Instruments and avionics

Flight instruments

The basic set is the same as any helicopter: airspeed, altimeter, vertical speed, attitude, heading and a slip indication. Older Astars carry them as separate instruments; current H125s carry them on a Garmin flight display.

A day VFR helicopter is flown by looking outside. The attitude indicator is there for the moments you can't — night, poor visibility, the first seconds of inadvertent cloud — and it is worth knowing whether yours is a gyro instrument or part of a display, and what backs it up.

Sources 2, 3

Common avionics fits

Garmin announced in 2021 that its avionics are standard on the H125: the G500H TXi flight display, a GTN 650 touchscreen navigator, a GNC 255 nav/com, a GMA 350c audio panel and a GTX 335R ADS-B Out transponder (Garmin figure).

Older aircraft, and many in operator fleets, carry something else — earlier Garmin units, a larger GTN, or whatever a previous owner fitted under an STC. The panel in front of you is the only reliable list.

Source 2

Autopilot and stability augmentation

The basic Astar is flown entirely by hand. Several systems add help, each under its own approval:

• Genesys HeliSAS — stability augmentation with a two-axis autopilot, approved for the AS350 series. Its servos act in parallel with the existing control rods.
• Garmin GFC 600H — attitude hold, a return-to-level mode, envelope protection and hover assist, offered as a retrofit for the AS350 BA, B2, B3 and B3e and integrated with Garmin's G500H TXi displays.
• IFR H125 — a factory configuration with a Genesys three-axis autopilot (below).

Sources 6, 7, 8, 9

The IFR-capable H125

In 2025 the FAA certified a single-pilot IFR version of the H125, developed with Genesys Aerosystems. It adds an upgraded cockpit with two large displays, duplicated air data and attitude sensors, a three-axis autopilot with stability augmentation, and redundant hydraulic and electrical systems.

It is a distinct configuration, not something any H125 becomes by adding a box. An Astar without that approval is a VFR aircraft whatever avionics it carries.

Sources 10, 11

ADS-B

ADS-B Out broadcasts your position and identity to ground stations and to other aircraft. In the US, 14 CFR 91.225 sets the airspace where it is required. Current H125s carry it in the transponder.

ADS-B In, where fitted, shows you other traffic — but only aircraft that broadcast, and only as well as the display is placed. It supplements a lookout; it does not replace one.

Sources 2, 12

ELT and intercom

An emergency locator transmitter activates on impact and can be switched on by hand. Know where the cockpit switch is, what its indication looks like, and what your operator's rules require you to check. Requirements differ by country and kind of operation.

The audio panel and intercom decide who hears what: pilot isolation, passenger channels, voice-activated or keyed microphones. Set it up before passengers board, so a nervous passenger can't talk over a radio call.

Sources 2, 3

NVG cockpits

Night vision goggles amplify light, and ordinary cockpit lighting blinds them. An Astar flown on goggles has a modified, NVIS-compatible cockpit, approved by STC — several companies hold such approvals for the AS350 B3.

An NVG cockpit is necessary but not sufficient: NVG operations also need trained crews and an operator approval. The Lighting chapter covers what the modification changes.

Sources 13, 14, 15

Checking an unfamiliar cockpit

Before you fly an Astar you haven't flown, find out:

• Variant and engine control — the single question that changes the most.
• Engine display — VEMD or gauges, and what's independent of it.
• Warning panel — its captions and the horn.
• Avionics — what's fitted, and their supplements.
• Autopilot or SAS — whether fitted, and how to disconnect it.
• Switches — anything non-standard, especially near the collective or fuel controls.

Sit in it on the ground and find each one without looking for it twice.

Sources 16, 17, 18