Airbus Helicopters H120 (EC120 Colibri)

Updated: October 2026 – A small, rounded helicopter with a large glass dome and a shrouded tail rotor sets down at the edge of an airfield, three rotor blades slowly winding down: that could have been an Airbus Helicopters H120, better known as the EC120 Colibri. The five-seat single-engine turbine helicopter was Eurocopter’s entry-level model for years, and production ran out in 2017. That is exactly why it is worth a look: the fleet is no longer growing, and every sighting is a fixed data point. Here you learn how to identify it with confidence, where to find it and how to tell it from its relatives.

What is the Airbus H120?

The H120 is a light single-engine turbine helicopter for one pilot and up to four passengers. It is powered by an Arrius 2F from the French engine maker Turbomeca, which today belongs to Safran. The turbine delivers 376 kilowatts at takeoff. The maximum takeoff weight is 1,715 kilograms, or 1,800 kilograms with an external load on the cargo hook. On the hook it can carry up to 700 kilograms.

Technically, quite a lot of Eurocopter know-how went into the little helicopter: a three-blade main rotor with the Spheriflex rotor head, a Fenestron with eight blades as the tail rotor and a crash-resistant design with energy-absorbing seats, deformable structure and a fuel system protected against leakage. In the cockpit, a dual-screen display (VEMD) shows engine and aircraft data, including an indicator that tells the pilot the nearest performance limit at any moment. For an entry-level helicopter, that was unusually modern at the end of the nineties. In addition, the H120 is considered comparatively quiet.

History: from the P120 to the end of the program

The roots lie with Aérospatiale, which with the P120 project was looking for a successor to light classics such as the Gazelle and the Lama. On October 20, 1992, three partners signed the development agreement: Eurocopter with 61 percent and technical leadership, the Chinese CATIC with 24 percent and Singapore Technologies Aerospace with 15 percent. The tasks were clearly divided: China supplied the cabin structure and fuel system, Singapore the tail boom, doors and composite parts. Eurocopter itself was responsible for rotors and gearboxes, avionics, electrics and hydraulics as well as final assembly.

On June 9, 1995, the first prototype took off. The public premiere followed in February 1997 at Heli-Expo in Anaheim, where the first orders came in right away. French certification came on June 17, 1997, and the US authority FAA followed on January 22, 1998. The first production aircraft went to the customer on February 2, 1998. Demand was good at first: by October 1998, more than 100 orders had come together, and Eurocopter raised the rate from four to six aircraft per month. In 2002, the setup of a second assembly line at Australian Aerospace in Brisbane also began.

The Chinese spin-off HC120

China was not only a supplier. In 2003, Harbin (HAIG) came on board, and in 2004 CATIC and Harbin secured the exclusive rights for the Chinese market. Since then, Harbin has built the type under license as the HC120. In 2014, according to reports at the time, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army became the first military customer of this version. For European spotters, the HC120 is hardly relevant, but it explains why you occasionally come across Harbin as a manufacturer in databases.

Why Airbus discontinued the H120

When Eurocopter became Airbus Helicopters in 2014 and the models were then given new names, the EC120B became the H120. That did not change much about the sales figures, which had been weak for some time. In 2016, Airbus delivered only five examples; in the same year, Robinson sold many times that number with the R66. At the end of November 2017, Airbus announced the end of the program: the company wanted to concentrate on higher-value helicopters and leave the price-driven lower end of light single-engine helicopters to others. Additional equipment such as a rescue hoist fits the larger H125 and H130 better anyway, in the manufacturer’s view. The last aircraft had already been delivered in October 2017 in Marignane in southern France, on the same final assembly line as the H125 and H130. Airbus has promised to support the fleet.

In total, about 700 examples were built. You can find more about the manufacturer and its current models on the Airbus Helicopters page, and about the overall group on the Airbus page.

How to recognize the H120

The H120 is small, and from a distance light helicopters quickly look the same. With three looks, you can still narrow it down with confidence.

As always, the registration provides the final certainty. German helicopters carry registrations beginning with D-H, Swiss aircraft the prefix HB-, Austrian ones OE-. How the system works is explained in the articles Understanding aircraft registrations and German registrations and weight classes.

H120 or another light helicopter?

Most mix-ups happen within the Airbus family, because the Fenestron is a trademark of the manufacturer. The finder helps you narrow it down.

Feature	H120	H130	H125	H135	Gazelle
Tail rotor	Fenestron	Fenestron	open	Fenestron	Fenestron
Main rotor blades	3	3	3	4	3
Turbines	1	1	1	2	1
Cabin	compact, round	wide, large	classic, longer	large, with rear clamshell doors	narrow, historic

The Gazelle is especially tricky: it also has a Fenestron, one turbine and a heavily glazed cockpit. But it is a design of the sixties, with a narrow, tapering fuselage and a much older look. By comparison, the H120 looks rounder and more modern. If you want to tell light helicopters apart better in general, the guide How to recognize helicopter types is a good foundation.

From other families, the Bell 206 JetRanger and the Robinson R66 in particular come into question as look-alike candidates. Both are similar in size and have one turbine, but only two rotor blades and an open tail rotor. The small Guimbal Cabri G2 also has a shrouded tail rotor but is a two-seater with a piston engine and again considerably smaller.

Where you can catch the H120

The H120 is not a mass-market type, and in Central Europe you meet it only sporadically. Most examples fly in private hands, with companies, in training or with agencies. Large commercial airports are therefore rarely the best place, while small airfields and heliports are all the more so.

Training: This is one of the most important fields of use. In France, the Army trains its helicopter pilots through a public-private partnership at Hélidax in Dax. 36 EC120Bs were procured for that, and the last aircraft arrived in October 2010. The Spanish Air and Space Force also uses the type as a training helicopter. If you are interested in the path to the cockpit, the article Becoming a helicopter pilot is worth a look.

Police and border patrol: Police agencies worldwide have procured the type, for example several police forces in Canada and the USA as well as the traffic police in the Kurdistan Region. The US border agency CBP ordered a first batch for border surveillance in 2006.

Military: Besides pilot training for the French Army and the Spanish Air and Space Force, the type flies with the Indonesian armed forces, among others, and in China the People’s Liberation Army uses the license version HC120.

Private and corporate: In Europe, the H120 operates with private owners and small charter and sightseeing companies. Where exactly keeps changing – a classic case for a look at flight tracker services.

Location	Chance of success	Why
Small airfields and heliports	medium	private and training operations, maintenance visits
Airfield festivals and airshows	medium	static display, in Spain the Patrulla ASPA
Military training sites (e.g. Dax)	high	large training fleet of Hélidax for the French Army
Large commercial airports	low	occasional transits and ferry flights

Some of the helicopters transmit ADS-B data and show up in tracking services as EC20. How to search for helicopters specifically is explained in the guide Tracking helicopters on a flight tracker. How rare your sighting actually is, you can judge with the article Judging the rarity of a sighting.

Airshows: the H120 in formation flight

A real highlight for spotters is the Spanish Patrulla ASPA. The helicopter aerobatic team of the Spanish Air and Space Force has flown the EC120 since 2003 and shows formations you would hardly expect from such a small helicopter. If the team is announced at an air show near you, the trip is worth it. Dates and tips can be found in the overview of Airshows in Europe, and events in Germany at the airfield festivals in Germany.

Even without the team, light helicopters often stand in the static display at airfield festivals. There you get close, see the rotor head up close and can photograph the three blades in peace. The article Helicopter spotting has more general tips on rotorcraft, and anyone enthusiastic about helicopter history is in good hands at the Helicopter Museum Bückeburg.

Photo tips for the H120

With the H120, the same basic rules apply as with all helicopters – except that it is small and quickly flies out of the frame.

The same technique as for propeller aircraft also works for the rotor; details are in the guide Photographing propellers: the right shutter speed. Since the H120 mostly operates from small fields, the article General aviation spotting helps you choose the right place. You can work out when the light is right at your location with the sun position planner guide.

Conclusion

The H120 is an unassuming but exciting helicopter: a modern entry-level model from the nineties, developed by three partners on two continents, and now a type with no resupply. A Fenestron, three rotor blades, a compact round fuselage and a single turbine give it away, and the registration confirms the find. Because the fleet can only shrink, every clean sighting is a small piece of documentation. If you are just starting out, the introduction Plane spotting for beginners gets you up to speed quickly.