On March 7, 2017, the University of Texas at Arlington Student Chapter partnered with the Society's members and staff from Bell Helicopter and Airbus Helicopters to support a STEM outreach event — called “Give it a Whirl” — hosted by the Whirly Girls, an international women pilots’ group. Hundreds of local Texan youths, ranging from ages five to fourteen, stopped by the AHS booth at the Dallas Executive Airport to learn about the science of vertical flight and try their hand at constructing a rubber-band powered helicopter from household materials, which flew as high as fifteen feet! Under the guidance of the AHS volunteers, participants also experimented with designing different paper “fuselages” to attach to their helicopters to optimize their flight path. AHS International gratefully acknowledges Airbus Helicopters, Bell Helicopter, and the University of Texas at Arlington Student Chapter for their support of AHS International’sits STEM initiative in cultivating future vertical flight talent.
