Airbus Helicopters H125

Updated: October 2026 – One helicopter hangs from a line with a concrete bucket over a mountain hut, another brings tourists to a glacier, a third hovers with a rescuer on the hoist in front of a rock face: in the Alps it is very often an Airbus Helicopters H125, better known as the AS350 Écureuil. The single-engine helicopter from France is the workhorse of the mountains and holds a record that still causes amazement: the landing on the summit of Mount Everest. Here you learn how to identify it with confidence, how to tell it from its relatives and where to photograph it best.

What is the Airbus H125?

The H125 is a single-engine light helicopter that Airbus markets as an all-rounder: aerial work with external loads, firefighting, power line inspection, police, air rescue, passenger transport and sightseeing flights. It is powered by a Safran Arriel 2D turbine with 952 shp takeoff power and digital engine control (FADEC) with an independent backup channel. According to Airbus, it flies at a maximum of 252 km/h, covers about 630 kilometers with a standard tank and carries up to 1,400 kilograms on the cargo hook. Up to seven people fit in the cabin.

The name H125 is relatively young. Airbus has used it since the mid-2010s, after the renaming of Eurocopter to Airbus Helicopters, for the AS350 B3e, the newest development stage of a family that has existed since the 1970s. Older aircraft continue to be called AS350 B, B1, B2 or B3, and in North America the type is listed as the AStar. Écureuil means squirrel in French – a fitting name for an agile, small helicopter. You can find more about the manufacturer behind it on the Airbus Helicopters page and in the overview of the group Airbus.

Airbus puts the Écureuil family at more than 7,200 helicopters delivered to over 2,600 operators. Besides the single-engine AS350, that includes the twin-engine AS355, the military AS550 and AS555 and the derived EC130/H130.

From Alouette successor to world bestseller

In the early 1970s, Aérospatiale was looking for a successor to the aging Alouette II. Under chief designer René Mouille, a helicopter emerged in which low construction and maintenance costs were the priority. The key was the Starflex rotor head: instead of classic hinges, it works with a star of composite material and elastic bearings, which drastically reduces the number of moving parts. The rotor blades are also made of composite material.

The first prototype, an AS350C with a Lycoming LTS101 turbine, took off on June 27, 1974, in Marignane near Marseille. In February 1975, the prototype with the French Arriel turbine from Turbomeca followed, which still powers most Écureuils today. For the North American market, versions with the Lycoming engine were initially offered under the name AStar.

Over the decades, power grew step by step: from the AS350 B through the B1 and B2 to the AS350 B3, which scored especially at high altitude with a more powerful Arriel 2 turbine. The B3e with the Arriel 2D and a modern cockpit finally became the H125. Besides the main plant in France, there is a final assembly in Columbus, Mississippi, where the first US-built B3e was certified in 2015. In February 2026, a final assembly line in India, which Airbus is setting up together with Tata, was also inaugurated.

The Everest record and other high-altitude flights

On May 14, 2005, a standard AS350 B3 made aviation history: Eurocopter test pilot Didier Delsalle touched down on the summit of Mount Everest, at 8,848 meters, and took off again. Airbus still cites this landing as the highest landing and highest takeoff of a helicopter ever.

The record did not remain a one-off. In 2010, Swiss pilots used an AS350 B3 to pick three climbers off Annapurna from just under 6,900 meters, and in May 2013, according to Airbus, an AS350 B3 achieved a long-line rescue at about 7,800 meters in the Everest area. Such missions show why the type is so in demand in mountain regions worldwide: low weight, plenty of power reserve and a rotor system that stays forgiving in thin air. For the H125, Airbus cites a certified hover ceiling out of ground effect of 12,600 feet at maximum takeoff weight.

The three features that are enough to identify it

In the mountains, you often see helicopters only briefly and from a distance. These three observations get you to the H125 quickly.

On top of that come the rounded, heavily glazed cabin, the small horizontal stabilizer with end plates and the skid landing gear. Many work helicopters additionally carry a cargo hook under the fuselage. The final certainty comes from the registration: Swiss helicopters begin with HB-, Austrian ones with OE-, German civil helicopters with D-H. The system is explained in the articles on Swiss HB registrations, Austrian OE registrations and, in general, Understanding aircraft registrations.

H125, AS355, H130 or Bell?

The Écureuil family has many siblings, and some competitors look similar at first glance. The finder helps you narrow it down.

For further reading, the pages on the AS355 Écureuil 2, the H130, the Bell 407 and the Bell 206 JetRanger are worthwhile. The guide How to recognize helicopter types gives you a broad overview of all common rotorcraft.

Where you can catch the H125

Unlike the twin-engine H145 or the H135, you rarely come across the H125 in the German lowlands, because police and air rescue there mostly rely on twin-engine types. In the mountains, the situation looks entirely different.

Switzerland: In the Valais, the type is omnipresent. Air Zermatt uses AS350 B3s for transports, taxi flights, sightseeing flights and high-altitude rescues, for example at the Matterhorn. Other operators use the type for materiel transport and mountain hut supply. For some missions, twin-engine types come into play.

Austria: Here, too, the Écureuil is at home in mountain rescue and aerial work, among others with the air police (Flugpolizei). In the Inn Valley you have good chances of seeing helicopters of various operators – around Innsbruck Airport with its observation deck, it is worth keeping an eye on everything that moves with a rotor.

Germany: Here you meet the H125 mainly with sightseeing and charter operators, on aerial work such as power line inspection or tree felling, and at air shows.

Worldwide: In North America, the AStar is a standard type for police, air rescue and sightseeing flights. In the Himalayas, Écureuils regularly fly supply and rescue flights.

Location	Chance of success	Why
Alpine valleys with a heliport (Valais, Tyrol, Graubünden)	high	mountain rescue, sightseeing flights, materiel transport
Construction sites, huts and power line corridors in the mountains	high	external load flights with up to 1,400 kg
Regional airports in the Alps	medium	bases and maintenance of helicopter operators
Large commercial airports in the lowlands	low	only ferry flights or charter

Many helicopters transmit ADS-B data, but especially in the mountains reception is patchy because valleys shield the signals. How to find rescue, police and work helicopters on the radar anyway is explained in the article Tracking helicopters on a flight tracker.

Aerial work: the H125 on the line

Nowhere does the H125 show its strengths as clearly as in external load flying. One pilot, one cargo hook, one line – and concrete buckets, logs, prefabricated parts or avalanche barriers are brought where no road leads. For spotters, such missions are a gift: the helicopter often shuttles for hours between the loading site and the construction site, so you have many opportunities for the perfect picture.

On rescue missions, the following also applies: don’t photograph patients or accident scenes, and respect privacy rights. Whether your location is generally fine is clarified in the article Is plane spotting legal?. You can find general tips for rotorcraft spotting in the guide Helicopter spotting.

Photo tips specifically for the H125

With helicopters, the shutter speed decides the picture. With a very short exposure the rotor stands still, and the H125 looks as if it is about to crash.

The technique is similar to that for propeller aircraft; details are in the guide Photographing propellers: the right shutter speed. You can work out when the light is right at your location with the sun position planner guide. In Planetrack, the sun position planner also shows you directly for your spot when backlight threatens.

Military versions: Fennec and H125M

The Écureuil also has a military line. The AS550 Fennec was the weapons-capable variant from which today’s H125M emerged. Airbus positions it in the two-tonne class for training, tactical transport, reconnaissance and light armed missions. Like the civil H125, it flies with an Arriel 2D turbine and can be equipped with the HForce weapon system, which Airbus also offers for the H145M and H225M.

In addition, Airbus builds military H125 derivatives in the USA. There were also training versions, such as the British Squirrel trainers. Military Écureuils carry military markings instead of civil registrations and are best seen at air shows and open days. You can find dates in the overview of Airshows in Europe, and the article Spotting rare aircraft collects ideas for unusual catches. If you want to experience helicopter history on the ground, the Helicopter Museum Bückeburg is the right place.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Conclusion

The H125 is the helicopter you are most likely to see at work in the Alps: on the line over a construction site, on a sightseeing flight in front of the Matterhorn or rescuing someone from a rock face. Three blades, an open tail rotor and one engine give you the type, the registration the version. On top of that comes a history hardly any other type can offer – from the Alouette successor from Marignane to the landing on the world’s highest mountain. If you are just starting out, the introduction Plane spotting for beginners gets you up to speed quickly.