Single-engine turbine helicopter · operating costs
MD 500C Operating Costs and Cost per Hour
An MD 500C costs about $2,390 an hour to operate at 200 hours a year: $296,000 a year fixed plus $911 per flight hour, itemised with sources.
CRAFT estimate, fuel priced October 4, 2026
At a glance
- Per flight hour at 200 hrs a year
- $2,390
- Per year at 200 hrs
- $478,031
- Fixed costs / year
- $295,831
- Variable / flight hour
- $911
- Jet A, $176/hr today
- Fuel burn
- 23 gal/hr
- 1 pilot, paid
- Crew assumed
- 1 crew
CRAFT estimates in USD for a U.S.-based aircraft. How we estimate them is below; every line has its source.
What an MD 500C costs per hour
The MD 500C is a single-engine turbine helicopter, burning 23 gallons of Jet A an hour. In our estimate it costs $911 for every hour it flies and $295,831 a year whether it flies or not. Spread over 200 hours a year, that is about $2,390 a flight hour; over 100 hours, $3,869; over 400, $1,651.
The estimate assumes a paid crew: 1 pilot. The largest single cost at 200 hours is crew salary, at $176,081 a year.
MD 500C cost calculator
MD 500C annual cost
$478,067 per year
$295,831 fixed + $911/hr × 200 hrs ($176/hr of it fuel: 23 gal at $7.66). About $2,390 per flight hour with the fixed costs spread over the hours. MD 500C, CRAFT estimate.
Fixed costs
What the MD 500C costs a year before it flies an hour.
| Fixed costs | Per year | How it is worked out |
|---|---|---|
| Crew Salary | $176,081 | 1 captain at $123,220 (BLS median, commercial pilots), plus 43% for benefits and payroll costs (BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, private industry, June 2026).Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (released May 15, 2026); BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026 (released September 9, 2026) |
| Crew TrainingEstimate, $6,000 to $12,000 | $9,000 | Recurrent training each year for 1 pilot, at $6,000 to $12,000 per pilot for a single-engine turbine helicopter. CRAFT estimate. |
| HangarEstimate, $5,400 to $32,400 | $18,900 | From Concord-Padgett's helicopter hangar rate ($450 a month) to a Bell 407 footprint (42 ft long, 35 ft rotor) at Naples' $1.85 a square foot ($2,700): $450 to $2,700 a month. Big-city airports cost more, a tie-down much less.Source: Published airport hangar and tie-down rates (Concord-Padgett Regional, City of Concord NC; Naples Airport Authority FY2026) (read October 15, 2026) |
| InsuranceEstimate, $34,300 to $90,400 | $62,350 | Liability of $2,800 to $4,000 a year plus hull cover at 1.75% to 4.8% of a hull value of $1,800,000, the median published price of the single-engine turbine helicopters we cover (no published price for this model). Liability from BWI's published helicopter guidance ($2,800 to $4,000 a year for $1 million). Hull from 1.75% of value, Robinson's own 2026 example for the R66, to 4.8%, the low end of BWI's Bell 206 example ($15,200 to $19,450 on a $315,000 hull). Midpoints used; pilot experience moves it a lot.Source: BWI Aviation Insurance, "Helicopter insurance cost" (January 28, 2020); Robinson Helicopter Company, Estimated Operating Cost sheets for the R22, R44 Raven II and R66, 2026 |
| ManagementEstimate, $12,000 to $30,000 | $21,000 | A management company's fee of $1,000 to $2,500 a month for a single-engine turbine helicopter (crew, maintenance tracking, compliance and billing). CRAFT estimate.Source: Business Jet Traveler, "Is a management company right for you?" |
| Miscellaneous FixedEstimate, $5,000 to $12,000 | $8,500 | Navigation databases and charts, weather, maintenance tracking and office costs: $5,000 to $12,000 a year for a single-engine turbine helicopter. CRAFT estimate. |
| Total | $295,831 |
Variable costs
What each flight hour adds. Fuel is priced at $7.66 a gallon; every dollar a gallon moves the hourly cost by $23.
| Variable costs | Per flight hour | How it is worked out |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel Cost | $176 | 23 gallons of Jet A an hour (USDA Forest Service, Helicopter Services Hourly Flight Rates, Fuel Consumption, and Weight Reduction Chart (contracts awarded 2013 to 2017, effective February 16, 2019), USFS contract fuel consumption figure for helicopter '500C' (gal/hr), used by the agency to compute load and fuel reimbursement; a government planning figure for typical operation) at $7.66 a gallon, our estimated U.S. average FBO price for Jet A on 2026-10-04.Source: USDA Forest Service, Helicopter Services Hourly Flight Rates, Fuel Consumption, and Weight Reduction Chart (contracts awarded 2013 to 2017, effective February 16, 2019); CRAFT jet fuel price data |
| MaintenanceEstimate, $200 to $450 | $325 | Scheduled maintenance, parts, labor and unscheduled repairs for the airframe and avionics: $200 to $450 a flight hour for a single-engine turbine helicopter. Older aircraft sit at the top of the range. CRAFT estimate, checked against the USDA Forest Service's contract flight rates.Source: USDA Forest Service, Helicopter Services Hourly Flight Rates, Fuel Consumption, and Weight Reduction Chart (contracts awarded 2013 to 2017, effective February 16, 2019) |
| Engine OverhaulEstimate, $100 to $200 | $150 | An hourly reserve for the next engine overhaul: $100 to $200 per engine per hour for a single-engine turbine helicopter. No published overhaul price for this engine, so a CRAFT estimate. |
| Rotor and Drive ComponentsEstimate, $100 to $250 | $175 | Life-limited rotor blades, gearboxes and drive-train parts, reserved by the hour: $100 to $250 a flight hour for a single-engine turbine helicopter. CRAFT estimate. |
| Crew/Landing/Handling FeesEstimate, $30 to $100 | $65 | Landing and ramp fees and pilot travel: $30 to $100 a flight hour for a single-engine turbine helicopter. CRAFT estimate. |
| Miscellaneous VariableEstimate, $10 to $30 | $20 | Oil, cleaning and cabin supplies: $10 to $30 a flight hour. CRAFT estimate. |
| Total | $911 |
Annual cost at 100, 200 and 400 hours
| Hours a year | 100 hours | 200 hours | 400 hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed costs | $295,831 | $295,831 | $295,831 |
| Variable costs | $91,100 | $182,200 | $364,400 |
| Total a year | $386,931 | $478,031 | $660,231 |
| Per flight hour | $3,869 | $2,390 | $1,651 |
MD 500C specs
- Class
- Single-engine turbine helicopter
- Engines
- 1 × Allison 250-C20
- Fuel
- Jet A
- Fuel burn
- 23 gal/hr
The MD 500C compared with similar aircraft
Same method, same fuel prices, at 200 hours a year.
| Aircraft | Per hour | Per year | Fuel burn |
|---|---|---|---|
MD 500CSingle-engine turbine helicopter | $2,390 | $478,031 | 23 gal/hr |
 Bell 206B3 JetRanger IIISingle-engine turbine helicopter | $2,421 | $484,231 | 27 gal/hr |
 MD 500ESingle-engine turbine helicopter | $2,428 | $485,631 | 28 gal/hr |
 Bell 505 Jet Ranger XSingle-engine turbine helicopter | $2,444 | $488,831 | 30 gal/hr |
 Airbus H120Single-engine turbine helicopter | $2,451 | $490,231 | 31 gal/hr |
 MD 520NSingle-engine turbine helicopter | $2,459 | $491,831 | 32 gal/hr |
How we estimate these costs
Every aircraft on our operating cost calculator is costed the same way: fixed costs a year plus a cost per flight hour, from public inputs. Crew pay comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, hangar rates from published airport schedules, insurance from a broker's published guidance, fuel from our fuel price data, and the fuel burn from USDA Forest Service. Lines marked “estimate” are the midpoint of a stated range for single-engine turbine helicopters, not a quote. Nothing here comes from another cost calculator or a broker's budgets.
- Not included: the purchase price, financing, depreciation, sales tax, upgrades and paint or interior work, and any rental or charter income.
- What moves it most: hours flown (fixed costs spread thinner), the fuel price, where it is hangared, the pilot's experience (insurance) and the aircraft's age (maintenance).
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Frequently asked questions
How much does an MD 500C cost per hour?
About $2,390 a flight hour flown 200 hours a year, in CRAFT's estimate: $911 an hour in direct costs (fuel, maintenance, engine and parts reserves, fees) plus $295,831 a year in fixed costs spread over the hours. Flown 100 hours it is about $3,870 an hour; flown 400, about $1,650.
How much does it cost to own an MD 500C for a year?
About $478,000 a year flown 200 hours: $295,831 in fixed costs (crew salary, crew training, hangar, insurance, management, miscellaneous fixed) and $182,200 in hourly costs. The purchase price, financing and depreciation are not included.
How much fuel does an MD 500C burn?
23 gallons of Jet A an hour (USDA Forest Service, Helicopter Services Hourly Flight Rates, Fuel Consumption, and Weight Reduction Chart (contracts awarded 2013 to 2017, effective February 16, 2019)). At $7.66 a gallon, the estimated U.S. average FBO price for Jet A on October 4, 2026, that is $176 a flight hour. Every dollar a gallon moves it by $23.
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