MD Helicopters: rent hikes, moving...and VLJs?

Late last year, the city of Mesa told MD Helicopters that it intended to increase the rent for their facilities at Falcon Field by $130,000. MD Helicopters protested, but when they got stonewalled they started looking at other locations. When the city of Mesa realized they might lose a lot of important jobs and business, they worked up a plan to offer a new, larger site at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.

MD has narrowed the number of possible new locations to four, including Grand Prairie, TX - a big helicopter city that is home for Bell Textron and a maintenance company owned by MD. Holly Hosac of Mesa pointed me to this topic by sending me a Gateway press release.

MD Helicopters has been having a rough couple years, but is regrouping under the leadership of Lynn Tilton. They are still making deliveries and own the rights to NOTAR, a design concept used in some of their helicopters that they advertise as a safe and effective way of getting rid of tail rotors on helicopters.

So, it's good news that the company had the guts to leave a place that was going to try to charge them too much money to stay there, that the original city realized the value of MD and offered them a new deal, and that three other sites have offered them alternatives as well. If that isn't news enough though, the UK's Flyer Air Portal recently reported a rumor that MD Helicopters is looking to acquire a very light jet company. Adam Aircraft and ATG were mentioned as possibilities. Though many are skeptical, this could be a smart move for MD Helicopters as well as a new chance for some great aircraft. We're looking forward to hearing about MD's new location and their foray into the VLJ business and we'll let you know what we hear.