Originally developed as a replacement to Aérospatiale’s Alouette helicopter, some aspects of the Gazelle such as its purpose and layout were based on the previous model.
The Gazelle featured several important innovations.
It was the first helicopter with a fenestron or fantail, this is a shrouded multi-blade anti-torque device housed in the vertical surface of the Gazelle’s tail, where it replaces a conventional tail rotor.
Specifications
Crew
1 or 2
Capacity
Up to 3 or 4 passengers
Length
11.97 m (39 ft 3 in) including rotor
Height
3.15 m (10 ft 4 in) overall
2.72 m (8 ft 11 in) to top of rotor hub
Empty weight
917 kg (2,022 lb)
Max take off weight
1,800 kg (3,968 lb)
Fuel capacity
735 l (194 US gal; 162 imp gal)
Oil
13 l (3.4 US gal; 2.9 imp gal) for engine
3.5 l (0.92 US gal; 0.77 imp gal) for gearbox
Powerplant
1 × Turbomeca Astazou IIIA turboshaft,
440 kW (590 hp)
Main rotor diameter
10.5 m (34 ft 5 in)
Main rotor area
86.5 m2 (931 sq ft)
NACA
0012 section
Performance
Maximum speed
310 km/h (190 mph, 170 kn) at sea level
Cruise speed
264 km/h (164 mph, 143 kn) max cruise at sea level
Economical cruise speed
233 km/h (145 mph; 126 kn)
Range
361 km (224 mi, 195 nmi) at sea level with maximum fuel
Range with pilot and 500 kg (1,100 lb)
233 km (145 mi; 126 nmi)
Service ceiling
5,000 m (16,000 ft)
Hover ceiling IGE
2,850 m (9,350 ft)
Hover ceiling OGE
2,000 m (6,600 ft)
Rate of climb
9 m/s (1,800 ft/min) max at sea level
Disk loading
19.5 kg/m2 (4.0 lb/sq ft)
Armament
Guns
2 x forward-firing 7.62 mm (0.300 in) machine-guns (optional)
Rockets
Matra or Brandt 2.75 in (70 mm)
Or
68 mm (2.7 in) rocket pods (optional)
Missiles
4x AS.11 or 2x AS.12 wire guided missiles
4 x or 6 x Euromissile HOT (optional)
Avionics
UHF, VHF, and HF radios; navigation equipment such as VOR and TACAN;
