MD 500
ICAO H500The small egg-shaped helicopter used for observation, police work and special operations. Live MD 500 positions.
Flying right now
Live · 30sAirframe
- Manufacturer
- MD Helicopters
- Role
- Light observation and special operations
- Class
- H1T — Helicopter, 1 turboshaft engine
- Crew
- 1 to 2
- First flight
- 27 February 1963
- In service
- 1966
Operators airborne
About the MD 500
The MD 500 began as the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse, a light observation helicopter designed for Vietnam, and its compact, rounded fuselage has barely changed since. It is small, agile and quiet by helicopter standards.
Its most famous military use is the heavily modified MH-6 and AH-6 Little Bird flown by American special operations aviation — the versions with benches on the outside for carrying troops. Those do not transmit.
What appears here is mostly police and state operators in Europe and Asia, plus a few small air forces. The Hungarian Police aircraft in the photograph is a typical example.
Callsign prefixes
- POLICE
- State and police operators
- ARMY
- Light observation flights
How to recognise it
- —A very small, egg-shaped fuselage on skids, with a slim tailboom.
- —Four or five main rotor blades depending on version, and a distinctive teardrop profile.
- —Some versions have a shrouded fenestron-style tail rotor; most have a conventional one.
Common questions
+ What is a Little Bird?
The MH-6 and AH-6, heavily modified MD 500s flown by US Army special operations aviation for troop insertion and light attack. They are the best-known military users and do not appear on public tracking feeds.
+ Is the MD 500 the same as the OH-6?
It is the commercial development of it. The Hughes OH-6 Cayuse was the original military light observation helicopter, and the MD 500 family grew from the same design.
+ Why is it shaped like an egg?
The rounded fuselage was chosen to minimise drag and weight on a very small airframe. It also happens to be strong, and the shape has survived largely unchanged for sixty years.