MD Helicopters completes first MD500E conversion to MD530F

MD Helicopters has completed the first MD 500E to MD 530F conversion. The work was carried out at Thoroughbred Aviation in Lexington, Kentucky – an MD Helicopters Authorised Service Center.

The conversion shows MD Helicopters’ commitment to fleet upgrades by making it easier and less costly to upgrade MD aircraft, according to the company. This upgrade was completed for the Cleveland Police Department, and Thoroughbred is actively conducting the same upgrade on Cleveland’s second MD 500E.

MD Helicopters president Ryan Weeks said: “This achievement underscores our dedication to enhancing performance and accessibility through our MD Network. Thoroughbred Aviation, a premier Authorized Service Center, is playing a pivotal role in this effort and we are excited to expand the availability of E-to-F upgrades. Demand for such upgrades is strong and several more performance upgrades will be certified and released throughout 2025 for the MD 500D, MD 500E, and MD 520N.”

Benefits of the MD 500E to MD 530F upgrade include:  an increase of 350lbs or a 12% increase in MGW internal load, +200lbs or a 6% increase in MGW external load, +198lbs or a 12% of internal useful load and a +5,500ft or 92% increase in HOGE.

Key elements of the conversion include: an engine upgrade from the Rolls-Royce 250-C20B/R to the Rolls-Royce 250-C30, longer main rotor and tail rotor blades, longer tail rotor driveshaft, a tail rotor gearbox extension, a tail boom modification, new vertical and horizontal stabilisers, and several new gauges.

The upgrade improves the aircraft’s maximum gross weight capacity to 3,350lbs and is said to improve cruise speed and optimise flight performance in challenging environments.