| Hughes H-6 |
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| hughes h-6 | |
| u.s. attack aircraft 1960-1969 | |
| h-6 little bird | |
| u.s. military utility aircraft 1960-1969 | |
| u.s. civil utility aircraft 1960-1969 | |
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The Hughes H-6 is a family of light utility civilian and assault Helicopter s of the United States Army . They carry the Army designation OH-6 and were also produced in a civilian version, the Hughes 500 series. Hughes Aircraft developed the first variant, the '''OH-6 Cayuse''', as a scout and utility Aircraft for the Vietnam War . 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''. The Hughes helicopter is noted for high performance, low noise due its four-bladed (later five-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 Huey 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. Indeed, after the division was purchased by McDonnell Douglas it would be used by special forces as the AH-6 and ''' MH-6 Little Bird ''', dubbed "Killer Egg". 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. It can cruise at speeds of 160 mph (257 km/h). 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.
The OH-1D was built under licence in Japan by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The OH-6D is based on the civilian Hughe Model 500D helicopter. 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. A stretched and improved MD500, the MD600N, with NOTAR, is seen in the James Bond film '' Die Another Day ''. MILITARY OPERATORS
The type holds the official World Record for the longest flight by a helicopter, set on April 6 , 1966 by Robert Ferry in a Prototype YOH-6. He flew from California to Florida , covering a total of 1,923.08 Nm (3,561.55 Km ). |
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