An animated introduction to the world of helicopters

The Airbus Foundation Discovery Space has just launched a brand new animated video mini-series that sheds light on the unique capabilities of helicopters and the vital role they play in emergency missions.

In 2023, the Fondation de l'Académie de Médecine (FAM) will be organising three new training courses in helicopter emergency medicine (HEMS) for medical personnel, with the support of the Airbus Foundation. These training programmes will be taking place in Nepal, Brazil and Indonesia, helping doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners to be better prepared to deliver emergency medical treatment in the field.

As the Airbus Foundation and FAM team up again to deliver these training courses, the Foundation has also been looking to the future: the young people who may be inspired to become medics, as well as firefighters and search and rescue professionals who also save lives thanks to helicopters.

With this in mind, the Airbus Foundation is pleased to launch a new animated video mini-series to appeal to young helicopter fans, and bring the world of emergency missions to life.

Produced by the Airbus Foundation and made available through the Airbus Foundation Discovery Space, these videos are part of a dedicated resource featuring high-quality and free-to-access STEM content for young people aged 8-18.

Tailored to appeal to 8-12 year olds, this mini-series aims to convey the many advantages of helicopters particularly in the context of firefighting, search and rescue, or medical missions. They are accompanied by activity sheets – ideal for prompting further thoughts and discussion.

The three videos in the series cover the following topics:

• The many advantages of helicopters: an overview of how vertical flight means helicopters are ideally placed to respond to all sorts of situations
• Helicopters in mountain rescue: when a mountaineer gets into trouble and needs medical help, a helicopter is the best way to get to the scene quickly
• Helicopters fighting a forest fire: as scorching temperatures and wildfires become more and more common, helicopters can play a vital role in firefighting

Discover the videos and dedicated resources

These videos aim to foster an interest in STEM topics, but they also introduce a young audience to the many careers that may come into contact with helicopters, including doctors, firefighters and search and rescue professionals. They can prompt discussions around serious subjects such as wildfires and climate change, the importance of being good custodians of our planet, and the realities of what could happen in an emergency situation.

This content is also available in French, German and Spanish.

Many children are rightly fascinated by helicopters. We hope that these videos will bring to life some of the varied situations where helicopters operate, particularly in terms of the critical missions they undertake.

Rachel Schroeder, Managing Director, Airbus Foundation