Tag: junior aviator program

helicopters for kids, junior aviator

Knock your Kids’ Socks off this Christmas!

Christmas is just around the corner and parents everywhere are becoming consumed with a question that gets trickier every year: What to get the children?
Let’s face it, the children are unlikely to actually NEED anything. Okay, maybe they need socks or something equally lacking in the spectacular department – but you can’t get away with only getting them socks.
So, instead of cluttering your home with more random, nice but ultimately unnecessary and forgettable items just for the sake of putting something under the tree; why not think outside the box this festive season and shout your kids a day out they will never forget?
Pterodactyl Helicopters’ Junior Aviator Program could be just the ticket!

 

Our Junior Aviator Program is open to young flight enthusiasts aged between 10 and 15; and it is a day jam-packed with hands-on experiences.
Pterodactyl Helicopters make sure that your kid gets a taste of everything involved in running a helicopter charter business – from maintaining the equipment (within reason, of course), briefing and handling passengers and, of course, some serious time in the air.
We have been running this program successfully for an age now, so our ground and flight crews are old pros when it comes to engaging kids, involving them in our operation and keeping them perfectly safe throughout it all.

 

When you sign your kids up for Pterodactyl Helicopters’ Junior Aviation Program, you are giving them a full day of helicopter madness.
Because there is much to do, we ask that you drop of you budding pilots at our Lake Manchester hangar no later than 7.30 – there’s no need to pack anything, we provide lunch and beverages throughout the day, provided your kids aren’t too excited to eat.

 

Once we’ve outfitted our junior aviators with an official Pterodactyl shirt and cap – better to look the part than being mistaken for a regular passenger – we put them straight to work, helping us wheel the helicopter from the shed and going through all manner of morning routines (such as checking the weather for all areas of intended flight and notices to airmen).
After giving us a hand with safety procedures and getting a tutorial on how to best give a safety brief to passengers, our junior aviators finally get to jump in the helicopter and enjoy the ride to our base of operations (locations vary depending on the day).

The rest of the day is a frenzy of fun activity!
The kids interact with our passengers, help the ground crew perform most duties and – best of all – get to ride along every time there is a spare seat in our helicopter.
At the end of it all, we safely deliver your knackered kids back to our hangar at Lake Manchester (by helicopter, of course).

This year don’t worry about wrapping stuff that can break, be lost or returned the next day. Contact Pterodactyl Helicopters today and sign your kid (or kids) up for our Junior Aviator Program – we guarantee there will be disbelief, glee and big excitement on Christmas morning.

Future Pilot, Brisbane, Helicopter Training

Helicopter Kids! A highlight for the holidays

The school holidays are looming large and parents are scrambling to come up with day-filling activities to keep the kids entertained. At a loss what to do? We thought you might be. So, if your 10 to 15-year-old is mad about aviation (or even only mildly curious) why not check out Pterodactyl Helicopters’ Junior Aviator program? It’s sure to blow your kid’s mind and propel you instantly to coolest parent alive status.

 

What is this Junior Aviator Program?

In short, it is likely to be the best day a young flight enthusiast can imagine.

Specifically, Pterodactyl Helicopters’ will take your child under their wing and immerse them in a typical day at the helipad. Our junior aviators get first-hand experience in ground crew duties, the wrangling of helicopter passengers and – naturally – some quality time in the air.

We provide our Junior Aviators with lunch and drinks throughout the day, so no need to bring a thing.

And yes, there will be a cap and t-shirt.

Cost is $275 per child for the full day of aviation madness.

 

How is the day structured?

Our Junior Aviator Program starts early – which will save you from the continuous loop of “Is it time to go YET?” that is certain to begin at the crack of dawn – and we ask that you deliver your youngsters to our Lake Manchester hangar by 7.30 am. On average you won’t see them again til around 4 pm, though times can vary slightly depending on the flight activities of the day; so make some nice plans for your own day off.

Once on location, the children receive their cap and shirt and jump straight into their duties as trainee members of our ground crew. They will inspect and fuel a helicopter, check the weather and notices to airmen for the flight area of the day and then get the chopper from the hangar to the heli pad.

While our (non-junior) ground crew travels to our joy flight destination by ute, the kids will get a real taste of the many safety procedures we have to run before take-off, including how to give a safety brief to helicopter passengers.

Then – FINALLY – it’s time to load up and fly!

At the landing site, the Junior Aviators re-join the ground crew and get to spend the rest of the day getting into the nitty-gritty of working with chartered choppers. From re-fuelling (hands-off) and taking water samples (hands-on), to handling paperwork and interacting with passengers – our helicopter load master and experienced ground crew will make sure the kids get a go at everything – everything that doesn’t require a license, that is.

And, best of all, as we run our usual joy flights during the day, many of the young aviators will get to ride along in our helicopters as the weight and passenger limit permits.

At the end of the day our junior crew is flown back to Lake Manchester, where we will show them how to fill out the day’s paperwork, log the flight hours and bed down our choppers for the night.

 

If this day is just the ticket to put a smile on your kids’ faces this school holiday, contact Pterodactyl Helicopters and book them in for our Junior Aviation Program today.