The MD Helicopters MD 530F literally encapsulates the expression, “pocket rocket”.
Not only is the diminutive, light, single-engine helicopter powerful and versatile, but its performance is impressive too; characteristics that have endeared the design to a range of operators spanning the VIP and commercial, private owner, utility and law enforcement spaces, to name just a few.
Before more is revealed about this zippy little number, a very reliable rumour has it the machine set a world record for speed over a recognised course in the States in ’85, when it was clocked flying at a blistering 171mph (rounded off) by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
Consequently, the MD 530F not only has performance to boot but has some rather interesting history attached to it. When the original company, Hughes Aircraft Company, was created in 1934 (by the one and only eccentric billionaire and aerospace visionary, Howard Hughes), it ultimately led to the creation of Hughes Helicopters in 1955 (an entity that would eventually become MD Helicopters as it’s known
