An ideal helicopter
When thinking about the ideal helicopter for an expedition yacht, this is a nice one to have around. Reliable, spacious and folding blades. The Eurocopter AS 350B2 is a single-engined utility helicopter that can accommodate up to 7 passengers. Development of the AS 350 Ecureuil started in the early 70s under the Aérospatiale banner. The first flight of an Lycoming LTS101-powered machine took place on 27/06/1994. The second prototype was fitted with an Arriel 1A and took to the air on 14/02/1975. Certification (with a Turboméca Arriel 1B turboshaft powerplant) was achieved in October 1977. The single-engined AS 350B2, powered with a Turbomeca Arriel 1D1 engine was certified in April 1989. The AS 350 is marketed in North America as the AStar or SuperStar. The helicopter divisions of MBB from Germany and Aerospatiale from France merged in January 1992 to form the Eurocopter Group.
The three main rotor blades mean it has shorter blades than the Bell Jetranger that can carry only 5 people. And, they are foldable which is important when you have three main rotor blades ! And as you can see above, we just found a 3D model.
