A specialist faces a changing market
Vertical’s 2016 report describes Lama operators balancing mountain capability against parts availability and operating costs. Dwight Jones had sold two aircraft as customers moved towards the H125.
Aircraft libraryAérospatiale SA 315B Lama
Sputniktilt · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama.Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama
A light turbine helicopter combining an Alouette II airframe with more powerful Alouette III components.
Helicopter3 profile choices
Know the plane
The Lama was developed for demanding high-altitude work. Its exposed structure, compact cabin and single turbine retain the visual simplicity of the Alouette II, while the powerplant and other components came from the larger Alouette III lineage.
It became associated with mountain transport and external loads. Simulator add-ons offer different stability options and sling-load features, described with each product.
Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama · Specifications (SA 315B Lama) · real aircraft; source units retained
- Length
- 10.24 m (33 ft 7.25 in)↗
- Height
- 3.09 m (10 ft 1.75 in)↗
- Empty weight
- 1,021 kg (2,251 lb)↗
- Gross weight
- 2,300 kg (5,070 lb)↗
- Powerplant
- 1 × Turbomeca Artouste IIIB turboshaft , 649 kW (870 hp) derated to 410 kW (550 hp)↗
- Main rotor diameter
- 11.02 m (36 ft 1.75 in)↗
- Main rotor area
- 95.38 m² (1,026 sq ft)↗
- Maximum speed
- 192 km/h (119 mph, 103 kn)↗
- Range
- 515 km (320 mi, 280 nmi)↗
- Service ceiling
- 5,400 m (17,715 ft)↗
More about this aircraft on AirframeDB
Development milestones
First flight: 17 March 1969
Developed from: Aérospatiale Alouette II
A record flight remembered with humility
Boulet recalled a team effort to take the Lama higher after another helicopter had surpassed his earlier altitude record. They lightened the prototype for the attempt at Istres, and he reached 12,442 metres in June 1972. Extreme cold and heavy control forces were part of an experience very different from an ordinary working flight.
Looking back, he also acknowledged the uncomfortable descent through cloud with instruments removed to save weight. In the interview, the value of such a record lay in what it could contribute to the aircraft’s usefulness, especially for rescue work. Boulet spoke modestly about his own achievement and with respect for pilots doing everyday operations.
A frightening descent leads to years of questioning
Vuichard was flying a Lama with an empty long line along a steep mountainside when the supporting air changed and the helicopter began descending towards the trees. He described arresting the descent just before reaching them. The encounter stayed with him afterwards, disturbing his sleep and prompting him to question how a similar situation might be handled differently.
That reflection became a long period of development and testing, beginning with the Lama and extending to other helicopters. Persuading people to consider his ideas proved another challenge. The later meeting with instructor Tim Tucker happened in an R44, a separate part of the story.
Remembering a working day in the mountains
Ricks remembered the Lama through the jobs it could do in Colorado’s oil-and-gas country. Carrying people into the mountains, looking over a site and moving equipment on a sling were part of its appeal. With the doors removed, the view made a strong impression, helping explain his affection for this exposed, purposeful little helicopter.
His recollections appear in a report about the changing economics of keeping Lamas at work. Operator Dwight Jones, interviewed separately, described customers moving towards newer helicopters and the costs of continuing with the older type. That context gives Ricks’s enthusiasm a particular setting: a pilot remembering the qualities of a familiar workhorse while the industry around it was changing. The article’s comparisons are those of the people interviewed in 2016.
Public sources 12
- Aérospatiale SA 315B LamaResearch background · Wikipedia revision 1365020353 · retrieved 2026-09-12
- Download manual
- Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manuals
- Taog aircraft manuals
- X-Plane aircraft and avionics manuals
- Lama XP12
- SA 315B LamaOfficial developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12
- SA315B LamaOfficial developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12
- Pilotes de légende: Jean Boulet and Didier DelsalleAurélia Braud interview reprinted in issue 4/2006 · PDF pp.26–28
- The story behind the Vuichard TechniqueClaude Vuichard and Tim Tucker · 29 April 2021
- The Mountain KingSteve Ricks and Dwight Jones interviewed by Skip Robinson · 17 November 2016
- ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsPublic search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03
How the profile models it
Philip Ubben / Khamsin SA315B Lama
Free + ProX-Plane 12Philip Ubben / Khamsin
The Lama was developed for demanding high-altitude work. Its exposed structure, compact cabin and single turbine retain the visual simplicity of the Alouette II, while the powerplant and other components came from the larger Alouette III lineage.
This profile selects Philip Ubben / Khamsin SA315B Lama for X-Plane 12.
The spring stays independent of airspeed. Directed aerodynamic loading is omitted.
Local force trim is off. Autopilot following is off.
Cyclic damping is on. Its configured gain is 0.35; it resists hardware motion separately from the spring and aircraft stabilization.
Controls and trim
The SA315B Lama combines a turbine with an articulated three-blade rotor. Taog documents regular and beginner flight-model choices and working external-load interactions. Ubben and Khamsin's X-Plane implementation has its own stability settings, doors and load configuration. Artificial stabilization and an automated checklist are separate functions from an autopilot that commands a physical cyclic centre.
The selected implementation
Ubben/Khamsin XP12 Lama has a rebuilt flight model, saved stability and door/load options. Stabilization/checklists do not establish a coupled AP or Taog trim behavior.
About the values
The gains are normalized profile settings. They describe the chosen effect balance; hand force depends on the device and its output limits. IAS references are tuning values rather than operating limits. Physical acceptance of this revision remains pending.
Master gain & control system
Master gain65%
The final overall output scale applied to everything the model produces, before the device cap.
More: everything (spring, loads, effects) gets stronger together.
Less: everything softens together.
Why here: Scales overall profile strength while preserving effect balance, subject to device and output limits.
Forces
Spring strength14%
The base centring force that pulls the stick back to centre. Every other force stacks on it. Too low and the stick feels limp in normal flight; too high and it fights your hand and masks the smaller cues layered above it.
More: firmer centring that resists your hand at all times.
Less: a limper stick that leans on aerodynamic load alone.
Why here: Nominal cyclic centering and damping provide the selected handling balance; beginner stability and external-load weight are aircraft behaviors, not additional calibrated spring forces. The baseline spring is 0.14. Low-speed spring blending is off.
Download manualExact product and documentation researchSpring deadband2%
A small neutral zone around centre where the spring stays quiet, so tiny movements at rest don't chatter. Wider is calmer but looser; narrower is more precise but can twitch around centre.
More: a calmer but looser centre with more free play.
Less: a tighter centre that may chatter at rest.
Why here: Sets travel around the centre before the baseline spring resists. Smaller values engage it sooner.
Overall aerodynamic load0%
A master scale over both sustained axis loads, applied before their independent balance. Profiles normally leave this alone and tune the two axis loads instead.
More: both axes load up harder.
Less: both axes lighten together.
Why here: The 0 gain omits sustained directed airspeed loading. Spring resistance remains independent.
Airspeed blendingFalse
Enables the low-speed spring engagement window (start/full knots above). Off, the spring is constant at all speeds.
Why here: Allows baseline spring strength to rise with indicated airspeed where the control law permits it.
Low-speed spring floor100%
How much of the spring survives at a standstill, before airspeed can build any aerodynamic force. A high floor keeps the parked stick firm; a low floor gives the loose, cable-slack feel of a parked light aircraft.
More: a firmer stick while parked and taxiing.
Less: a floppier parked stick that only wakes up with airspeed.
Why here: Sets low-speed spring strength as a fraction of baseline when blending is enabled. One keeps full strength.
Spring engagement start8 kt
The airspeed where the spring begins climbing from its low-speed floor toward full strength: the controls "coming alive" on the takeoff roll.
Why here: Sets the IAS where the low-speed spring blend starts rising. This is a feel threshold, not a flight limit.
Spring engagement full45.0 kt
The airspeed where the spring reaches full strength. Between the start and this point, centring firms up progressively as airflow builds over the controls.
Why here: Sets the IAS where the low-speed blend reaches baseline strength; high-speed stiffening also uses it.
Force tuning speed90
The indicated airspeed where aerodynamic load reaches its designed full level. It anchors the whole load curve to the aircraft's real speed range: a 172 loads up by 110 knots, a jet much later.
More: loads arrive later; the stick stays light up to a higher speed.
Less: loads arrive earlier and cruise feels heavier.
Why here: Sets the IAS reference for aerodynamic loading. It is an estimate, not published cruise TAS or a flight limit.
Centre firmness vs speed0%
How much the centring itself stiffens with speed, on top of the deflection loads. Zero keeps centre feel constant; more makes the stick centre harder at cruise and looser in the pattern.
More: a centre that hardens noticeably as you go faster.
Less: constant centre feel at every speed.
Why here: Adds permitted spring resistance above the full-blend speed. Zero removes this high-speed increase.
Centre stiffening cap5
The upper limit on speed-driven centre stiffening, so very fast flight can't wind the spring up without bound.
More: more total stiffening allowed at high speed.
Less: stiffening clamps off sooner.
Why here: Limits the squared airspeed ratio used for high-speed spring stiffening; it is not a device-force cap.
Aileron load72%
The sustained roll load from aileron deflection and airspeed, balanced independently of pitch. Together with the elevator load it sets the control-harmony ratio reviewers talk about.
More: heavier roll forces.
Less: lighter, quicker-feeling ailerons.
Why here: Roll and pitch aerodynamic scales are 0.72 and 1, respectively. These stored weights do not create directed aerodynamic loading while that term is inactive. No custom spring-travel curve is enabled.
Elevator load100%
The sustained pitch load from elevator deflection and airspeed, balanced independently of roll. This is the main lever behind a type's pitch weight. It does not touch aileron, spring, trim, or buffet forces.
More: heavier sustained pitch forces at speed.
Less: a lighter elevator that takes less muscle to hold.
Why here: Scales pitch aerodynamic loading; pitch spring travel and trim responses are separate settings.
Max output force55%
A cap on each steady pitch or roll force before it reaches the device, guarding against slamming or saturating the hardware in strong maneuvers.
More: stronger peak steady forces before clipping.
Less: a gentler ceiling; hard maneuvers flatten out sooner.
Why here: Caps directed-force output. Native spring effects and device limits remain separate.
Trim
Trim relief (elevator)0%
How strongly elevator trim relieves held pitch force and shifts where the stick settles. At 100%, a properly trimmed aircraft needs no held pressure, the trim-away-the-load workflow of real flying.
More: trim removes more of the held pitch force; at 100% full trim zeroes it.
Less: you keep holding force even when trimmed.
Why here: Scales supported pitch-trim relief and permitted centre movement. Zero removes pitch response.
Trim relief (aileron)0%
The same relief for roll trim. Most GA types have no real aileron trim, so this stays at zero; types with roll trim get a matching value.
More: roll trim removes more held roll force.
Less: roll trim does less.
Why here: Scales supported roll-trim relief and permitted centre movement. Zero removes roll response.
Effect gains · ground
Runway rumble0%
Rolling surface vibration from wheel speed and surface type: pavement, grass, or gravel under the gear.
More: louder surface texture through the stick.
Less: a smoother taxi.
Why here: Sets rolling texture strength, modified by speed, surface and undercarriage configuration.
Gear bumps0%
Short discrete bumps from expansion joints, ruts, and rough surface, punctuating the continuous rumble.
More: sharper hits from joints and ruts.
Less: softer ground detail.
Why here: Sets gear-bump texture during ground motion, separate from touchdown impact.
Effect gains · airframe
Stall buffet0%
Airframe shake approaching the stall and while the stall warning is active: how loudly this wing announces it is unhappy. Types with a crisp break get modest buffet and let the horn carry the warning.
More: a louder pre-stall shake.
Less: a quieter wing; the horn carries the warning.
Why here: Sets stall-buffet strength. Zero removes the cue without changing simulator stalls or warnings.
Mach buffet0%
Transonic buffet approaching the Mach limit. Meaningful for jets near MMO, zero for pistons and turboprops that never get there.
More: stronger transonic buffet near the Mach limit.
Less: a smoother high-Mach ride.
Why here: Sets high-Mach buffet strength; onset and full-strength thresholds are separate.
Flap buffet0%
Low-frequency airframe vibration with flaps extended into the airflow, in the speed window where they actually work the air.
More: a rougher ride with flaps working the air.
Less: smoother approach flap.
Why here: Sets flap buffet at the configured position and speed gates. Flap movement texture is separate.
Gear buffet0%
Airframe drumming from retractable gear hanging in the airstream. Zero for fixed-gear types, where the airframe never changes shape.
More: more drumming with the wheels hanging out.
Less: cleaner gear-down flight.
Why here: Sets gear aerodynamic buffet; movement and ground-contact cues are separate.
Stick shaker50%
The dedicated stall stick-shaker buzz, fired by the aircraft's own stall-warning system. Only types with a real shaker get a value; everything else relies on aerodynamic buffet and the horn.
More: a harder stick-shaker buzz.
Less: a subtler shaker.
Why here: Sets triggered shaker strength; inactive while the shaker feature is disabled.
Effect gains · engine, mechanical & drag
Touchdown thump50%
The one-shot kick when the wheels meet the runway, scaled by sink rate: a greaser whispers, a firm arrival thumps.
More: a harder kick at touchdown.
Less: softer arrivals.
Why here: Sets landing-impact strength; landing telemetry and response shape determine the pulse.
Reverse rumble0%
Rollout vibration while reverse thrust or beta-range props are working. Zero for types without reverse.
More: a rougher rollout under reverse.
Less: quieter reverse.
Why here: Sets reverse-thrust vibration with valid reverser and engine conditions. Zero removes the cue.
Engine rumble0%
Continuous powerplant vibration following RPM between idle and full power, the ever-present reminder that something is burning fuel up front.
More: more engine through the stick.
Less: a quieter powerplant.
Why here: Sets estimated engine vibration using configured telemetry and response, not measured cockpit vibration.
Flap motion0%
Continuous vibration only while the sim reports the flap surfaces actually travelling. It follows real actuator motion and failures, not an estimated timer.
More: more vibration while the flap surfaces travel.
Less: quieter flap runs.
Why here: Sets texture from observed flap movement; a command without movement does not establish the cue.
Autopilot follow
AP follow authority5%
How far autopilot commands may physically move the stick. Kept tiny in MSFS, where a moved axis can read back as pilot input; zero disables following entirely.
More: the autopilot visibly moves your stick further.
Less: a barely perceptible follow.
Why here: Sets admitted AP-follow gain, not a percentage of travel. Runtime ownership and input limits still apply.
Stick feel
StickFeel · Trim feel enabledFalse
Whether this feature is active in this profile.
Why here: Retained for compatibility and group membership. Trim relief, rather than this flag, controls centre movement.
StickFeel · Trim relief enabledFalse
Whether this feature is active in this profile.
Why here: Allows trim relief with supported control law and valid telemetry. Axis authorities set its amount.
StickFeel · Force trim enabledFalse
Whether this feature is active in this profile.
Why here: Local force trim, when selected, moves the hardware spring centre; it does not reproduce every developer's stabilization or load-management logic. Local force trim is off. The stored latch parameters are inactive; the profile does not supply a local hold-where-left neutral.
Download manualExact product and documentation researchStickFeel · G load enabledFalse
Whether this feature is active in this profile.
Why here: Allows load-factor changes to modify permitted spring laws. Passive fly-by-wire feel can suppress it.
StickFeel · Rate damping enabledFalse
Whether this feature is active in this profile.
Why here: Enables rate damping with the configured coefficients and control law.
Autopilot
Autopilot · Follow enabledFalse
Whether this feature is active in this profile.
Why here: Autopilot following is off; the configured spring and load retain the hardware feel.
Autopilot · Neutral hold enabledFalse
Whether this feature is active in this profile.
Why here: Permits centering hold during a supported AP state, separate from following a moving target.
Autopilot · Neutral hold strength0.6
Why here: Sets admitted AP neutral-hold strength; inactive while neutral hold is disabled.
Aero
Aero · EnabledTrue
Whether this feature is active in this profile.
Why here: Enables aerodynamic cues; each still needs nonzero strength and its simulator conditions.
Aero · Max flap index1
Where this effect reaches full strength (or has fully faded, for washouts).
More: a more gradual build to a later peak.
Less: a quicker build.
Why here: Sets the final flap index for detent normalization. UP plus three detents uses maximum index3.
Aero · Min flap index1
Where this effect begins fading in.
More: the effect begins later.
Less: it begins earlier.
Why here: Sets the first flap detent that admits buffet; this is a handle index, not degrees.
Aero · Shaker enabledFalse
Whether this feature is active in this profile.
Why here: Permits shaker at supported warning conditions; the switch does not establish aircraft equipment.
Ground
Ground · EnabledTrue
Whether this feature is active in this profile.
Why here: Enables ground effects; each still needs its own strength and contact or motion telemetry.
Engine
Engine · EnabledTrue
Whether this feature is active in this profile.
Why here: Enables engine cues with nonzero settings and valid running-engine telemetry.
Mechanical
Mechanical · EnabledTrue
Whether this feature is active in this profile.
Why here: Enables accessory cues with configured strengths and observed accessory movement.
Mechanical · Gain0
The strength of this effect.
More: a stronger effect.
Less: a weaker one.
Why here: Sets texture from observed gear movement, separate from aerodynamic and touchdown effects.
All profile settings
| Parameter | Value | What it controls and why |
|---|---|---|
| Spring strength | 0.14 | Nominal cyclic centering and damping provide the selected handling balance; beginner stability and external-load weight are aircraft behaviors, not additional calibrated spring forces. The baseline spring is 0.14. Low-speed spring blending is off. |
| Spring deadband | 0.02 | Sets travel around the centre before the baseline spring resists. Smaller values engage it sooner. |
| Force gain | 0 | The 0 gain omits sustained directed airspeed loading. Spring resistance remains independent. |
| Master gain | 0.65 | Scales overall profile strength while preserving effect balance, subject to device and output limits. |
| Dynamic-pressure blend | False | Allows baseline spring strength to rise with indicated airspeed where the control law permits it. |
| Minimum spring factor | 1 | Sets low-speed spring strength as a fraction of baseline when blending is enabled. One keeps full strength. |
| Spring wake-up speed | 8 kt | Sets the IAS where the low-speed spring blend starts rising. This is a feel threshold, not a flight limit. |
| Spring full-strength speed | 45.0 kt | Sets the IAS where the low-speed blend reaches baseline strength; high-speed stiffening also uses it. |
| Force tuning speed | 90 kt | Sets the IAS reference for aerodynamic loading. It is an estimate, not published cruise TAS or a flight limit. |
| Airspeed spring stiffening | 0 | Adds permitted spring resistance above the full-blend speed. Zero removes this high-speed increase. |
| Airspeed stiffening cap | 5 | Limits the squared airspeed ratio used for high-speed spring stiffening; it is not a device-force cap. |
| Aileron force scale | 0.72 | Roll and pitch aerodynamic scales are 0.72 and 1, respectively. These stored weights do not create directed aerodynamic loading while that term is inactive. No custom spring-travel curve is enabled. |
| Elevator force scale | 1 | Scales pitch aerodynamic loading; pitch spring travel and trim responses are separate settings. |
| Maximum output force | 0.55 | Caps directed-force output. Native spring effects and device limits remain separate. |
| StickFeel · Trim feel enabled | False | Retained for compatibility and group membership. Trim relief, rather than this flag, controls centre movement. |
| StickFeel · Trim relief enabled | False | Allows trim relief with supported control law and valid telemetry. Axis authorities set its amount. |
| StickFeel · Elevator authority | 0 | Scales supported pitch-trim relief and permitted centre movement. Zero removes pitch response. |
| StickFeel · Aileron authority | 0 | Scales supported roll-trim relief and permitted centre movement. Zero removes roll response. |
| StickFeel · Force trim enabled | False | Local force trim, when selected, moves the hardware spring centre; it does not reproduce every developer's stabilization or load-management logic. Local force trim is off. The stored latch parameters are inactive; the profile does not supply a local hold-where-left neutral. |
| StickFeel · G load enabled | False | Allows load-factor changes to modify permitted spring laws. Passive fly-by-wire feel can suppress it. |
| StickFeel · Rate damping enabled | False | Enables rate damping with the configured coefficients and control law. |
| Autopilot · Follow enabled | False | Autopilot following is off; the configured spring and load retain the hardware feel. |
| Autopilot · Follow authority | 0.05 | Sets admitted AP-follow gain, not a percentage of travel. Runtime ownership and input limits still apply. |
| Autopilot · Neutral hold enabled | False | Permits centering hold during a supported AP state, separate from following a moving target. |
| Autopilot · Neutral hold strength | 0.6 | Sets admitted AP neutral-hold strength; inactive while neutral hold is disabled. |
| Aero · Enabled | True | Enables aerodynamic cues; each still needs nonzero strength and its simulator conditions. |
| Aero · Gain | 0 | Sets stall-buffet strength. Zero removes the cue without changing simulator stalls or warnings. |
| Aero · Gain | 0 | Sets high-Mach buffet strength; onset and full-strength thresholds are separate. |
| Aero · Gain | 0 | Sets flap buffet at the configured position and speed gates. Flap movement texture is separate. |
| Aero · Max flap index | 1 | Sets the final flap index for detent normalization. UP plus three detents uses maximum index3. |
| Aero · Min flap index | 1 | Sets the first flap detent that admits buffet; this is a handle index, not degrees. |
| Aero · Gain | 0 | Sets gear aerodynamic buffet; movement and ground-contact cues are separate. |
| Aero · Shaker enabled | False | Permits shaker at supported warning conditions; the switch does not establish aircraft equipment. |
| Aero · Amplitude | 0.5 | Sets triggered shaker strength; inactive while the shaker feature is disabled. |
| Ground · Enabled | True | Enables ground effects; each still needs its own strength and contact or motion telemetry. |
| Ground · Gain | 0 | Sets rolling texture strength, modified by speed, surface and undercarriage configuration. |
| Ground · Gain | 0 | Sets gear-bump texture during ground motion, separate from touchdown impact. |
| Ground · Gain | 0.5 | Sets landing-impact strength; landing telemetry and response shape determine the pulse. |
| Ground · Gain | 0 | Sets reverse-thrust vibration with valid reverser and engine conditions. Zero removes the cue. |
| Engine · Enabled | True | Enables engine cues with nonzero settings and valid running-engine telemetry. |
| Engine · Gain | 0 | Sets estimated engine vibration using configured telemetry and response, not measured cockpit vibration. |
| Mechanical · Enabled | True | Enables accessory cues with configured strengths and observed accessory movement. |
| Mechanical · Gain | 0 | Sets texture from observed flap movement; a command without movement does not establish the cue. |
| Mechanical · Gain | 0 | Sets texture from observed gear movement, separate from aerodynamic and touchdown effects. |
Public sources 12
- Aérospatiale SA 315B LamaResearch background · Wikipedia revision 1365020353 · retrieved 2026-09-12
- Download manualLama manual pp.19-21
- Exact product and documentation researchExact Lama product platform and equipmentOfficial developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12
- Lama XP12Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama
- Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manuals
- Taog aircraft manuals
- X-Plane aircraft and avionics manuals
- SA 315B LamaOfficial developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12
- Pilotes de légende: Jean Boulet and Didier DelsalleAurélia Braud interview reprinted in issue 4/2006 · PDF pp.26–28
- The story behind the Vuichard TechniqueClaude Vuichard and Tim Tucker · 29 April 2021
- The Mountain KingSteve Ricks and Dwight Jones interviewed by Skip Robinson · 17 November 2016
- ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsPublic search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03
Community & corrections
If your time in the type says this page got something wrong, correct it here.
Pilot corrections
Fly this aircraft? Correct this page.
This page is built from cited references, and real time in the type beats a citation. Quote the claim that reads wrong and tell us what the actual aircraft does. Corrections go to the maintainer for review and feed the next revision of this research.
Sign in to submit a correction. No password, just a one-time email link.
Sign in
Hangar talk
Open conversation about flying and tuning the Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama, in the community forum. Corrections above go privately to the maintainer; hangar talk is public.
Sign in to start it. No password, just a one-time email link.
Sign in
Community
Community profiles for this aircraft
No community profiles for this aircraft yet.
Tuned it your way? Share a profile and it will appear here.