Airbus Helicopters
H125 (AS350 Écureuil)
Helicopter (turbine) · Helicopter trainer · Pre-1980 classic
- Power
- 850 hp
- Cruise
- 136 kt
- MTOW
- 5,225 lb
- Range
- 340 nm
- Fuel
- Jet-A (diesel piston)
🇺🇸Specs shown in Imperial.
Performance
- Cruise speed (Vc)136 kt
- Never-exceed speed (Vne)155 kt
- Stall (landing config) (Vs0)0 kt
- Climb rate1,700 fpm
- Service ceiling23,000 ft
- Range340 nm
- Endurance4 h
- Takeoff roll0 ft
- Landing roll0 ft
Weights
- MTOW5,225 lb
- Empty weight2,767 lb
- Useful load2,458 lb
- Baggage capacity220 lb
Dimensions
- Wingspan35.1 ft
- Length42.7 ft
- Height10.4 ft
- Cabin width67 in
Powerplant
- EngineTurbomeca (Safran) Arriel 2D — 850 hp · Jet-A · 60 gph
- Total horsepower850 hp
- Primary fuelJet-A (diesel piston)
- Unleaded pathJet-A piston diesel
Cockpit & avionics
- Cockpit typeglass
- Autopilot commonly availableYes
- Typical packages
- Airbus VEMD (Vehicle and Engine Multifunction Display)— current factory standard
- Garmin GTN 750 / G500H TXi— common operator-installed retrofit
- Training note
The H125 ships with the Airbus VEMD (Vehicle and Engine Multifunction Display) for engine and systems monitoring as a factory standard. Operators retrofit Garmin or other glass for navigation and IFR work; the airframe is type-rated, so initial avionics training is part of the broader Airbus / operator type-rating syllabus.
Certification
- RegulatoryFAR Part 27 · EASA CS-27
- Certified rolesNormal category helicopter — IFR / day / night · External-load / sling operations (factory) · Hoist / SAR / EMS configurations (factory or STC)
- IFRYes
- Spin approvedNo
- Aerobatic-categoryNo
- TailwheelNo
- Complex (FAR 61.31)No
- High-performance (FAR 61.31)No
Why is the H125 (AS350 Écureuil) popular?
Structured popularity-driver evidence. Each axis below carries one factual statement; we don't grade, the facts speak.
Production volume
Roughly 9,000 AS350 / H125 family helicopters have been built since 1977 — one of the largest civil turbine-helicopter production runs in history. The fleet is global across utility, EMS, law-enforcement, tourism, and military light-observation roles.
Industry network effects
Airbus Helicopters customer support and the Safran Arriel engine network are dense across North America, Europe, South America, Asia-Pacific, and Africa. Type-rating training is widely available at Airbus Helicopters training centres and at large operators.
Regulatory fit
FAR Part 27 / EASA CS-27 normal-category helicopter; type rating required for pilot privileges. Six-seat (1 + 5) configuration covers commercial training, EMS, utility, and tourism missions in a single airframe class.
Fuel future-proofing
Safran Arriel 2D burns Jet-A — same fuel as the broader turbine fleet and outside the FAA EAGLE / California UNL94 leaded-fuel transition exposure that constrains the legacy 100LL piston-helicopter fleet.
Before you buy more aircraft
The next airframe is rarely the highest-leverage move.
Flight school revenue is a function of three things — utilisation, dispatch reliability, and student progression — that multiply rather than add. Most schools running below 850 hours per aircraft per year have hidden capacity worth more than the next purchase, already paid for and sitting on the ramp.
Read: Why buying more aircraft probably won't grow your schoolHow flight schools track this aircraft in Aviatize
Operators running the H125 typically configure it in Aviatize as a single airframe with the Safran Arriel 2D as an engine sub-component, and the main transmission, tail-rotor gearbox, main rotor, and tail rotor each modelled as dynamic-component child resources with cycles / time-on-component tracking against the Airbus H125 maintenance schedule. Operators that time-share airframes between training and revenue missions should reflect both mission categories in the booking system so cost and reserve allocations track correctly. Pilot-currency rules should gate the resource on a current rotorcraft category certificate and on completion of the type rating.
Editorial confidence
Engine, variant timeline, certification path, and operational records well-attributed to Airbus Helicopters and FAA TCDS H9EU. Performance and weight figures are POH-typical for the current-production H125 variant. Helicopter takeoff / landing roll fields populate as 0 because the airframe operates from a hover.
Sources
Primary sources are POH / TCDS / manufacturer pages; derived sources record where Aviatize editorial synthesis is layered on top.
- Primary sourceManufacturer brief·Retrieved 2026-05-26
Airbus Helicopters
https://www.airbus.com/en/products-services/helicopters/civil-helicopters/h125Airbus Helicopters H125 product page. Cited facts verified on this page on 2026-05-26: AS350 B3e was redesignated as H125 in 2016; single Safran Arriel 2D engine with dual-channel FADEC; internal MTOW 2,370 kg / 5,225 lb with sling configuration; max cruise speed 136 kts; range 340 NM at MTOW with standard fuel; endurance 4 hours 27 minutes; high-altitude landing on Everest at 29,029 ft in May 2005. Airbus reports total AS350/AS550/H125 family at over 31.9 million flight hours, with ~1,500 currently in H125/AS350 B3e configuration.
- Primary sourceFAA TCDS·Retrieved 2026-05-14
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
https://drs.faa.gov/browse/TCDSFAA Type Certificate Data Sheet H9EU covers the AS350 / H125 family.
- Secondary sourceAviatize-internal·Retrieved 2026-05-14
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurocopter_AS350_ÉcureuilWikipedia article aggregating the AS350 / H125 development history, variant timeline, and operational records.
- Editorial synthesisAviatize-internal·Retrieved 2026-05-14
Aviatize editorial
Entry authored by Aviatize from accumulated industry knowledge cross-referenced against the primary sources cited above.
Related aircraft
Other training airframes commonly evaluated, operated, or compared alongside the H125 (AS350 Écureuil).
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- Power
- 420hp
- Fuel
- Jet-A (diesel piston)
R66 Turbine
Robinson Helicopter Company
Helicopter (turbine)
- Power
- 300hp
- Fuel
- Jet-A (diesel piston)
Photos & credits: each thumbnail opens that aircraft’s page, where the photographer and licence are credited under the hero image.