Aerospatiale SA321 Super Frelon
The Aerospatiale SA321 Super Frelon was, for decades, the largest and most powerful helicopter built in Western Europe, developed by France with some technical assistance from Sikorsky in the United States. Its boat-shaped hull allowed emergency water landings, a capability valued for the long overwater anti-submarine and search-and-rescue missions the French Navy flew it on. China built a licensed derivative, the Changhe Z-8, that remains in production and service in modernised form today. Comparatively few original Super Frelons remain flying, though the type's naval and heavy-transport legacy lives on through its Chinese-built descendants.
_Super_Frelon_Aerospatiale._(5694291026).jpg){kind=link}
Did you know?
China's Changhe Z-8 is a licensed derivative of the French Super Frelon, still produced today in a modernised naval and transport form.
Specifications
| Length | 19.4 m (64 ft) |
|---|---|
| Height | 6.7 m (22 ft) |
| Rotor diameter | 18.9 m (62 ft) |
| Maximum passengers | 27 |
| Persons on board | 37 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 13 t |
| Range | 440 NM (815 km) |
| Service ceiling | 10,325 ft (3,147 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 8,000 ft (2,438 m) |
| Rate of climb | 2,263 ft/min (11.5 m/s) |
| Fuel capacity | 6,000 l |
| Engines | 3x Turbomeca Turmo IIIC |
| Units built | 50 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Aerospatiale SA321 Super Frelon starts as a Legendary catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you. The first catch of a legendary type pays a bonus of its own.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Aerospatiale, the SA321 Super Frelon family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
Catch it yourself.CatchFlights shows the aircraft flying near you on a radar, so a type like this one is only a catch away when it passes overhead. Explore CatchFlights.
Browse all aircraft types, or learn to tell Airbus from Boeing.