China's Avicopter has established itself as one of the world's great helicopter manufacturers. With decades of licenced production experience, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) — the state-owned aerospace and defense company — has established its capabilities of indigenous development.
For more information, read about China’s helicopter initiatives from the Nov/Dec 2013 issue of Vertiflite! Below is a listing of all of the major Avicopter helicopter models, as of the time of the article.
Also be sure to check out the VFS photo gallery from China Helicopter Exposition 2013 on September 8, 2013, and photos at the 2nd Asian/Australian Rotorcraft Forum (ARF) on Sept. 9-11, 2013, in Tianjin, China.
| Designation | Manuf. Plant | First Flight | Weight Class | Engine | Status | Description |
| Z-5 | Harbin | 1959 | 7.1 t | unknown | 545 built; now retired | Copy of Russian Mi-4. |
| Z-6 | Harbin | 1969 | 7.6 t | 1 x Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T-6 | 11 built; now retired | Turboshaft version of Z-5. Similar to Mi-8. |
| Z-7 | Changhe | - | 14 t | unknown | Never flown | Cancelled in 1978 (competed against Z-8) |
| Z-8 | Changhe | 1980 | 12 t | 3x Turbomeca Turmo IIIC | Still in service | Licensed Eurocopter AS321 Super Frelon |
| Z-9 Dolphin | Harbin | 1981 | 4 t | 2 x WZ-8A | 200 built | Licensed Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin. Z-9B is 70% indigenous. |
| Z-10 Fierce Thunderbolt | Changhe | 29 Apr 2003 | 7 t | 2x WZ-9 or WZ-16 | 150 built | Indigenous heavy attack helicopter |
| Z-11 | Changhe | Dec-94 | 2.2 t | 1x WZ-8D | 50 built | Licensed Eurocopter AS350 Ecureuil |
| Z-15 | Harbin | 2009 (EC175) | 7.5 t | 2x Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67E | In development | Medium utility helicopter jointly developed with Eurocopter (EC175). Military version of the AC352. |
| Z-19 Black Whirlwind | Harbin | May-10 | about 5 t | 2x WZ-8A | In production | Derived from Z-9. Tandem seats. |
| Z-20 | Harbin | Dec 23, 2013 | 10 t | 2x WZ-10 | Operational since 2019 | 5-blades utility helicopter; Z-20F is the naval variant. In development began in the 1990s. |
| AC301 | Avicopter | 2010 | 2.2 t | 1x WZ-8D | First delivery planned for 2012 | Civil version of Z-11 (AS350 Ecureuil) |
| AC310 | Avicopter | 2011 | 1 t | 1x Lycoming H10-360 D1A | In production | Copy of Schweizer 300C. Certificated by CAAC in 2012. |
| AC311 Air Sprite | Avicopter | 2010 | 2.2 t | 1x Honeywell LTS101-700D-2 or WZ-8D | In production | Derivative of the AS350 Ecureuil. Certificated by CAAC in 2012. Deliveries began in August 2013. |
| AC312 | Avicopter | n/a | 4.1 t | 2x WZ-8 or Turbomeca Arriel 2C | In development | Civil version of Z-9 (AS365) |
| AC313 | Avicopter | 2010 | 13.8 t | 3x Pratt & Whitney PT6B-67A | In development | 3-engine derivative of the Z-8. Certificated by CAAC in 2013. |
| AC352 | Avicopter | 2014 | 7.5 t | 2x WZ-16 or Turbomeca Ardiden 3C | In development | Medium utility helicopter jointly developed with Eurocopter (EC175). Civil version of the Z-15. |
| AC3X2 | Avicopter | n/a | 3.1 t | 2x unknown | In development | Announced Sep 2013. First flight planned for 2014. |
| CA109 | Changhe | c. 2006 | 3 t | 2x PW 206C or Arrius 2K1 | In production | Licensed AgustaWestland A109E. |
| HC120 | Harbin | c. 2005 | 1.7 t | 1x Turbomeca Arrius 2F | Production began in 2005 | Only production plant for EC120 outside of France. |
| Z-18 | Changhe | March 2010 | 13.8 t | 3 x WZ-6C | Operational | Transport helicopter based on the AC-313. Also known as the Z-8G. |