The AS365 Dauphin is a modern, multi-role medium helicopter manufactured by the Eurocopter Group consortium (now part of Airbus Helicopters). The flight of the prototype took place in 1975, and the machine entered service in 1978. The helicopter - in the AS 365 N3 version - has a fuselage length of 13.73 meters and a rotor diameter of 11.94 meters. The drive is provided by two Turbomeca Arriel 2C engines with 838 HP each. The helicopter has a classic layout with a single main rotor and a propeller on the tail boom in a fenestron system.
The AS365 Dauphin helicopter was developed by the French aviation company Aerospatiale as a successor to the unsuccessful single-engine SA 360 machine. From the very beginning it was also assumed that the new machine would be intended for both the military and civilian market. Finally, a very successful machine was created, which was one of the best-selling helicopters produced by the Eurocopter Group. It is worth adding that it was successful both on the civilian market, where it was purchased by uniformed services, and for business purposes, but also on the military market. In the course of production, many development versions were created, including: SA365 C (the first version produced in series), SA365 C3 (version with Arriel 1C engines), AS365 N1 (version with a modernized propeller in a fenestrone and another drive unit) or AS365 N3 ( version adapted to activities in an extremely hot climate). A version of the hh-65 was also created, which, however, due to the number of changes and modernizations, can be treated as a separate helicopter model. The AS365 machine has gained a lot of popularity and in various versions it has been or is still operated by countries such as: Australia, Argentina, Greece and Iceland.