This single-engine turbine helicopter was designed by French aircraft manufacturer Sud Aviation (hence the “SA” in the model number). Sud Aviation was one of several government-owned aircraft manufacturers that emerged from the nationalization of most of the French aerospace industry in the 1930s. Sud Aviation became part of Aerospatiale when that company was formed in the 1970s (this yielded the “AS” initials in the model number). In the 1990s, the helicopter division of Aerospatiale was merged with the German MBB helicopter company to form Eurocopter. Today, Eurocopter is a division of EADS, a multinational European aerospace giant.
The AS315’s full bubble-type cabin enclosure and high-altitude performance capabilities combine to make this a good helicopter for precise mountain operations, such as transporting cargo to remote areas, geological survey missions, and wilderness EMT operations.
The AS315B is powered by a Turbomeca Artouste IIIB1 (870 HP) turbine engine with a 4 kW, 28.5 v DC starter-generator, supported by a 40 amp-hour battery. The AS315 was produced from 1972 to 1989.
Sud Aviation appointed LTV Aerospace (now Vought Aerospace) in Grand Prairie, Texas, as their North American distributor in 1971. In the late 1970s, Aerospatiale assumed direct responsibility for marketing in North America.
