Hughes H-6
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- H-6 redirects here. For the Chinese Xian H-6 medium bomber, see Tupolev Tu-16.
The Hughes H-6 is a family of light utility civilian and assault helicopters originally designed for the United States Army in the 1960s as the OH-6A Cayuse as a scout and utility aircraft for the Vietnam War and fitted with a 1x 253-shp Allison T63-A-5A. The prototype Model 369 first flew in February 1963, with production OH-6 craft entering service in 1966. It was the original winner of the LOH Light Observation Helicopter competition, and was dubbed Loach in the Vietnam conflict. The losers in that competition were Fairchild Hiller, which faded away in helicopters, and Bell Helicopter, with an entry that would later sprout a tapered nose and dominate the civilian midrange helicopter market as the Bell 206 JetRanger.
This helicopter is noted for high performance and low noise due its four-bladed rotor and small size. The OH-6 would act as a scout to draw fire and spot enemy positions, while only lightly armed with a fixed minigun, teamed with AH-1 Cobra gunships and UH-1 Huey troop ships. The Army would later adopt the Bell OH-58 Kiowa militarized version of the JetRanger in a second round LOH competition, despite criticism from pilots that the OH-6 Cayuse was a better performer.
The OH-6 set 23 world records for helicopters in 1966 for speed, endurance and time to climb. On March 23, 1966, Jack Schwiebold, set the closed circuit distance record in a YOH-6A at Edwards Air Force Base, California. He flew without landing for 1,739.96 mi (2,800.20 km). And on April 7, 1966, Robert Ferry, set the long distance world record for helicopters. He flew from Culver City, California to Ormond Beach, Florida, covering a total of 1,923.08 nm (2,213.04 mi, 3,561.55 km).
In the 1970s, Hughes Aircraft developed a military export version, the 500M, featuring a new 278-shp Allison 250-C18. The MD-500MD Scout (bearing a McDonnell Douglas designation after their takeover of Hughes) was an upgrade of the 500 series that featured 5 main rotor blades, a 375-shp Allison 250-C20B turboshaft engine, and T-tail. The MD-500E and MD-500MG Defender II series had a more elongated nose for streamlining, and an optional 4x blade tail rotor. The OH-6E Super Cayuse (MD-530F Lifter) upgraded the turboshaft to a 425-shp Allison 250-C30. The MD-530MG Defender was a updated 530 series that included a mast-mounted sight.
Later versions, the AH-6J and MH-6J Little Bird (dubbed the "Killer Egg"), are produced specifically for the Special Forces. The Little Bird is flown by units of the U.S. Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) at Fort Campbell. The AH-6 assault variant can carry a pod on either side of the fuselage fitted with various guns, missiles or rockets. In lieu of pods, the MH-6 troop ship variant is rigged with exterior benches on both sides of the cabin for carrying up to six men, three on each side and can cruise at speeds of 160 mph (257 km/h). Variants of this helicopter were used by American Ranger and Delta forces during the Battle of Mogadishu, as chronicled by Mark Bowden in the book .
The NOTAR no-tail-rotor version is popular with law enforcement because of its very low noise levels. Instead of an anti-torque tail rotor, a fan exhaust is directed out slots in the tail boom, using the Coandă effect for yaw control.
Japanese OH-6
In Japan, 387 OH-6s were produced under licence by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and used at Japan Ground Self-Defense Force(JGSDF), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), Japan Coast Guard, and other civilian operators. Since 2001, OH-6s at JGSDF are being replaced by Kawasaki's new observation helicopter, OH-1s.
- OH-6J : Light observation helicopter for the Japanese Ground Self Defence Force. The OH-1J was built under licence in Japan by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The OH-6J was based on the OH-6A Cayuse light observation helicopter.
- OH-6D : Light observation and scout helicopter for Japanese Ground Self Defence Force.
Television and Films
OH-6s were used in the movie Capricorn One. Other movies that feature H-6s include Blue Thunder, Outbreak, Fire Birds, Black Hawk Down, The Italian Job, and Apocalypse Now. A cartoon show "Skyhawks" also featured a Hughes 500. Perhaps its most famous role was in the television show Magnum P.I., albeit the example used on the show was a Hughes 500D, with the later T-tail design and five-bladed main rotor. The Hughes 500 is featured most extensively in the television movie Deadly Encounter, starring Larry Hagman as a veteran helicopter pilot. A stretched and improved MD500, the MD600N, with NOTAR, is seen in the James Bond film Die Another Day.Military Operators
- Argentina, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, Greece, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Mauritania, Morocco, Nicaragua, Philippines, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, United States Army,
Specifications
![OH-6A Cayuse in police livery. Note original slanted stabilizer design on tail and four-bladed main rotor, characteristics shared with the civilian Hughes 500C. [link]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:N53HC.png "OH-6A Cayuse in police livery. Note original slanted stabilizer design on tail and four-bladed main rotor, characteristics shared with the civilian Hughes 500C. [link]")
See also
- Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, the present owners of McDonnell Douglas
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