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Meet the aircraft
Sud Aviation developed the Alouette III as a larger follow-on to the Alouette II. The design uses a single turbine, a three-bladed main rotor and wheeled landing gear. It served civilian and military operators in transport, rescue and many other roles. Different engine versions and mission installations appeared during its long production life.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗A familiar skill in an unfamiliar cockpit
Sweazey wondered whether experience in American helicopters would make the Alouette’s opposite rotor direction difficult to learn. During the demonstration, he found himself making the required pedal corrections naturally. The aircraft already had nearly six hundred hours of use, but its appearance and straightforward walk-around inspection made a favourable first impression.
AOPA Pilot · October 1972. Demonstration with Vought personnel in Alouette III Model 3160 N8261; four people and full fuel during the reported cruise. The accompanying specification table describes the newer 316B.
AOPA Pilot / Aero Resources archive · Read more ↗Change the aircraft’s visible equipment
The clipboard beside the main console controls attachment visibility. Individual doors can be removed using their striped handles, while the v1.6 change history describes saved attachment configurations and opening side panels.
SA316B Alouette III · Taog's Hangar · MSFS 2020
Taog's Hangar · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube twotonemurphy · 128 min ·
Vertical Cockpit Cam LIVE | Alouette III | OnAir SAR Ops | MSFS 2024
A Taog's Hangar Alouette III coastal flight in MSFS 2024, using OnAir missions.
Simulator · Taog’s Hangar Alouette III · MSFS 2024
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Aérospatiale Alouette III
Sud Aviation developed the Alouette III as a larger follow-on to the Alouette II. The design uses a single turbine, a three-bladed main rotor and wheeled landing gear. It served civilian and military operators in transport, rescue and many other roles.
Different engine versions and mission installations appeared during its long production life. The simulator packages have their own flight-model options and external-load tools.
Aérospatiale Alouette III
Aérospatiale → · Explore the family →
Aérospatiale Alouette III
Wikipedia contributors · Aérospatiale Alouette III ↗Taog's Hangar · MSFS 2020 →Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
A long naval career reaches its final flights
The French Navy retired its final three Alouette IIIs at the end of December 2022. Vertical’s retrospective describes ship deployments, rescue cover and generations of pilot training, while explaining the growing maintenance and equipment pressures behind the transition to newer helicopters.
Vertical · French armed forces wave goodbye to the Alouette ↗French naval service; SA316B and SA319B variants
Development milestones
First flight: 28 February 1959
Developed from: Aérospatiale Alouette II
Wikipedia contributors · Aérospatiale Alouette III ↗Aérospatiale Alouette III · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1366423720
Pilot accounts
A familiar skill in an unfamiliar cockpit
Sweazey wondered whether experience in American helicopters would make the Alouette’s opposite rotor direction difficult to learn. During the demonstration, he found himself making the required pedal corrections naturally. The aircraft already had nearly six hundred hours of use, but its appearance and straightforward walk-around inspection made a favourable first impression.
In flight, he liked the steady feel of the controls and the view shared by the occupants of the roomy cabin. An attempted hover well above the ground initially became a climb, reminding him how much power was available at that day’s loading. His enthusiasm did not erase every criticism: the parking brake left him wishing for individual toe brakes.
AOPA Pilot · October 1972. Demonstration with Vought personnel in Alouette III Model 3160 N8261; four people and full fuel during the reported cruise. The accompanying specification table describes the newer 316B.
Read the full account · AOPA Pilot / Aero Resources archive ↗Saying goodbye to a helicopter learned by heart
Robert’s connection with the Alouette began in the early 1990s. Flying with the Grasshoppers display team brought particular satisfaction: the pilots trusted one another and knew the helicopter closely. Years later, that familiarity remained central to the way he described it, as the Dutch service prepared to retire its last aircraft.
Navigation could mean a map on the pilot’s lap, with headings and elapsed time doing work that newer cockpit equipment would handle differently. Mountain visits to Austria and Switzerland added another dimension to the experience. Robert also credited the technicians whose efforts kept the ageing helicopters ready.
Dutch Ministry of Defence interview · December 2015. Flight commander recalling Alouette III service and the Grasshoppers display team; only his first name is supplied.
Read the full account · Netherlands Ministry of Defence ↗Mountain flying becomes a way to help people
Kraxner arrived at Aigen for advanced Alouette III training after learning on the Saab Safir and JetRanger. The long course introduced him to mountain operations, formation flying, external loads and hoisting. Growing up near the airfield had made helicopters familiar sights; now the landscape around it became part of his working education.
A rescue assignment in 1986 brought together his interest in the mountains and the satisfaction of helping someone. In the interview, that experience marks the start of his medical-rescue flying, before later civilian work on other helicopters. The Alouette therefore occupies a specific place in his career: the aircraft in which demanding training developed into a lasting professional interest. His later AS350 experiences belong to the next chapter of that story.
Austrian Wings interview · April 2016. Austrian military Alouette III training from May 1983 and rescue work from September 1986; later civilian work used other types.
Read the full account · Austrian Wings ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
MSFS 2020SA316B Alouette III
Taog's Hangar · Released
SA316B Alouette III
Taog's Hangar · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 10.03 m (32 ft 11 in) |
| Height | 3 m (9 ft 10 in) |
| Empty weight | 1,143 kg (2,520 lb) |
| Gross weight | 2,200 kg (4,850 lb) |
| Powerplant | 1 × Turbomeca Artouste IIIB turboshaft derated to 425 kW (570 hp) |
| Main rotor diameter | 11.02 m (36 ft 2 in) |
| Main rotor area | 95.38 m² (1,026.7 sq ft) |
| Maximum speed | 210 km/h (130 mph, 110 kn) at sea level |
| Cruise speed | 185 km/h (115 mph, 100 kn) |
| Range | 540 km (340 mi, 290 nmi) |
| Service ceiling | 3,200 m (10,500 ft) |
| Rate of climb | 4.3 m/s (850 ft/min) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
Change the aircraft’s visible equipmentSA316B Alouette III · Taog's Hangar · MSFS 2020
The clipboard beside the main console controls attachment visibility. Individual doors can be removed using their striped handles, while the v1.6 change history describes saved attachment configurations and opening side panels.
Alouette III manual v1.7 · PDF pp.18–19,23
Taog's Hangar · Read the source ↗Version 1.7 changes handling and cockpit presentationSA316B Alouette III · Taog's Hangar · MSFS 2020
The documented update revised hover attitude, forward-flight tendencies, collective response and governor transitions. It also updated the Garmin 530 software and rotor sound loop.
Alouette III manual v1.7 · PDF p.22
Taog's Hangar · Read the source ↗Pilot account
A familiar skill in an unfamiliar cockpitAOPA Pilot · October 1972. Demonstration with Vought personnel in Alouette III Model 3160 N8261; four people and full fuel during the reported cruise. The accompanying specification table describes the newer 316B.
Sweazey wondered whether experience in American helicopters would make the Alouette’s opposite rotor direction difficult to learn. During the demonstration, he found himself making the required pedal corrections naturally. The aircraft already had nearly six hundred hours of use, but its appearance and straightforward walk-around inspection made a favourable first impression. In flight, he liked the steady feel of the controls and the view shared by the occupants of the roomy cabin.
Robert W. Sweazey
AOPA Pilot / Aero Resources archive · Read the source ↗Saying goodbye to a helicopter learned by heartDutch Ministry of Defence interview · December 2015. Flight commander recalling Alouette III service and the Grasshoppers display team; only his first name is supplied.
Robert’s connection with the Alouette began in the early 1990s. Flying with the Grasshoppers display team brought particular satisfaction: the pilots trusted one another and knew the helicopter closely. Years later, that familiarity remained central to the way he described it, as the Dutch service prepared to retire its last aircraft. Navigation could mean a map on the pilot’s lap, with headings and elapsed time doing work that newer cockpit equipment would handle differently.
Captain Robert
Netherlands Ministry of Defence · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Download manualTaog's Hangar Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developers Taog aircraft manualsTaog's HangarAircraft background
Aérospatiale Alouette IIIWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1366423720 · retrieved 2026-09-12 French armed forces wave goodbye to the AlouetteVertical · Retirement reported after December 2022Product
SA316B Alouette IIITaog’s Hangar · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12Type designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 4 profile choices
Taog's Hangar Alouette III
Taog's Hangar · Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
Taog's Hangar Alouette III: The cyclic's configured centre and damping provide a handling reference for the articulated-rotor helicopter; blade count does not determine cyclic hand force.
Taog's Hangar Alouette III Floats
Taog's Hangar · Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
Taog's Hangar Alouette III Floats: The cyclic's configured centre and damping provide a handling reference for the articulated-rotor helicopter; blade count does not determine cyclic hand force.
Taog's Hangar Alouette III Skis
Taog's Hangar · Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
Taog's Hangar Alouette III Skis: The cyclic's configured centre and damping provide a handling reference for the articulated-rotor helicopter; blade count does not determine cyclic hand force.
Aérospatiale Alouette III
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2020
Aérospatiale Alouette III: The cyclic's configured centre and damping provide a handling reference for the articulated-rotor helicopter; blade count does not determine cyclic hand force.
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