Hughes 500
| Hughes/MD 500 series | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| An MD 500E | |
| Role | Light utility helicopter |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer |
Hughes Helicopters McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems MD Helicopters, Inc. |
| Introduction | 1982 |
| Status | In service |
| Primary user | Various police agencies |
| Produced | 1976–present |
| Number built | 4,700 |
| Developed from | Hughes OH-6 Cayuse |
| Variants | McDonnell Douglas MD 500 Defender |
| Developed into | MD Helicopters MD 600 |
The MD Helicopters MD 500 series is an American family of light utility civilian and military helicopters. The MD 500 was developed from the Hughes 500, a civilian version of the US Army's OH-6A Cayuse/Loach. The series currently includes the MD 500E, MD 520N, and MD 530F.
The successful Hughes 500/MD 500 series began life in response to a U.S. Army requirement for a light observation helicopter. Hughes' Model 369 won the contest against competition from Bell and Hiller. The OH-6 Cayuse first flew in February 1963.
The 500 series design features shock-absorbing landing skid struts, a turboshaft engine mounted at a 45-degree angle toward the rear of the cabin pod, a fuel tank cell under the floor and the battery in the nose. The engine exhaust port is located at the end of the cabin pod underneath the tailboom. It has a short-diameter main rotor system and a short tail, giving it agile control response and is less susceptible to weather-cocking.
Hughes won the U.S. Army's LOH contest with its OH-6 helicopter by submitting a very low and aggressive price per airframe (without an engine). Due to rising prices, the U.S. Army later re-opened the contest, where Hughes offered the machine at a more realistic price, but was undercut by the redesigned Bell OH-58 Kiowa (military JetRanger). OH-6 helicopters were still ordered by the U.S. Army, though at a much reduced number.
Prior to the OH-6's first flight, Hughes announced it was developing a civil version, to be marketed as the Hughes 500, available in basic five- and seven-seat configurations. A utility version with a more powerful engine was offered as the 500U (later called the 500C).
The improved Hughes 500D became the primary model in 1976, with a more powerful engine, a T-tail, and a new five-blade main rotor; a four-blade tail rotor was optional. The 500D was replaced by the 500E from 1982 with a pointed nose and various interior improvements, such as greater head- and legroom. The 530F was a more powerful version of the 500E optimized for hot and high work.
McDonnell Douglas acquired Hughes Helicopters in January 1984, and from August 1985 the 500E and 530F were built as the MD 500E and MD 530F Lifter. In 2014 an MD530F performed airshow acrobatics, piloted by eighty-two-year-old Dennis Kenyon. Following the 1997 Boeing-McDonnell Douglas merger, Boeing sold the former MD civil helicopter lines to MD Helicopters in early 1999. Military variants are marketed under the MD 500 Defender name.
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