  • 1990s 8212%
  • 2000s 649%
  • 2010s 345%
  • 2020s 173%

The register runs from 1966 to 2025, with 1981 the busiest year at 37 airframes. 162 records carry no year of manufacture.

Who registers them

  • LLC 25037%
  • Corporation 22533%
  • Government 11817%
  • Individual 568%
  • Non-citizen corporation 162%
  • Partnership 81%
  • Co-owned 71%

The organisations with the most MD 500 series (Hughes 369) helicopters registered. Private individuals are counted above but never named.

RegistrantHelicopters
USDA APHIS WS ATOC20
BANK OF UTAH TRUSTEE14
WINCO INC12
TEMSCO HELICOPTERS INC11
AVIATION ADVANTAGE INC10
AA LEASING LP8
HELISERVICE LLC8
HLH LEASING LLC8

Engine and certification

679 are recorded as turbine powered and 1 as piston. The engines the FAA lists most often: ALLISON 250-C20 SER (136), ROLLS-ROYC 250-C20B (84), ROLLS-ROYC 250-C30 (66), ALLISON 250 SER 250HP (50), ALLISON 250-C20B (49).

  • Standard 51576%
  • Multiple 386%
  • Experimental 294%
  • Restricted 183%

Standard is the airworthiness class a passenger-carrying aircraft holds. Restricted covers agricultural, external-load and other special-purpose work, and experimental covers research, exhibition and amateur-built aircraft; neither carries paying passengers.

Common questions

How many MD 500 series (Hughes 369) helicopters are there in the United States?

680 hold a valid FAA registration in the file dated 14 September 2026, 5 percent of all registered helicopters, which ranks the MD 500 series (Hughes 369) number 7 among model families. The FAA lists it under 18 model strings, folded together here.

Where are most MD 500 series (Hughes 369) helicopters registered?

Delaware leads with 75, then California with 52. The state is the registrant's address rather than where the aircraft flies.

Is the MD 500 series (Hughes 369) used for charter?

69 of the 680 registered, 10 percent, sit on an FAA Part 135 certificate, the authority needed to fly passengers or cargo for hire. Whether a given one is available for passenger work depends on the operator, not the type.

How old are the MD 500 series (Hughes 369) helicopters on the register?

The median was built in 1982; the register runs from 1966 to 2025, with 1981 the busiest year at 37. 162 records carry no year.

Source: FAA Releasable Aircraft Database, file dated 14 September 2026; Part 135 workbook dated 9 August 2026. Look up any airframe by tail number on the registry hub.

Other model families

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