Airbus delivers 7,000th Ecureuil helicopter

Airbus Helicopters has delivered its 7,000th helicopter from the Ecureuil family. The light single-engine H125, which was assembled in Marignane, France, was handed over to Blugeon Hélicoptères, a French company specialised in sling work at high altitudes.

This new H125 will join Blugeon´s existing fleet of five H125 helicopters located at three different bases in the French Alps and a fourth one in the Pyrenees. Each of them flies an average of 600 hours per year performing passenger transport, power line surveillance, filmmaking, preventive avalanche maintenance, mountain rescue and large-scale hoisting.

“Since the first Ecureuil took to the skies in 1974, this family of aircraft forever changed the light helicopter market and the way aerial work is performed,” said Axel Aloccio, Head of the Light Helicopters programme at Airbus Helicopters. “Designed to be a simple, practical and competitive aircraft, the secret of its success lies in its excellent performance and its incredible ability to adapt to operators’ needs. It is precisely thanks to the confidence of operators like Blugeon that we are celebrating the milestone of the 7,000th delivery today.”