In my opinion, the Gazelle is the most beautiful helicopter ever designed. I've had the pleasure to fly in one many times and it's a pilots dream. Reliable, beautifully balanced and just a joy to fly.
If I'm not mistaken, Blue Thunder was a Gazelle, but just with the cabin modified, and the Gatling gun added. I've always thought the Gazelle was one of the best looking helicopters made.
Many years ago, I saw a Gazel towed into the D-Check area. We had perhaps three left in maritime service. I walked right up to it and all around, it is a very elegant design. A very beautiful machine, just like the Mirrage.
Hi... Blue Thunder is actually a modified Gazelle. In fact, for the flying scenes over the city in the movie, two real-with-fake-weaponry Blue Thunder has been built for reliability reasons and a wooden-full-scale-prop has been built for the train collision at the end of the movie. There was as well few RC model for the loop stunt and the scenes with F-16.
No helicopter sounds quite like a Gazelle... but an MD 520 Notar, once it flies past you at high speed and the Doppler effect kicks in, produces a very pleasing sound as well.
Fun Fact: They sampled the Gazelle's sounds for the helicopter in Tomb raider II as Lara Croft jumps out by rope. But the helicopter was the wrong type for the noises of the high pitched Fenestron rotor fan and turbine.
+Ella Brown Then search for my channel listed as lkhay (the profile picture is a Star of Life with the Breast Cancer Ribbon) most of my videos are medical helicopters lifting off.
Actually turboshaft powered -- a turbine engine coupled to a gearbox to drive the main rotor and anti-torque (tail) rotor. Most helicopters built since the 1960s have turboshaft engines.
The power for the rotor is generated by a separate turbine in the exhaust of the primary turbine. Only when the primary turbine is fast enough, is there enough cooling air to light the fuel without a "hot start", which would damage the engine. Once the fuel is added, the primary turbine speeds up and produces enough exhaust for the power turbine to start dragging the blades around. There is no mechanical connection between the primary turbine and the rotor. It is all done by lots of hot air moving very fast.
@@AllanFolmI'm gazelle pilot, this is true for Rolls Royce 250 serie engines, but with the gazelle, it has a clutch connected to the throttle overhead, the pilot pushes the throttle forward, which engages the clutch at the same time increase engine RPM... When throttle is pulled engine goes to idle and clutch disengage
