[1][3] The Mini-500 was designed as a light helicopter that resembles a scaled-down Hughes 500, powered by a Rotax 582 64 hp (48 kW) two-stroke engine.

[1][2] The factory advertised the kits, saying: "no machining, welding or cutting is required and the package includes pre-drilled guide holes for easy alignment during construction ... pre-fabricated, lightweight superstructure with all complicated components pre-assembled at the factory, i.e., upper main transmission/reduction with rotor head, instrumentation panel, and tail rotor gear box assembly)."

Also included in the kit were the composite cabin structure, doors, transmission cover and horizontal stabilizer.

The composite tail and main rotor blades were advertised as “lifetime on condition", indicating no fixed lifespan.

[1] On 10 February 2010, 172 Mini-500s remained on the Federal Aviation Administration registry, with an additional 81 registrations cancelled (although registered, this does not necessarily indicate these aircraft have flown).

The aircraft quickly developed a poor safety reputation and this curtailed kit sales.

The president of the International Experimental Helicopter Association, the Mini-500 aircraft type club, Bill Phillips, who completed a kit, but did not fly it stated: "You can tell it is junk just by looking at it" and described Revolution Helicopter Corporation president Dennis Fetters as "one of the biggest cons that’s ever hit the kit industry".

In response to customer complaints in 1998 Fetters did add a tuned exhaust system to increase engine output, stronger transmission gears and a mast support kit to reduce vibrations.