The Dauphin was originally designed as the successor to the Alouette III and is easily recognised for its fenstrom tail where the rear rotor is built into the tail rather than outside of it, as found in most other helicopters.
The first Dauphin was a single-engine aircraft that performed its maiden flight in 1972, but in response to the development of market requirements in this category, twin-engine versions were then introduced.
In February 1980, the Dauphin broke three records. On 6 February 1980, the speed record for Paris – London – Paris was beaten at an average of 294.26 km/h. On 8 February 1980, the speed record for Paris – London was broken at an average of 321.91 km/h, and the return flight was performed on the same day at an average of 281.05 km/h.
The Dauphin helicopter notched up one of its major successes in 1984 when 96 aircraft were ordered by the United States Coast Guard for rescue missions up to 150 miles from the shore.
About the model
The Dauphine came about because I wanted to build a model that had a fixed under carriage which looked impressive. Having settled on the Dauphine N2 as used by the US Costguard I started researching the full size aircraft This brought me in contact with the UK Eurocopter agent McAlpine Helicopters who had one. However they suggested that I build the N4 version as it had only just come onto the market which would make my model unique.
The model took me around 5 months to build. It has 26 opening panels, fully working lights and adjustable front seats. It took second place at the prestigious 2001 Top Gun radio control model show in the US by 2 tenths of a point – giving me the nickname of Lenny two tenths.
