08162022 Here is Video of this Beautiful SA341F2 Gazelle Helicopter. This is the same type of helicopter used in the Movie Blue Thunder. Blue Thunder is a 1983 American action thriller film from Columbia Pictures, produced by Gordon Carroll, Phil Feldman, and Andrew Fogelson and directed by John Badham. The Blue Thunder helicopter itself did exist as two copies of modified French Aérospatiale Gazelles. A spinoff television series, also called Blue Thunder, ran for 11 episodes in 1984. Thank You for Watching & Please Subscribe.
This SA 341F2 Version was built for the French Army; Featuring the Astazou IIIC engine, 166 of these were produced. Some of these were fitted with an M621 20mm cannon.
Manufacturer Name: AEROSPATIALE / Eurocopter (Airbus Helicopters)
Model: SA341F2 GAZELLE
Year: 1975
NNumber: N497MM
S/N: 1384
Engine Manufacturer: TURBOMECA
Engine Model: ASTAZOU IIIC2
The Aérospatiale Gazelle (company designations SA 340, SA 341 and SA 342) is a French fiveseat helicopter, commonly used for light transport, scouting and light attack duties. It is powered by a single Turbomeca Astazou turbine engine and was the first helicopter to feature a fenestron tail instead of a conventional tail rotor. It was designed by Sud Aviation, later Aérospatiale, and manufactured in France and the United Kingdom through a joint production agreement with Westland Aircraft. Further manufacturing under license was performed by SOKO in Yugoslavia and the Arab British Helicopter Company (ABHCO) in Egypt. Since being introduced to service in 1973, the Gazelle has been procured and operated by a number of export customers. It has also participated in numerous conflicts around the world, including by Syria during the 1982 Lebanon War, by Rwanda during the Rwandan Civil War in the 1990s, and by numerous participants on both sides of the 1991 Gulf War. In French service, the Gazelle has been supplemented as an attack helicopter by the larger Eurocopter Tiger, but remains in use primarily as a scout helicopter. Airbus Helicopters designates it as the EC665