Hughes 500D Walkaround Gallery

Hughes 500D VH-CSY Coffs Harbour

his little baby was sitting on the strip on a recent trip to Coffs Harbour so I ingratiated myself with the operators and they gave me a guided tour (But not a joyride!). They use it mainly for charter work along with the Jetranger you can see in the background. The 5-blade rotor and T-tail point to this being a 500D model. The lineage started with a US Army requirement for a light observation helo for Vietnam. That resulted in the OH-6 Cayuse. The 500 family are the civil derivatives of that original design.