Alouette III helicopter  
Heller
[ page 4 ]

Alouette III models in 1/72 scale
... continued from page 3....   The next Alouette III model was made in the markings of a license built HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics) Chetak of the Mauritius Police Force. On this model, the cabin doors were unchanged and kept closed.    The model was fitted with floatation gear hoist. (see notes [5], [9], [10] on page 2). The overall colour of green was airbrushed with Revell Aqua 65 acrylic. The markings for the license built HAL SA316B Chetak "MPH-03" came from Berna decal set BD72-116.   Note on the cabin roof the red anti-collision light made from a tiny bit of clear plastic painted transparant red. The rotor blades were airbrushed medium grey and after masking got aluminium metal leading edges. The blade tips got a yellow colour. MAURITIUS   [ islands area: total 2040 km2 | capital: Port Louis | population: 1,3 million | GDP 11,000 USD nominal per capita ] Mauritius is a group of islands some 2,000 kilometers East of Madagascar and is a republic. The main islands are Mauritius (1864 km2), Rodrigues (108 km2), Agaléga islands (26 km2), St. Brandon archipelago and Chagos archipelago. The islands were first visited by the Europeans from Portugal in 1507 and later the Dutch admiral Van Warwijck took possession of Mauritius, naming it Mauritius after the Dutch "Prins Maurits" who also ruled a colony in North East Brasil (Bahia). Mauritius was abandoned by the Dutch in 1710 as it was uneconomical to stay further (during that period, meanwhile all non-flying Dodo birds had been killed). The islands became part of the French colony "Isle de France" with nearby Reunion. From 1810 again a change of hands came as it became part of the British colonies. In 1968 Mauritius gained independence.  Much further to the North East lies the Chagos archipelago with the establishment from 1968 of a UK/US military base on the island of Diego Garcia of 30 km2. In 2019 the International Court in De Hague ruled that these islands should be handed over back to the Republic of Mauritius. Mauritius and Rodrigues are the main islands with airports and have nice tourist resorts. The Mauritius Coast Guard operates a few aircraft like 3 HAL Dornier Do-228 and BN Defender. The Police flies with 4 HAL Chetak / Alouette III SA316B acquired 1987, and more recent a donated HAL Druv came from India and an Eurocopter AS555.    HAL SA316B Chetak, MPH-03, c/n AH289 delivered February 1987       The main base is at Mauritius Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam intl airport: ... and heli area:     courtesy Google Earth imaging
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The next Alouette III model was made in the markings of Congo - Kinshasa in the 1960s. Alouette III SE3160 c/n "1359" coded white 359 was made that was the personal helicopter of President Mobutu. It had a VIP interior with seats with leather upholstery. It was not used a lot for the president but mainly flew liaison flights along with the other Alouettes. The Heller model was made as SA316 with Artouste engine parts #36+37. Decals came from Berna decal set BD72-116 with the old style markings and for the tail endplates decals are also provided. The model was airbrushed overall green with Revell 65 "bronze grun" Aqua acrylic. Extra antennas were fitted, particularly a pair of wire antennas on the nose and the usual detailling done as described on page 2. The tail rotor and boom have an extra protection bar made from thin rod. Congo - Kinshasa (Zaire)        The vast country in Central Africa Congo became independent July 1960. Alouette III helicopters started to be operated in 1960s and 1970s and sport the old type Congo markings. Over the years, some 20 Alouette III SE3160 and SA316 were operated until probably 2001 and many were also civilian used. The main base aerienne is at Kinshasa N'Djili with many helicopters based at Kinshasa N'Dolo.   For more information about the Republic of the Congo air force, look at my MB326 page here...   SE SE3160, c/n 1359 in the 1960s. This Alouette III, later also with code 9T-HP9, was the personal helicopter for use by President Mobutu. It had a VIP interior with seats with leather upholstery. It has a special red bar with yellow stars markings below the entry doors.            Base aerienne Kinshasa N'Dolo  with also heli area:   courtesy Google Earth imaging Note: this helicopter also flew with floats. A few years later I designed decals for it. Interested? Look at the Decals Page here....   On to next Alouette [ Page 5...]
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