Description
Aerospatiale Alouette III was a light, multi-role French-made helicopter. A prototype flight took place in 1959, and the machine entered production in 1960. More than 2,000 helicopters of this type, of all versions, were built in its course. The drive, in the basic version, was provided by a single engine Turbomeca Artouste IIIB with 570 HP. The length of the helicopter was 10.03 meters, with a main rotor diameter of 11.02 meters. The maximum take-off weight was 2,200 kilograms.
The Aerospatiale Alouette III was created as a far-reaching development of the very successful Alouette II machine. Compared to its predecessor, however, it was clearly larger, as the drive used more powerful engines. It was also able to carry more people or cargo and had slightly better aerodynamic properties. Several versions of the helicopter were created in the course of production, among them: SA-316A Alouette III (basic version), SA-316B (version with improved transmission and greater take-off weight) or SA-319B (version powered by the engine Turbomeca Astazou XIV). Helicopter Aerospatiale Alouette III was quite commercially successful and has been or is still operated by countries such as Argentina, Austria, France, Ethiopia and Cameroon.
