Buzzard

The Buzzard is a small attack helicopter featured in Grand Theft Auto IV's The Ballad of Gay Tony DLC. In a special report by Weazel News, the Buzzard is considererd an illegal attack helicopter, but the LCPD wont really put an effort into stopping a Buzzard until it fires on a police officer.

Description
Similarly armed with machine guns as the Annihilator, as well as additionally featuring missile pods, the Buzzard is evidently based on an AH-6 Little Bird, an attack variant of the MH-6 Little Bird light observation helicopter, which in turn is a military version of the OH-6 Cayuse and the MD 500C. It's important to note that the Buzzard has the old style tail stabilizer, characteristic of the MD-500C and its corresponding defender/AH/MH-6 counterparts.

As mentioned above, the Buzzard is based off of a military class light attack helicopter. This makes it illegal, at least in Liberty City. It holds two people and is equipped with two high-powered miniguns and rockets. Miniguns on the Buzzard are much more effective than those on the Annihilator - they have a much faster rate of fire, a narrower spread, and are fired both simultaneously, unlike the Annihilator which only fires one gun at a time. However, they do considerably less damage then the Annihilators guns. They also never overheat, which allows for continuous fire. The Buzzard's weakness is bubble canopy and lack of bulletproof glass, which make danger to pilot and passenger by firing heavy weapons at them like M249 or Explosive Shotgun.

According to in-game speech, the Buzzard that Luis Fernando Lopez intended to steal for Yusuf Amir was a prototype, meaning there's possibly only a single one in existence. The same stolen one was later repainted gold (or possibly gold plated) by Yusuf - this difference would be first recognized during the mission Not So Fast where Luis must use it to land on the roof of the Libertonian. LCPD will call it 'a black/gold helicopter', which is depented by which version Luis uses - the black one acquired by cheats or golden from Yusuf. The reason for it is the helicopter being only one of its kind.

Armaments

 * Machine Guns — A Button (Xbox 360) X Button (PS3) LMB (PC)
 * Rockets — X Button (Xbox 360) Square Button (PS3) LMB (PC) (Note: The player should NOT use rockets at a low altitude with a sharp trajectory as the detonating rocket can destroy the helicopter and kill the player.)

Note: In the PC version of the game both the miniguns and the rockets are fired at the same time. If the player only wishes to fire the rockets - they can get out their Cell Phone which will cause only the rockets to fire.

Trivia

 * Before the name was revealed, many fans believed or speculated that it was a Sparrow.
 * Due to the Buzzard's easy maneuverability and rapid-fire armaments, many players online and offline have became very skilled in using this helicopter's weaponry.
 * In a one-on-one dogfight with a Annihilator, in the hands of skillful pilots, it can destroy them in a single, well fired rocket. A tip for dogfighting with other helicopters is to fly higher than the opposing player(s), forcing them to pitch upwards, hindering their control over the heli, giving you an advantage. Another idea is that when dogfighting with an Annihilator, stay out of range of its guns. The Buzzard's guns have a longer range than the Annihilator, so as long as you keep your distance, destroying them should be easy.
 * The Buzzard can elevate slightly higher than other helicopters in the GTA series.
 * The name "Buzzard" may be a reference to Buzzard 1, a named helicopter from the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas mission Reuniting the Families.

Locations

 * Yusuf Amir gives his gold Buzzard to the player as a gift after completing the game. It will be then available at the helipad beside the golf club on the West River. It replaces the Swift there.
 * The Buzzard can be found atop the police headquaters in East Holland, Algonquin (Multiplayer). The Buzzard replaces the Annihilator, which before was found on the helipad.
 * Can be spawned via cheat code, by dialing the number: 359-555-2899 ("FLY"-555-"BUZZ").
 * A black one can be obtained without cheats. After destroying the boats in Sexy Time, land the black Buzzard on a road. Get into a car or bike, and drive away from it but keep the camera fixed on the Buzzard. After you have failed the mission, reverse and it will be there.


 * In multiplayer, there are multiple locations where Buzzards can be found:
 * The first two can be found at Francis International Airport on the helipads.
 * One can be found at the heliport in southern Algonquin.
 * One can also be found at a dock next to the parking garage in eastern Algonquin.
 * Finally, one can be found at the yacht (not sunk in multiplayer) just south of Acter Industrial Park and east of Happiness Island.