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{{Infobox aircraft
 |name = SA 360 Dauphin 
 |image = File:D-HOPQ (cropped).jpg
 |caption = Aérospatiale SA365C2 Dauphin of the German [[Landespolizei|police]]
 |type = [[Utility helicopter]]
 |national_origin = France
 |manufacturer = [[Aérospatiale]]
 |designer =
 |first_flight = 2 June [[1972 in aviation|1972]]
 |introduction = 1976
 |retired =
 |status =
 |primary_user = 
 |more_users =
 |produced = 1976–77
 |number_built = 2 prototypes + 34 production examples
 |unit cost =
 |developed_from = 
 |variants =
 |developed_into = [[Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin]] 
}}

The '''Aérospatiale SA 360 Dauphin''' was a single-engine French [[utility helicopter]] developed and produced by [[aerospace]] manufacturer [[Aérospatiale]].

It was developed during the early 1970s as a replacement for the company's popular [[Aérospatiale Alouette III|Alouette III]] helicopter, as well as to fill in an apparent gap in the company's existing product line, falling within the six to ten-seat helicopter category. Performing its [[maiden flight]] on 2 June 1972, the prototypes the demonstrated type's performance capacities by setting three world airspeed records for helicopters in the 1,750&nbsp;kg – 3,000&nbsp;kg class. The Dauphin was marketed towards both civilian and military customers, however, as the new helicopter supposedly offered little advantage over its predecessor, the type possessed only a limited market appeal and did not sell well.

Ultimately, production of the SA 360 Dauphin was abandoned after only a few dozen of helicopters had been completed. However, Aérospatiale did not give up on the design, subsequently developing a twin-engine derivative of the SA 360, the [[Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin|Dauphin 2]], which proved to be commercially successful, having been in production for in excess of 40 years. Following the integration of Aérospatiale's helicopter division into the multinational [[Eurocopter]] consortium in [[1992 in aviation|1992]], the Dauphin 2 designation was dropped, and Eurocopter-built examples have been simply referred to as "Dauphin". The [[retronym]] "'''Dauphin 1'''" is sometimes applied to the original Dauphin to distinguish the two.

==Development==
During the 1960s, French aircraft company [[Sud Aviation]], which merged into [[aerospace]] manufacturer [[Aérospatiale]] at the end of the decade, had developed a broad range of rotorcraft, including the [[Aérospatiale Gazelle|Gazelle]], a fast scout/light attack helicopter, and the [[Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma|Puma]], a medium-sized utility helicopter.<ref name="mcgowen 1235">McGowen 2005, p. 123-125.</ref> Towards the end of that decade, the company recognised that there was a vacant niche between the smaller Gazelle and the larger Puma for which a new helicopter could be developed to fulfil. Accordingly, during the early 1970s, Aérospatiale undertook a project to develop such a rotorcraft, resulting in the ''SA 360 Dauphin''.<ref name="mcgowen 125">McGowen 2005, p. 125.</ref>

On 2 June [[1972 in aviation|1972]], the first of two Dauphin prototypes (registration ''F-WSQL'') performed the first of 180 test flights in its original configuration.<ref name="World Aircraft Info">{{cite book |title=World Aircraft Information Files |publisher=Bright Star Publishing |location=London |pages=File 889 Sheet 25}}</ref><ref name="G_Apostolo">{{cite book |last= Apostolo |first= Giorgio |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters |url= https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc00apos |url-access= registration |year=1984 |publisher=Bonanza |location=New York }}</ref> It was initially powered by a single [[Turbomeca Astazou|Turbomeca Astazou XVI]] [[turboshaft]] engine, capable of generating up to 730&nbsp;kW (980&nbsp;hp) of thrust. The original design of the Dauphin drew heavily upon several of Aérospatiale's other rotorcraft, having adopted the [[fenestron]] [[Tail rotor|anti-torque device]] of the Gazelle and the main rotor system of the [[Aérospatiale Alouette III|Alouette III]].<ref name="mcgowen 125"/> Following an initial period of evaluation, a number of modifications were incorporated onto the prototypes. These included an increase of engine power via the adoption of the more powerful [[Turbomeca Astazou|Astazou XVIIIA]] powerplant, capable of generating up to 780&nbsp;kW (1,050&nbsp;hp). Additionally, the original metal rotor blades were replaced with plastic counterparts, Aérospatiale engineers had made this change for the purpose of reducing both vibration levels and instances of [[ground resonance]].<ref name="G_Apostolo"/>

[[File:Meravo 04.JPG|right|thumb|Aérospatiale SA 360C on static display, 2012]]
Thus modified, test flights resumed in May [[1973 in aviation|1973]], in time to present the new aircraft at that year's [[Paris Air Show]]. In the meantime, a second prototype (registration ''F-WSQX'') joined the test programme, flying first on 29 January.<ref name="World Aircraft Info"/> At the show, the first prototype broke three world airspeed records for helicopters in the 1,750&nbsp;kg – 3,000&nbsp;kg class ([[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale|FAI]] class E-1d). Piloted by Roland Coffignot, while carrying a dummy payload to represent eight passengers, it broke the 100&nbsp;km closed-circuit (299&nbsp;km/h, 186&nbsp;mph), 3&nbsp;km straight-course (312&nbsp;km/h, 195&nbsp;mph), and 15&nbsp;km straight-course (303&nbsp;km/h, 189&nbsp;mph) records.<ref name="G_Apostolo"/>

Series production of the definitive ''SA 360C'' version was started in 1974;<ref name="G_Apostolo"/> the first completed aircraft made its first flight during April 1975.<ref name="airliners">{{cite web | title =airliners.net | url = http://www.airliners.net/info/stats.main?id=11 | access-date = 28 April 2007}}</ref> French civil certification was obtained in December that year,<ref name="World Aircraft Info"/> while deliveries to customers commenced during January 1976.<ref name="World Aircraft Info"/> In the meantime, Aérospatiale had flown the prototype  of the improved ''Dauphin 2'' nearly a year prior to this, on 24 January 1975;<ref name="World Aircraft Info"/><ref name="mcgowen 125"/> which would ultimately prove the death-knell for the original Dauphin model. A helicopter of this size that was powered by only a single engine was perceived in the marketplace as something of an anomaly and rather under-powered, meaning that by the end of 1976, Aérospatiale was left with 15 airframes – almost half those produced to date – with no buyers.<ref name="G_Apostolo"/><ref name = "chant 353">Chant 2014, p. 353.</ref> Accordingly, production of the type was terminated during the following year, being replaced almost immediately by the twin-engined [[Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin|AS365 Dauphin]].<ref name="Lenton_L">{{cite web|last=Lenton |first=Lenny |title=Copter Crazy |url=http://members.tripod.com/coptercrazy/production/aero/360/3601.htm |access-date=28 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040822123257/http://members.tripod.com/coptercrazy/production/aero/360/3601.htm |archive-date= 22 August 2004 }}</ref><ref name = "chant 353"/>

A single airframe (Construction Number 1012, registration ''F-WZAK'') was modified by Aérospatiale from the standard SA 360C configuration into a new version,<ref name="Lenton_L"/> which was optimised for hot-and-high conditions, designated ''SA 360H''. The major differences from its former configuration were the installation of an even more powerful Astazou XXB engine, capable of providing up to 1,040&nbsp;kW (1,400&nbsp;hp), along with the adoption of the ''Starflex'' [[rotorhead]] which had been originally developed for the [[Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil|Aérospatiale AS350 Écureuil]] helicopter.<ref name="World Aircraft Info"/>

The company subsequently decided that the most likely customers for this more powerful model would to be military air arms, thus the sole rotorcraft was further modified and re-designated ''SA 360HCL'' (''Helicoptere de Combat Leger'' – "Light Combat Helicopter").<ref name="G_Apostolo"/> In this configuration, it was outfitted with a [[SFIM APX M397]] roof-mounted, [[gyroscope|gyro]]-stabilised sight, and a nose-mounted sensor package incorporating a [[SFIM Vénus]] night-vision system and [[TRT Hector]] thermal-vision system.<ref name="airwar.ru">{{cite web | title =airwar.ru | url = http://www.airwar.ru/enc/uh/sa360.html | access-date = 28 April 2007}}</ref> Armament consisted of eight launcher tubes for [[Euromissile HOT]] missiles, with options to carry most of the armament packages used by the lighter [[Aérospatiale Gazelle|Gazelle]] helicopter.<ref name="G_Apostolo"/> Thus equipped, the SA 360HCL could carry thirteen combat-ready troops into battle, as well as be used in the area neutralisation or anti-tank role.<ref>{{cite book |last= Taylor |first= Michael J. H. |title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation |year=1989 |publisher=Studio Editions |location=London |pages=36 }}</ref> This sole rotorcraft was taken on by the ''[[Armée de Terre]]'' for evaluation purposes, but no production order ever followed for the type.<ref name="World Aircraft Info"/>

==Design==
[[File:Aerospatiale SA-360C Dauphin, Meravo Luftreederei AN0402740.jpg|thumb|SA-360C Dauphin in flight]]
The Aérospatiale SA 360 Dauphin was a single-engine French utility helicopter. Much of its design was originally derived from the [[Aérospatiale Alouette III|Alouette III]] that the Dauphin had been developed as a successor to, and thus shares many features, such as the rotor blades of its four-bladed main rotor, with this earlier rotorcraft.<ref name="Simpson_RW_p16">{{cite book |last= Simpson |first= R. W. |title=Airlife's Helicopters and Rotorcraft |year=1998 |publisher=Airlife Publishing |location=Ramsbury |pages=16 }}</ref> The majority of Dauphins were powered by a single [[Turbomeca Astazou|Astazou XVIIIA]] powerplant, capable of generating up to 780&nbsp;kW (1,050&nbsp;hp) of thrust; this powerplant had been derived from the Astazou XIV engine that powered the latter-built examples of the Alouette III family. The Dauphin featured a fully enclosed cabin while could be provisioned with seating for a maximum of nine passengers. It was fitted with a fixed tailwheel [[landing gear|undercarriage]] with spatted mainwheels; this arrangement was reportedly a source of difficulties while landing on compact helipads.<ref name = "McCelland 77"/>

One of the Dauphin's more noticeable innovations over the Alouette III was the adoption of a thirteen-bladed [[fenestron]] [[Tail rotor|anti-torque device]] embedded within its tail.<ref name = "fenhist airbus"/><ref name = "McCelland 778">McClellan 1989, pp. 77-78.</ref> While the fenestron had been first introduced a few years earlier upon another of Aérospatiale's rotorcraft, the [[Aérospatiale Gazelle|Gazelle]], the Dauphin's implementation featured considerable refinement over the earlier arrangement; the direction of rotation was reversed so that the blade on the bottom was the advancing blade, the original direction having proved unfavourable when encountering the downwash of the main rotor during early testing of the Dauphin. Testing demonstrated the fenestron to have clear performance advantages over the conventional tail rotor, leading to it being applied to numerous other rotorcraft following the Dauphin as well.<ref name = "fenhist airbus">{{cite web |url = https://www.airbushelicopters.com/w1/jrotor/72/story57.html |title = History of the fenestron |publisher = [[Airbus Helicopters]] |first = Monique |last = Colonges |access-date = 24 March 2020 |archive-date = 25 September 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200925182629/https://www.airbushelicopters.com/w1/jrotor/72/story57.html |url-status = dead }}</ref>

According to aviation author J. Mac McClellan, even in its original guise, the flying qualities of the Dauphin were generally appreciated by pilots.<ref name = "McCelland 77">McClellan 1989, p. 77.</ref> One small area of criticism was that pilots had to enter and exit the front seats via the main cabin, as the rotorcraft lacked forward crew doors; passengers were also inconvenienced by the presence of a sizable vertical column in the center of the cabin that accommodated the main pushrods. These shortcomings were addressed in subsequent versions of the twin-engined Dauphin 2.<ref name = "McCelland 77"/>
<!-- ==Operational history== -->

==Variants==
[[File:Aerospatiale SA-360C Dauphin, Meravo Arcus AN0399117.jpg|thumb|SA 360C Dauphin at [[Hockenheimring]], [[Germany]], 2003]]
* '''SA 360''' – two prototypes
* '''SA 360C''' – standard production version, 34 built
* '''SA 360A''' – navalised version for [[Aeronavale]], 1 converted from SA 360C.<ref name="Simpson_RW_p25">{{cite book |last= Simpson |first= R. W. |title=Airlife's Helicopters and Rotorcraft |year=1998 |publisher=Airlife Publishing |location=Ramsbury |pages=25 }}</ref>
* '''SA 361H''' – "hot and high" version with more powerful (969&nbsp;kW (1,300&nbsp;shp)) Astazou XX engine, glassfibre rotor blades and new rotor hub. Three converted from SA 360 and 360C.<ref name="AI Jul95 p15">Francillon and McKenzie ''Air International'' July 1995, p. 15.</ref>
** '''SA 361HCL''' – militarised version, 1 converted from SA 361H.<ref name="AI Jul95 p15"/>
* '''SA 365C2'''- Twin engined version with more powerful 2 × Turbomeca Arriel 1A2 turboshaft engines, 500 kW (670 hp) each.

==Operators==
[[Image:RHKAAF Aerospatiale Dauphin 1982.JPG|thumb|right|RHKAAF SA 360 Dauphin at [[Kai Tak Airport]], [[Hong Kong]], 1982]]

;{{flag|Hong Kong|colonial}}
* [[Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force]]<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1981/1981%20-%202518.html?search=Royal%20Hong%20Kong%20Auxiliary%20Air%20Force |title=World Air Forces 1981 |publisher=flightglobal.com |date= 1981 |access-date=15 February 2014}}</ref>
;{{USA}} 
* [[New York Helicopter]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1981/1981%20-%200007.html?search=New%209York%20Helicopters |title= New York airports helo link set to go |publisher= flightglobal.com |date= 3 January 1981 |access-date=15 February 2014}}</ref>
;{{SLO}} 
*Helitours - Operating two SA 365 C2

==Specifications (SA 360C Dauphin)==

{{Aircraft specs
|ref= ''Air International July 1995''<ref name="AE Jul95 p16">Francillon and McKenzie ''Air International'' July 1995, p. 16.</ref>
|prime units?= met
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|crew= 1 or 2 pilots
|capacity= 8–9 passengers
|length m= 13.20 
|length note= including rotor
::::{{cvt|10.98|m|0}} (fuselage length)
|height m= 3.5
|height note=
|empty weight kg= 1580
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg= 3000
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number= 1
|eng1 name= [[Turbomeca Astazou XVIIIA]]
|eng1 type= [[turboshaft]]
|eng1 kw= 783
|eng1 note=

|rot number= 1
|rot dia m= 11.5
|rot area sqm= 103.9
|rot area note= <br>
* '''Blade section''' [[NACA airfoil|NACA 0012]]<ref name="Selig">{{cite web |last1=Lednicer |first1=David |title=The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage |url=https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html |website=m-selig.ae.illinois.edu |access-date=16 April 2019}}</ref>
<!--
        Performance
-->
|max speed kmh=
|max speed note=
|cruise speed kmh= 274
|cruise speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh= 315
|never exceed speed note=
|range km= 675
|range note= (max fuel)
|ferry range km=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=<!-- if range unknown -->
|ceiling m= 4600
|ceiling note=
|climb rate ms= 9
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|disk loading kg/m2=
|disk loading note=
|fuel consumption kg/km=
|power/mass=
|more performance=
|avionics=
}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Aviation|France}}
{{aircontent
|related= 
* [[Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin]]
* [[Eurocopter HH-65 Dolphin]] 
* [[Harbin Z-9]]
|similar aircraft=
* [[AgustaWestland AW119 Koala]]
|lists=
* [[List of rotorcraft]]
* [[List of utility helicopters]]
|see also=
}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|1}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* Chant, Chris. "A Compendium of Armaments and Military Hardware." ''Routledge'', 2014. {{ISBN|1-13464-668-2}}.
* Francillon, René J. and Carol A McKenzie. "To the throne...on its third try: Dauphin, eldest son of King Alouette III". ''[[Air International]]'', July 1995, Vol 49 No 1. pp.&nbsp;14–19. {{ISSN|0306-5634}}.
* McGowen, Stanley S. ''Helicopters: An Illustrated History of Their Impact''. ABC-CLIO, 2005. {{ISBN|1-85109-468-7}}.
* J. Mac, McClellan. [https://books.google.com/books?id=rLmUQOcA6OAC&pg=PA76 ''Day of the Dauphin. From France to you: Aerospatiale's Dauphine is the Prince of Helicopter.''] Flying Magazine, September 1989. Vol. 116, No. 9. {{ISSN|0015-4806}}. pp.&nbsp;76–80.
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Aérospatiale SA 360 Dauphin}}
* [http://celag.free.fr/museum/sa360/us_sa360_0.htm NYH]

{{Sud/Aérospatiale aircraft}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aerospatiale Sa 360}}
[[Category:1970s French civil utility aircraft]]
[[Category:1970s French military utility aircraft]]
[[Category:1970s French helicopters]]
[[Category:Aérospatiale aircraft]]
[[Category:Single-turbine helicopters]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1972]]

[[de:Eurocopter Dauphin#SA 360]]