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LittleBirds (MD500) and why they are useless...

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Ok I really cant understand the fascination of the MD500 especially in its combat role, people seem to love the MD500.

 

Why the MD500 is a horrible combat platform

- its unarmored a completely exposed air frame with no armor for any system besides the engine protecting the pilot from rearwards fire 

- it is a slow Helicopter at 282km/h top speed 

- it is very small helicopter while it might be good in certain situations in others a short combined burst from an section can kill both pilots 

- the MD500 has only a single engine making combat survivability low 

- a Fully fueled MD500  equates to 45% of its total takeoff weight

- very poor flight performance at its typical combat load of fuel and ammo (same thing applies to the MH-6 with 6 passengers) 

- Combat range of the helicopter is rather poor only allowing a range of 400 km

- Limited amount of Ammo 5000 rounds for 7.62 and 4 hellfire or 14 unguided rockets

 

So what do you guys thing the advantage of the AH-6/ MH-6 is, what helicopter is better then the MD500.

 

What I think is a better platform is the Mi-8, why do i say that well... 

- it can hold 24 passengers (maybe with a ammo load aswell) 

- it can hold 12 passengers with a full ammo load 

- twin engines with a APU, redundant flight control linkages 

- ammo selections is great, 6 pylons with a combinations of 2x7.62/1x12.7 minigun pod, 30mm AGS 17 400 rounds per pod, GSH-23-2 cannon, Mine dispensers, various bomb loads, 6 malyutka ATGM with standard under pylon loads, 2 x 4 Ataka missles , fuel tanks both internal and external, number of rocket pods 192 total 57mm rockets :O, 120 80mm rockets, chemical weapons/ agricultural spray ( to keep mosquito down) 

- loading of cargo such as small vehicles, atv, 120mm mortars small artillery pieces can be loaded in the back 

- All around gunners front back left right and even the rear. 

- depending on the model number of exit and entering point

- can be equipped for ECM work 

- can be used in high altitude environments 

- great medvac helicopter with 12 stretchers 

- max speed 250 km/h 

- max range 950 km 

- its used around the world so parts are common 

- very dependable platform which does not a  require shipping container of tools 

- they even have a ASW variant called the Mi-14 which can float on water

- rolling takeoffs and landings can be made easily even while embarking and disembarking troops 

- very easy to parachute out of, even allows the use of static lines 

- photo recon ver, minelaying ver, artillery correcting ver

- can under sling loads

- use of rope ladders, rope attachment extraction, and they even have a special under sling array of twin row of seats back to back for fast extraction without landing :P

what is there not to love about the Mi-8 platfrom what would you say is a better platform. 

 

 

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While it may not be hugely versatile, the MD500 is great at what it does in other respects. It is very small and nimble-good for low level flight.Staying below treelines and ridges to discretely drop troops or perform recon. It can also deposit assault teams on roofs without the need for roping in and being exposed to ground fire for too long.

 

Also, being so small and light I imagine it's fuel and maintenance costs are very low-which if you ever read about how expensive to run something like an Apache is, I imagine the military are grateful for the MD500 :)

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While it may not be hugely versatile, the MD500 is great at what it does in other respects. It is very small and nimble-good for low level flight.Staying below treelines and ridges to discretely drop troops or perform recon. It can also deposit assault teams on roofs without the need for roping in and being exposed to ground fire for too long.

 

Also, being so small and light I imagine it's fuel and maintenance costs are very low-which if you ever read about how expensive to run something like an Apache is, I imagine the military are grateful for the MD500 :)

yes I would say that economically the MD 500 Is cheaper, but you can find Mi-8 for under a million and brand new for around 3.5 million the MD 500 is sold new for 1.5 million and that is the civilian model cant imagine the cost for the military version which is supported by contractors and by the military buyer which is writing blank checks so it most likely cost about 2 million or close to it. ive seen some sources say that the MH-6 is sold for 4.5 million... which is outrageous when you consider what you are really getting. my friend, look up the Eurocopter EC 635 its just as capable as the MD 500 but it has two engines. and then you have the legendary gazelle which can be equip with 4 atgm with a high powered optic piece the unit cost was 200,000 USD in 1980. anyway I dont think the military really cares about money savings ive seen videos were they waste a hellfire missile on a single combatant :O 

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 I was talking more about the cost of maintaining and fueling the MD500 more than buying one. After reading Apache by Ed Macy, I realised how expensive to run Apaches are. For every 10 hours of flight time, they require something like 20 hours of maintenance. Then they use thousands of litres of fuel. Also-the munitions-hellfires,rockets etc all only have a very short shelf life.After being taken on several flights they are vibrated on their mounts and become unaligned and so are sent home to be destroyed. Even the pilots helmet costs about $80,000.Now obviously comparing Apaches and littlebirds is silly-but I assume they are far easier to run.

 

I agree with you about the gazelles though-fantastic machines for recon and anti tank roles. Our police here in Ireland used them until upgrading to the EC 635.

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Comparing a MH-6/MD 500 to a MI-8 is like comparing a sedan to a box van.

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Comparing a MH-6/MD 500 to a MI-8 is like comparing a sedan to a box van.

Indeed-there roles are totally different. I would like to se an MI-8 drop an ODA off on a roof :)

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MD500 main advantage is small , fast and agile - this is perfect for operations like go in and get out fast

Mi-8 is better a transport helicopter so you can't really compare those two together , different roles - different purposes

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Comparing a MH-6/MD 500 to a MI-8 is like comparing a sedan to a box van.

not at all its more like a family sedan and a large pick up... I cant see the advantage of the littlebird besides for being small which can also be its disadvantage, carrying less fuel which means lower fuel consumption/less logistic needs. the Mi-8 is a much more capable aircraft, it can go low and fast almost as much as a littlebird can, if the Mi-24 can fly 1 meter above the ground traveling at 250km/h or higher a Mi-8 sure can. you would need 4 little birds with benches to transport the same amount of people as the Mi-8 or similar aircraft plus the Mi8 can carry weapon in close support role after or even before it has dropped off its troops which would require 1 more armed littlebird  for the equivalent role and many armies around the world do not use light utility helicopters in the field, the soviet union never used light utility helicopters after the mi-8 and mi-6 introduction. not saying that the MD-500 is completely useless im just saying that if you had an army what would you choose or if you could bring only one helicopter, personally it would have to be the Mi-8 because of how versatile it truly is after all it is a gunship and a transport helicopter. 

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You're still trying to call a 9MM SMG useless by virtue of comparing it to a 7.62 GPMG. The two helicopters you mention are made for completely, and utterly different things. 

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ok to understand the appeal of the loaches* we have to go back to Vietnam with the oh-6 cayuse.

most of its down sides where intentional the cayuse was designed as a observation and scout chopper that's why they look the way they do the canopy style and slim profile allows for a better fov than other helicopters (without taking your hands off the stick and collective you can slightly lean out, look over your shoulder and see the entire rear profile of your heli I dare you to do that in an mi8). the oh6 was also quieter and still is than most helicopters and due to its slim profile its more nimble and able to fly and land in tight spaces if I needed to get down on the deck and do gun runs you could and more importantly harder to hit and cheaper to produce. the oh6 also earned a reputation for being extremely rugged and in almost every case if it crashed you could walk away from it. the appeal today lies in its maneuverability and its potential to excel in urban ops and at rapid insertion for example with a transport helicopter to insert in to a city or on a rooftop you have to approach high and slowly descend (its harder to slow a large object than a smaller one), find a large open field, or hover and repel add that to the fact that your in a large helicopter and now your a big slow juicy easy to hit target where as if I was in a loach I could come in low ( depending on obstacles present) and quickly transition from flight to landing and land on a rooftop shielded from fire or half land on the roof or if I needed to land in a 2 lane road then quickly accelerate and gtfo. in short the killer eggs are meant for close in dirty work, rapid tactical insertions in difficult terrain, observation, and are used more for quick precise sec ops missions where something like the chinook or mi8 is meant more for getting boots on the ground.

 I mean if the little bird was a pickup truck a Blackhawk would be a box truck and a chinook/ mi8 would be a semi... hell if you took the skids off the little bird it would be just a little bigger than a pickup

  in the end the mi8 is made for a completely different role than the little bird

the mi8 is more comparable to the chinook the hind to the Blackhawk and the mh-6/ah6/eh-6 to the ka-226

 

* loach is a nickname that stands for Light Observation /Attack CHopper the original official desiglation letters where LOH or light observation helicopter

I'm going to put a link down here I did in no way check its sorces and it may not be 100% accurate but its a good start into understanding the loach series you can also watch docs on it on youtube

https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=830 

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