27 June 1974: Day 1 of the Ecureuil legend

On 27 June 1974, the single-engine Ecureuil AS350 B took to the skies for its maiden flight from Marignane, France , in the capable hands of pilot Daniel Bauchart and test flight engineer Bernard Certain.

With twice the payload capacity of the Alouette II, 25% lower fuel consumption and 38% lower operating costs, this helicopter had what it took to win over operators and become the best-seller in the Airbus Helicopters range.

In the early 1970s, the ingenuity of design engineer René Mouille led to the development of a completely new hub, the Starflex, which uses a spherical thrust bearing capable of withstanding the centrifugal force coming from the blade. This totally reinvented rotor hub was the basis for the radical simplification of the Ecureuil’s rotor hub, which now had 70 parts instead of 377 for the Alouette II SA318. 

The AS350 had been very successful on the North American market, but there was more demand for a larger, more advanced version, with two engines. The result was the AS355 Ecureuil 2.

On 27 September 1979, the AS355 Ecureuil 2 (known as the Twinstar in the United States) took its first flight, piloted by Pierre Loranchet together with Bernard Certain and Claude Hamonière. The AS355 not only secured major orders in the civil and parapublic markets, but also had a successful military career with a number of different armed forces.

The fleet 

The legend has grown over the past 50 years: a fleet of 7,300 helicopters (all versions) delivered to more than 2,100 customers in 127 countries, which at the beginning of 2024 had flown more than 40 million hours. 

The Ecureuil family makes up 45% of the fleet in service, and flew 1.5 million hours in 2023, mainly in North America and Europe. The oldest aircraft is an AS350 B2 belonging to Air Maui Helicopters, which has clocked up more than 39,000 flight hours. 

Versatility 

Every day, the Ecureuil flies an incredible range of missions, unique in its category: aerial work, passenger transport, firefighting, surveillance, law enforcement, rescue, EMS and maintenance of power lines among others.

The records 

Decade after decade, the Ecureuil has become more powerful, safer and more capable. 

On 14 May 1985, Pierre Loranchet and Bernard Certain used an AS350 B1 to beat the world record for climbing to 3,000, 6,000 and 9,000 metres in 2 minutes 59 seconds, 6 minutes 54 seconds and 13 minutes 51 seconds respectively.

On 4 March 1997, equipped with a new rotor head, a new main gearbox, new avionics, more powerful engines and a FADEC, the AS350 B3 completed its maiden flight in Marignane with Didier Guérin and Bernard Certain on board. 

It was with this helicopter in this configuration that Light Helicopters pilot Didier Delsalle made history on 14 May 2005, breaking the world record for the highest altitude take-off (8,850 metres) from Mount Everest.

Technical aspects aside, it’s the helicopter’s exceptional development potential that makes it a truly exceptional aircraft, with no fewer than 20 major upgrades (single-engine and twin-engine versions combined).