Fire Fighting AS350 B2 helicopter carrying quick release water bombing bucket. SCO 9256.
Development began in the early 1970s to replace the Aérospatiale Alouette II, and the first flight took place on 27 June 1974. Despite the introduction of the EC130, production of the Eurocopter AS350 remains strong. The Helicópteros do Brasil (Helibras) subsidiary of Eurocopter signed a contract for a major upgrade program on the Brazilian Army’s fleet of 36 AS350 Ecureuils. The Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil (Squirrel) is a single-engined light helicopter originally manufactured by Aérospatiale in France (now part of Eurocopter Group). The AS350 is marketed in North America as the AStar. The AS355 Ecureuil 2 (marketed in North America as the TwinStar.) is a twin-engined variant, while the Eurocopter EC130 is a derivative of the AS350 airframe. On May 14, 2005 an AS350 B3 piloted by Eurocopter test pilot Didier Delsalle touched down on the top of Mt. Everest, at 8,848 m (29,030 ft). This record has been confirmed by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
Size: 5835px × 4193px
Location: Dalwhinnie, Newtonmore. Strathspey. Inverness-shire. Highland Region. Scotland.
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -, 26, 1974, 1975, 1d1, active, aerodynamic, air, angled, arriel, as350, australian, b1, b2, boom, brazilian, control., cost, defence, duct, engine, eurocopter, exhaust, fitted, flight, fly, force, gross, group, helicopter, higher, hover, introduction, jordanian, june, light, manufacturer, powered, present, primary, produced, production, role, royal, side, standard., starboard, status, strake, tail, unit, users, utility, version, weight, work, yaw, ~$, érospatiale, €
