Skip to main content
history - hughes 500

Hughes 500

Do thoughts of flying an airborne hot rod leave you cold? If that's the case then this brief photo-driven history and background regarding the Hughes 500 won't fly.
| John Beech | askJOHN
Close up shot of the classic MASH helicopter, the Bell-47 descending and turning toward the camera
- The Bell-47 was the stalwart Hughes sought to supplant in an observation role

When the US the Army called time on the venerable Bell 47 (the one from the movie and television series M.A.S.H.), Bell, Hiller, and Hughes jumped into the fray to offer a replacement observation helicopter. And while the usual order of things is for newer things to get bigger, what Hughes was pitching was actually smaller and lighter than the existing helicopter. In fact, it was also considerably smaller and lighter than competing Bell and Hiller models!

Critical to their concept was using sheet aluminum, like a fighter airplane versus the techniques used for the H-13 of traditional steel tubing. Think P-51 Mustang riveted together versus Piper Cub with welded steel tubing and fabric. And they wanted the helicopter to be smaller and lighter, too.

Thing is instead of a 6-cylinder piston engine running on AVGAS, which the Sioux depended on, they had instead opted for a silky smooth turbine burning Jet-A (or diesel, in a pinch). And brother, that thing made significantly more horsepower than what the Sioux had to work with!

The conundrum being, if the helicopter was to be smaller, this meant a smaller diameter rotor, also. So to make up for the reduced thrust of a smaller 2-blade rotor, they'd use 4-blades to absorb the power. End result? A more compact helicopter they figured would give our side an edge in observation on the battlefield. It was an audacious plan.

1950s photo of Bell-47 equipped with litters for transport of wartime wounded
- Litters made a difference on the battlefield

Interestingly, the smaller diameter 4-blade also offered more load toting ability; the equivalent of 4 men (plus pilot) versus the Bell-47 of a pilot plus two on side-mounted litters (for wounded transport to field hospitals). Honestly? Smaller, yet able to carry more load was totally unheard of. Also meant an unladen Hughes was an absolute rocketship in the hands of skilled pilots! More later.

So how much smaller than the H-13, which sported a 35'1" rotor disk? A lot smaller at 26'4" diameter, which as Hughes engineers saw it, was critical to the role. More compact granted a competitive advantage for observation duties because it meant getting into and out of closer quarters . . . and maybe getting to see things others couldn't!

And since peeking where others couldn't confers a battlefield advantage, then the obvious hope is this would tilt the playing field of the selection process in their favor. Or so – presumably – went their thinking!

Drones

Switching gears; today, drones don't so much supplant helicopters for battlefield observation as augment their capabilities. They're another arrow in the quiver of mission planners, e.g. a tool used to increase surveillance of the enemy. And in full disclosure, this is a market served by the P6U variant of our civilian P6N and P6E air frames.

Point being, because drones are an order of magnitude smaller than man-carrying helicopters, their being more compact means they're used for getting into even tighter spots! And importantly, they do it without risking the lives of trained pilot and observer.

In the drone world, the secret sauce favoring helicopter vs quadcopter for observation is the fact single-rotor helicopter-type drones are quieter. This due to the larger rotor operating at lower RPM, which means the sound is lower in pitch and thus, less directional (physics, not opinion).

So their relatively quiet operation makes helicopters exponentially more useful than quads because they're simply harder to detect. Quieter, thus being a huge reason why our P6U is especially well received by defense for the observation mission.

However, in the mid 1960s the Army didn't have drones like the ones we have today. And circling back to the 500-series, when Hughes engineers figured a smaller helicopter could be handy, they were seeing into the future! Note; in 2012 a remote piloted version of the 500-airframe was demonstrated . . . 50 years 'after' the aircraft was developed. However, the immensely capable miniature single-rotor helicopters of today (flying under FPV or autonomous control) would have to wait another decade to see the light of day!

Photo of a Hughes 500 in desert tan retrofitted as an RPV (remote piloted vehicle)
- Retrofitted to become a first person view drone

History

Photo of early 1960s Hughes 500 competing for an US Army contract as the YOH-6A, the egg-shaped fuselage profile is unmistakable despite the army green color.
- Competing for an Army contract as YOH-6A

Point being, 60-odd years ago they held a competition for the express purpose of selecting the best helicopter to fulfill this kind of mission - observation - and Hughes, won. And while doubling blade count made it mechanically more complex, by doing it without hydraulics it meant it's actually better to live with from a maintenance standpoint.

But putting that aside - outside of the battlefield - the fundamental reason pilots love the 500 is because it flies more crisply than slower to react Hiller and Bell designs due to the offset flapping system. And because small and agile are a good combination (ask any coach who gives the rock to his halfback instead of the fullback when he needs a lot of yards), pilots used its lights-out handling in 1966 to obliterate aviation records in speed, endurance and time to climb categories, as set by its pedestrian competition. Records, which incidentally, are still standing!

However the 500-series really became a superstar in the hands of returning vets when it went from 250SHP to 425SHP. Nearly doubling horsepower in the same engine compartment is the same formula Porsche used to create their 911T (turbo). Said car going from lb/hp parity with Corvette, Z-car, and Jaguar to leader. Same for the Hughes 500 . . . the OG pocket rocket!

Photo of battalion soldiers being loaded by an OH-6A in the Vietnam war era.
- A hot rod in civvy life transitions to war 

Variations

Photo of civilian scheme Hughes 500 finished in blue paint scheme with silver trim.
- Handsome in blue and silver with white pinstripes

Note; several versions exist, e.g. 500C, 500D, MD 530E, MD 600, etc. but they're actually all variations on a theme. E.g. the same basic airframe (unless you consider the NOTAR - no tail rotor) something different.

Yet while this more stealthy development gives NOTAR equipped 500 series the unmistakable thick abdomen look of a pregnant dragonfly, the basic fuselage remains an obvious derivative of the first of the pointy-nose models (the 500E) except for that strange 'tail boom thing' grafted on the aft end to counter torque!

Photo of the NOTAR (no tail rotor) variant of the Hughes 500
- NOTAR in flight looks . . . different, kind of like a dragonfly

Civvy street

Photo of red and white Hughes 500 climbing out to the left from the right
- Handsome in red and white, the Hughes too climbs out

Sadly for Hughes, they lost the follow-on military contract to the Bell 206 because Bell could build them for a few thousand bucks, less. So Hughes pivoted to the civilian by marketing as the Hughes 500C (with the same V-shaped tail).

The very quickly afterward, and after blessing it with even more horsepower, they swapped out the original 4-blade head for a 5-blade rotor head! The point being to harness the extra oomph of the more powerful engine (oomph, of course, being a highly technical engineering term).

Thus, the airframe formerly know as the Cayuse morphed into the Hughes 500D with the 5-blade rotor head (and now with a T-tail replacing the V-tail of earlier iterations). Anyway, it's on civvy street that it became really famous in the public eye!

This, partly because returning veterans vouchsafed it's good handling and safety so it was everywhere to be seen. But also because business is always looking for a bargain, and after sharpening their pencil, the price was now right enough (very close to the less expensive Bell 206) that the advantages of the smaller rotor diameter and multiblade head made it good for certain civilian purposes where the more compact footprint conveyed specific advantages.

The facts are plain, that heli that could get in and out with far greater agility from tight spaces the 206 couldn't dream of entering. Also,as a knock on effect, you could pack more of them into a hangar. But it was the fact vets loved flying it that pretty much led to everything that followed!

Note; the basic reason for so many photos is in hopes one will tickle your fancy and help you find a bird to model.

Side-view photo of green Hughes 500
- Fitted with original low-type landing gear struts

Continued military service

So originally developed by Hughes for Uncle Sam's observation helicopter competition in the early 60s, the OH-6 as the winner came to be known, the Cayuse, won due to a good price more than it's ability to slip into tighter places. This, because by the 60s, Pentagon thinking was dominated by the cost of the Vietnam war so budget reigned over intrinsic capabilities (meaning the bean-counters won versus mission planners). And note; it won despite sporting a mere 250SHP (shaft horsepower, which is how turbines are rated).

Photo of SOAR’s Little Bird descending right to left toward the camera
- SOAR’s Little Bird heading for home

Interestingly, while in the civilian world this hot rod is frequently found working with sheriff departments, power line companies, plus diverse roles including stations in the Australian outback, tagging big game in Africa, culling wolves in northern climes, plus personal transport for the well heeled, it's most well known role remains a military one. Making good use of it's prodigious lifting ability, agility, and compact size, it's Little Bird for uncle's 160th SOAR unit!

Photo of the adaptable and compact Hughes 500 Little Bird loaded for bear
- Loaded for bear Hughes 500 aka SOAR’s Little Bird

On being bait

However, entirely due to the fact this aircraft has subsequently served with such great distinction in the civilian world, many folks tend to overlook what this little rascal was actually created to do! The basic job of the OH-6 pilot was to position himself and an observer (at great personal risk because other than their side pieces, the crew were unarmed) to guide a flight of deadly Cobras.

How? By serving as bait.  Way it worked is the pilot flies along seemingly fat dumb and happy, e.g. at a tempting speed and altitude such that when enemy gunners fire on them, he splits and runs for cover using all his evasive skills (combined with the enormous maneuverability of the platform). Hopefully living to fight another day (metaphorically speaking, of course), and this (at the same time), unleashed a swarm of super snakes for the attack. So it was in the defining role of eyeballs for the famous hunter-killer teams that the 500 made its bones. This critical role saved a lot of lives!

High altitude B&W photo of a Hughes 500 as OH-6A in formation with a pair of AH-1G Cobra attack helis flying left to right at altitude during the Vietnam War era.
- Wartime comes for the Hughes 500

500-series color schemes

Photo of a red, white, and blue Hughes 500 setting in a grass field under bright sunshine
- Sporting red, white, and blue the Hughes 500 looks great

Yet despite this distinguished service, for most of us, it's the availability of many, many, many colorful paint schemes that makes it so appealing. There are hundreds to choose from!

For example, the aircraft was selected for a starring role in the CBS drama Magnum PI where the Hughes 500D was flown by the great actor, Roger Mosely, in his role of TC, the always there pal of the eponymous private investigator.

Anyway, painted in a simple, yet striking, color scheme, the aircraft's look remains so popular it lives on with a famous Hawaiian islands tour operator!

Shot from above, this Hughes 500 is dressed to the 9s in the famous Magnum P.I. color scheme as it’s photographed against seaside cliff as the faces of tourists peer at the cameraship lens
- Tourists seem oblivious to the cameraship

More on color schemes

And maybe because it's such an easy scheme to replicate explains why it's also very popular to this day with modelers across the country. My theory being the bold colors are appealing, and über simple to layout. Thus, being easy to recreate, along with bright colors means the aircraft fits right in at your local flying field amongst popular fixed wing aerobatic models. Examples being the Extra 300 and Edge 540 with their similarly colorful layouts!

Anyway, this next photo shows simply great execution of the Magnum-style color scheme. This lovely example of a 500D model is the work of Nakia James, another of our customers.

Photo of Funkey Hughes 500 fuselage dressed in red with stripes as it rests on a living room table
- Pride of placed . . . where it can be admired!

Sheriff color schemes

Anyway, and circling back around to color schemes, civilian and military designs aren’t the only ones modelers find appealing. Many variations of the classic green and white livery are flying for sheriff departments across the country.

Photo of sheriff livery on a Hughes 500 with hangars as the backdrop
- Replicating the local sheriff’s bad guy-hunter is a fun

Sure, the differences amongst the many sheriff's livery can be subtle, but with many airborne units from which to choose, building a tribute to a specific local aircraft will lead to your creating a very unique model. Especially as compared to the ordinary pre-painted fuselages offered by kit vendors.

Note; I’ve seen it with my own eye and experienced it, too, everyone congregates to check out a scale model helicopter when you set it on the table. And everybody stops to watch when you go fly. Honestly? If you don’t like being the center of attention, then tick to a sport canopy and blend in with others flying the exact same model at your local field. In the alternative, stand out for your unique approach . . . the decision is yours!

Recapping background and history

Hughes offered the 500 in several variations. The 500C, for example, was quickly superseded by the D with 5-blade rotor head. These both had the same rounded teardrop nose. However, with the introduction of the 500E, we got the pointed nose. And if you look at the tail configuration, military versions as well 500C have the V-shape, while we didn't get T-shaped stabs until the 500D.

Also, while McDonald-Douglas purchased the design from Hughes who created it originally as a light observation heli for the government, when the Bell 206 supplanted it in the observation role because it was cheaper, then Hughes refocused on the civilian market.

However, when civilian sales weren't sufficient, the design was sold to McDonald-Douglas, which was acquired by Boeing who promptly split it off into its own entity. And since? While it's gone through several more hands, the goal of all this airframe's owners has been to find the sweet spot in the market, e.g. optimize the bang for the buck. Anyway, and fundamentally, this product is still a hot rod, and they mostly look the same.

So the easiest differences between C and D is the V-shape tail is replaced by a T-shape. Sussing out the exterior change from D to E is similarly easy because the E has the distinct pointed nose shape (and this is not subtle). However, the MD600 is very easy to ID because it has a six blade main rotor head, and of course, the NOTAR.

Photo attribution

We gratefully acknowledge the work of others in the form of photos (either shared by owners with us directly, or swiped off various WikiPedia entries). Moreover, because no one photo is more important than another, these acknowledgements are not arranged in any particular order of importance, and include;

Featured Articles