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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
The Lama was developed for demanding high-altitude work. Its exposed structure, compact cabin and single turbine retain the visual simplicity of the Alouette II, while the powerplant and other components came from the larger Alouette III lineage. It became associated with mountain transport and external loads. The simulator catalogue includes developers with different stability options and sling-load features, so those features remain implementation-specific.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗A record flight remembered with humility
Boulet recalled a team effort to take the Lama higher after another helicopter had surpassed his earlier altitude record. They lightened the prototype for the attempt at Istres, and he reached 12,442 metres in June 1972. Extreme cold and heavy control forces were part of an experience very different from an ordinary working flight. Looking back, he also acknowledged the uncomfortable descent through cloud with instruments removed to save weight.
Interview reprinted in Les Vieilles Tiges de Belgique 4/2006. Lightened SA315B prototype 001 at Istres, 21 June 1972; the record aircraft was specially prepared.
ROTOR / Les Vieilles Tiges de Belgique · Read more ↗Attachments are selected on the clipboard
The clipboard below the centre console enables the available equipment. Some selections are mutually exclusive, so choosing a conflicting attachment can remove another. The guide also assigns the taxi-light toggle to releasing sling cargo.
SA315B Lama · MSFS 2020
Taog's Hangar · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Mark Kuzmin
SA315B Lama - Elimast (Amazing Cockpit View HD)
A cockpit view of a Lama in operation.
Real SA 315B Lama; cockpit footage
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama
The Lama was developed for demanding high-altitude work. Its exposed structure, compact cabin and single turbine retain the visual simplicity of the Alouette II, while the powerplant and other components came from the larger Alouette III lineage.
It became associated with mountain transport and external loads. Simulator add-ons offer different stability options and sling-load features, described with each product.
Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
A specialist faces a changing market
Vertical’s 2016 report describes Lama operators balancing mountain capability against parts availability and operating costs. Dwight Jones had sold two aircraft as customers moved towards the H125.
Vertical · The Mountain King ↗Operator experience reported in 2016
Development milestones
First flight: 17 March 1969
Developed from: Aérospatiale Alouette II
Wikipedia contributors · Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama ↗Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1365020353
Pilot accounts
A record flight remembered with humility
Boulet recalled a team effort to take the Lama higher after another helicopter had surpassed his earlier altitude record. They lightened the prototype for the attempt at Istres, and he reached 12,442 metres in June 1972. Extreme cold and heavy control forces were part of an experience very different from an ordinary working flight.
Looking back, he also acknowledged the uncomfortable descent through cloud with instruments removed to save weight. In the interview, the value of such a record lay in what it could contribute to the aircraft’s usefulness, especially for rescue work. Boulet spoke modestly about his own achievement and with respect for pilots doing everyday operations.
Interview reprinted in Les Vieilles Tiges de Belgique 4/2006. Lightened SA315B prototype 001 at Istres, 21 June 1972; the record aircraft was specially prepared.
Read the full account · ROTOR / Les Vieilles Tiges de Belgique ↗A frightening descent leads to years of questioning
Vuichard was flying a Lama with an empty long line along a steep mountainside when the supporting air changed and the helicopter began descending towards the trees. He described arresting the descent just before reaching them. The encounter stayed with him afterwards, disturbing his sleep and prompting him to question how a similar situation might be handled differently.
That reflection became a long period of development and testing, beginning with the Lama and extending to other helicopters. Persuading people to consider his ideas proved another challenge. The later meeting with instructor Tim Tucker happened in an R44, a separate part of the story.
First-person account in Vertical · April 2021. SA315B Lama logging flight in the Swiss Alps in 1987; later demonstrations and training also involved other helicopter types.
Read the full account · Vertical ↗Remembering a working day in the mountains
Ricks remembered the Lama through the jobs it could do in Colorado’s oil-and-gas country. Carrying people into the mountains, looking over a site and moving equipment on a sling were part of its appeal. With the doors removed, the view made a strong impression, helping explain his affection for this exposed, purposeful little helicopter.
His recollections appear in a report about the changing economics of keeping Lamas at work. Operator Dwight Jones, interviewed separately, described customers moving towards newer helicopters and the costs of continuing with the older type. That context gives Ricks’s enthusiasm a particular setting: a pilot remembering the qualities of a familiar workhorse while the industry around it was changing. The article’s comparisons are those of the people interviewed in 2016.
Interviewed by Skip Robinson for Vertical · November 2016. Ricks recalls SA315B Lama work in Colorado; the article also interviews operator Dwight Jones separately.
Read the full account · Vertical ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 2020SA315B Lama
Taog's Hangar · Released
SA315B Lama
Taog's Hangar · Released
X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12SA315B Lama
Philip Ubben / Khamsin · Released
SA315B Lama
Philip Ubben / Khamsin · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 10.24 m (33 ft 7.25 in) |
| Height | 3.09 m (10 ft 1.75 in) |
| Empty weight | 1,021 kg (2,251 lb) |
| Gross weight | 2,300 kg (5,070 lb) |
| Powerplant | 1 × Turbomeca Artouste IIIB turboshaft , 649 kW (870 hp) derated to 410 kW (550 hp) |
| Main rotor diameter | 11.02 m (36 ft 1.75 in) |
| Main rotor area | 95.38 m² (1,026 sq ft) |
| Maximum speed | 192 km/h (119 mph, 103 kn) |
| Range | 515 km (320 mi, 280 nmi) |
| Service ceiling | 5,400 m (17,715 ft) |
| Rate of climb | 5.5 m/s (1,080 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
Follow a complete start or shutdownSA315B Lama · Philip Ubben / Khamsin · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
The listed automatic checklist can guide the camera to switches and provide spoken accompaniment. The tablet also offers a power-management helper and controls for visible equipment, reflections and cockpit vibration.
X-Plane 12 developer listing · captured September 2026
Philip Ubben / Khamsin / X-Plane.org store · Read the source ↗Configure the helicopter for an external taskSA315B Lama · Philip Ubben / Khamsin · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
The package listing includes a rescue winch that changes the load-rope attachment point, a working load scale and an adjustable Nightsun searchlight. Doors can be removed independently, and the sound system accounts for open doors.
X-Plane 12 developer listing · captured September 2026
Philip Ubben / Khamsin / X-Plane.org store · Read the source ↗Attachments are selected on the clipboardSA315B Lama · Taog's Hangar · MSFS 2020
The clipboard below the centre console enables the available equipment. Some selections are mutually exclusive, so choosing a conflicting attachment can remove another. The guide also assigns the taxi-light toggle to releasing sling cargo.
Gathered Lama manual · undated · PDF pp.18–19
Taog's Hangar · Read the source ↗The manual records flight-model limitationsSA315B Lama · Taog's Hangar · MSFS 2020
The guide acknowledges incomplete yaw response when lowering collective, shaking sling equipment and an abrupt response above platforms. The archived guide records these limitations without describing later versions.
Gathered Lama manual · PDF p.20
Taog's Hangar · Read the source ↗Separate simulator builds and stored stability settingsSA315B Lama · Philip Ubben / Khamsin · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
Ubben's Lama has separate X-Plane 11 and 12 versions, with its own stored artificial-stability settings and sling-load support. The update history also tracks changes to load indications. Taog's MSFS package has separate flight-model options.
SA315B v2.5 July2025 · Features; v2.4-v2.5 history
Philip Ubben / Khamsin / X-Plane.org store · Read the source ↗Pilot account
A record flight remembered with humilityInterview reprinted in Les Vieilles Tiges de Belgique 4/2006. Lightened SA315B prototype 001 at Istres, 21 June 1972; the record aircraft was specially prepared.
Boulet recalled a team effort to take the Lama higher after another helicopter had surpassed his earlier altitude record. They lightened the prototype for the attempt at Istres, and he reached 12,442 metres in June 1972. Extreme cold and heavy control forces were part of an experience very different from an ordinary working flight. Looking back, he also acknowledged the uncomfortable descent through cloud with instruments removed to save weight.
Jean Boulet
ROTOR / Les Vieilles Tiges de Belgique · Read the source ↗A frightening descent leads to years of questioningFirst-person account in Vertical · April 2021. SA315B Lama logging flight in the Swiss Alps in 1987; later demonstrations and training also involved other helicopter types.
Vuichard was flying a Lama with an empty long line along a steep mountainside when the supporting air changed and the helicopter began descending towards the trees. He described arresting the descent just before reaching them. The encounter stayed with him afterwards, disturbing his sleep and prompting him to question how a similar situation might be handled differently. That reflection became a long period of development and testing, beginning with the Lama and extending to other helicopters.
Claude Vuichard
Vertical · 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 Hangar X-Plane aircraft and avionics manualsLaminar ResearchAircraft background
Aérospatiale SA 315B LamaWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1365020353 · retrieved 2026-09-12Resource
Lama XP12Philip Ubben / Khamsin / X-Plane.org storeProduct
SA 315B LamaKhamsin · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12 SA315B LamaTaog’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 · 3 profile choices
Taog's Hangar SA315B Lama
Taog's Hangar · Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
Taog's Hangar SA315B Lama: Nominal cyclic centering and damping provide the selected handling balance; beginner stability and external-load weight are aircraft behaviors, not additional calibrated spring forces.
Philip Ubben / Khamsin SA315B Lama
Philip Ubben / Khamsin · Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
Philip Ubben / Khamsin SA315B Lama: Nominal cyclic centering and damping provide the selected handling balance; beginner stability and external-load weight are aircraft behaviors, not additional calibrated spring forces.
Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2020 · X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11
Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama: Nominal cyclic centering and damping provide the selected handling balance; beginner stability and external-load weight are aircraft behaviors, not additional calibrated spring forces.
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