Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

MD Helicopters MD 500, 500D, 500E, 500ER, 520N, and 530F

Matt Thurber

MD Helicopters-authorized service center Thoroughbred Aviation has completed the first MD500E to MD530F conversion at its Lexington, Kentucky base. The customer is the Cleveland, Ohio police department, and the conversion was the first of two that Thoroughbred is doing for that operator. Other MD network service centers can also offer the upgrade.
The conversion program upgrades the engine from the Rolls-Royce 250-C20B/R to the 250-C30 and adds longer main and tail rotor blades, a longer tail rotor driveshaft, tail rotor gearbox extension, modified tailboom, new vertical and horizontal stabilizers, and new cockpit instruments.
Resulting performance improvements include a 12% (350-pound) increase in maximum gross weight internal load and 6% (200-pound) increase in external load, with an additional 12% (198 pounds) of useful load. The new maximum gross weight is 3,350 pounds. Out-of-ground-effect hover climbs by 92% (5,500 feet).
“This achievement underscores our dedication to enhancing performance and accessibility through our MD network,” said MD Helicopters president Ryan Weeks. “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 MD500D, MD500E, and MD520N.”

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First MD500E to MD530F Helicopter Conversion Completed by Thoroughbred Aviation

Upgrade is available at MD Helicopters service centers

Performance improvements from MD 500E to MD 530F conversion include a 12% (350-pound increase) in max gross weight internal load & 6% increase in external load.

First MD500E to MD530F Helicopter Conversion Done

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In this article

MD 500 Series

MD Helicopters

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