The Alouette II was first flown on March 12, 1955 and was the combination of Sud Aviation's helicopter mechanics and Turbomeca's Artouste 260 hp [109 kW] single shaft turbine engine. Funded by the French government, the Alouette ll, later the Alouette lll and Lama, manufactured by France's Aerospatiale set numerous altitude world records and currently holds the absolute altitude record of 40,814 ft [12,442 m].

The Lama, appropriately named for its operation in 'hot and high' conditions was originally designed for the Indian armed forces with requirements for altitude performance. It combines the Alouette III rotor system, the Artouste IIIB turbine 550 hp [410 kW] and a reinforced Alouette II airframe with a spacious cabin for the pilot and upto four passengers. Its first flight was on March 17, 1969 and was utilized in civilian roles for light passenger transport and agricultural tasks and in military roles of liaison, observation, photography, SAR operations, and equipment transport. The Lama having an underslung payload capacity of 2,205 lbs [1000 Kg] was particularly effective in mountainous regions. The first Indian-assembled Cheetah SA315B flew on October 6, 1972 with deliveries starting in December 1973. The Lama as of 2010 is still officially in service in many countries.

Each Lama is semi-assembled with most of the major components hand assembled by us to ensure your Lama provides the best performance right from the start. We build the sub-assembly components but there is still plenty of work to install the cabin windows, the turbine, radio equipment, engine configuration and optionally, apply the perfect paint scheme to your Lama.

The Lama makes a perfect first turbine scale helicopter. Many modelers making the jump from sport models to scale really appreciate the open mechanics. The turbine is in its perfectly scale position and all control mechanics are readily accessible for maintenance and inspection needing only minor disassembly. Experience scale modelers will truely appreciate the design of the main rotor system. The Lama incorporates an advanced system for rotor blade dampening which eliminates the need for electronic stabilization common in many other multi rotor systems. The Lama really is a pleasure to fly.

Starwood SA315B
Turbine Lama
Videos