World Helicopter Day

[Mick Cullen]

G'day Team!

World Helicopter Day for 2021 is on Sunday 15 Aug - just over 70 days away. This is its seventh year.

Local COVID challenges aside if your company/organisation/airfield is keen to hold an open day / open hangar morning / BBQ or similar event to celebrate the day you can get some publicity by submitting the details at worldhelicopterday.com That gets you on the global website and promotion through the day's social media accounts. Nil cost.

I'm not sure where each of you got your first introduction to helicopters which put you onto a path in the industry. For many though it was attending an airshow or open day. This is a chance to invite people in from your local community to show them what you do and allow them to see a helicopter up close - not an everyday opportunity for most people.

It is a good way to keep the locals onside to remind them of the public good / economic benefit you bring to the area if they are prone to noise complaints. Also a very low cost marketing activity with potential for local media coverage.

Ideas that have worked in previous years
- flight sims, joyflights, face painting, scavenger hunts, Defence recruiting, guest speakers, visiting emergency services / police helicopters, drones, Airforce cadets, super cars, food / coffee vans and fly-in parking for static displays.
- or something as simple as a BBQ for students

Failing that put it in your calendar and prepare some online content around the #worldhelicopterday hashtag

If you need any assistance I can provide some limited help or suggestions on what worked on previous years. The last Brisbane one had 2000+ people through the gate and 2x R44s flat out for several hours on joyflights. Additional AS350 had to be rolled out to get through the flight queue backlog. There is public interest out there for these types of open days.

[Mick Cullen]

This is coming up next Sunday.

There are no Australian event locations that I know of this year. The various lockdowns might have made it difficult anyway.

If you want to get involved online tag your stuff with #worldhelicopterday

Message a photo of your crew holding a World Helicopter Day sign to facebook.com/worldhelicopterday if you want some extra international publicity for your efforts.

Wishing everyone a good day of it!

Mark your calendars for the 2022 day - Sunday 21 August (3rd Sunday in Aug)

[Mick Cullen]

Hey folks,

At the risk of interrupting the helmets for sales posts can I draw your attention to World Helicopter Day (https://worldhelicopterday.com/) coming up on 18 Aug 2024.

You can find most of the information on the website but essentially if your operation would benefit from getting people through the door to find out more about what you do or simply want to promote helicopters to your local community then this is a good umbrella idea to operate under. It is zero cost other than what you spend on opening your doors and any local promotion that you do.

The general public have an interest in what we do. Photos from a previous Brisbane event to talk to that point - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 836&type=3

If you want to hold an event in your local area then reach out and I can help with some ideas. It can honestly be as simple as holding a bbq and showing some keen local kids over one of your machines. If nothing else it is good, cheap PR and best case you might light a spark for someone to join the industry. Make sure your comms team has the day in the calendar for their 'content marketing' plan as they love that stuff.

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My ability and time to keep supporting the idea of a global helicopter day as a wrapper for events is getting more difficult.
If you have a passion for this kind of thing, or are a keen aspiring CPL that would like to add something to your CV then there are a few things that you can get stuck into. Give me a shout.

Stay safe out there!