How do helicopters work for kids? — featuring Blippi - Educational Videos for Kids (Magnum Helicopters)

In this video: Blippi Explores Hawaii In A Helicopter! | Educational Videos for Kids

Blippi - Educational Videos for Kids · 4 years ago

What makes a helicopter different from an airplane for scenic tours?

Helicopters can slow down and descend vertically before landing, so they can land and take off from many more locations than airplanes, which need a runway and forward momentum. This means helicopter tours can reach remote valleys, waterfalls, and coastal areas that fixed-wing aircraft cannot access.

At a glance

Length
12 min
Channel
Blippi - Educational Videos for Kids
Video from
Aug 2022
Rating
⭐⭐ Great video · 2/2
Best for
Families, first-time flyers, and Hawaii travelers curious about aerial tours and helicopter mechanics

What this video answers

  • What makes a helicopter different from an airplane for scenic tours?
  • Is a helicopter tour safe for families and first-time flyers?
  • Why do helicopter tour aircraft have no doors?
  • What will I see on an Oahu helicopter tour?
  • How long does a typical helicopter tour last?
Reads the guide aloud in your browser — free, no account.

Helicopter Tour of Oahu: What to Expect from This Scenic Flight

This video takes you on a scenic helicopter tour around Oahu, Hawaii, flown by Doug, an experienced chief pilot with over 5,000 hours of flight time. Before taking to the skies, Blippi explores the MD 500 helicopter used for the tour, learning how its main rotor creates lift, the tail rotor enables turning, and the landing skids allow vertical takeoff and landing—capabilities that give helicopters a huge advantage over fixed-wing aircraft. The video combines technical education with real aerial sightseeing, making it useful for anyone considering booking an air tour in Hawaii or simply curious about how helicopters work.

The tour departs from Oahu and sweeps across the island's most iconic landscapes: lush green mountains, deep valleys, long stretches of sandy beaches, coral formations visible from above, and notably a spectacular waterfall that tumbles from the mountain peaks. If you're planning a trip to Hawaii and want to see the island's geography from a perspective you can't get from the ground, or if you're nervous about helicopter tours and want to see what one actually involves, this video gives you an honest look at both the aircraft and the route.

Key Moments

Top Sights and Moments During the Oahu Helicopter Ride

  • The helicopter's exterior features—orange and yellow fuselage, landing skids, engine details, and the tail rotor that enables directional control
  • The pilot's cockpit, showing the collective (controls vertical lift), cyclic (steers the helicopter), and instrument gauges for engine, altitude, and airspeed monitoring
  • Towering steep mountains covered entirely in green vegetation, visible from the air as dramatic peaks rising straight up and down
  • A spectacular waterfall cascading from the mountain summit to the valley below, one of the most striking natural features on the tour
  • Coral formations visible just beneath the ocean surface, described as living organisms that appear stunning when viewed from the air
  • The University of Hawaii's island, used for marine life and plant research, passed during the flight
Featured image for the guide to Blippi Explores Hawaii In A Helicopter! | Educational Videos for Kids by Blippi - Educational Videos for Kids

Practical Details for Planning Your Oahu Helicopter Tour

  • Tour aircraft is an MD 500 helicopter with seating for the pilot plus four passengers, and notably has no doors, providing unobstructed aerial views
  • The flight departs from and returns to a landing pad on Oahu; the complete experience shown takes roughly 11 minutes of airtime plus ground briefing
  • Passengers must wear a seatbelt (similar to a car) and an orange or colored headset so pilot and passengers can communicate during flight
  • The tour operator mentioned is Magnum Helicopters, based on Oahu and offering regular air tour flights
  • The helicopter can take off and land vertically without needing a runway, making it ideal for reaching scenic remote areas
  • Tours operate on Oahu in daylight conditions; the video shows clear skies and good visibility typical for a daytime scenic flight

Common Questions About Helicopter Tours in Hawaii

What makes a helicopter different from an airplane for scenic tours?

Helicopters can slow down and descend vertically before landing, so they can land and take off from many more locations than airplanes, which need a runway and forward momentum. This means helicopter tours can reach remote valleys, waterfalls, and coastal areas that fixed-wing aircraft cannot access.

Is a helicopter tour safe for families and first-time flyers?

The video features an experienced pilot with over 5,000 flight hours and demonstrates standard safety procedures including seat belts and headset communication. Magnum Helicopters, the operator shown, conducts regular tours, suggesting a professional, well-established operation. Always check a tour company's safety record and certifications before booking.

Why do helicopter tour aircraft have no doors?

Removing the doors on air tour helicopters gives passengers completely unobstructed views and better camera angles for photography and video. It's a design choice made specifically for sightseeing flights to maximize the visual experience.

What will I see on an Oahu helicopter tour?

Depending on the flight path, you can expect to see steep green mountains, deep valleys, long beaches, ocean views, coral formations near the shore, waterfalls, and other natural landmarks. Weather and time of day affect visibility; clear daytime conditions like those shown in the video offer the best views.

How long does a typical helicopter tour last?

The video shows a flight that takes roughly 10–15 minutes of airtime over Oahu, though actual tour durations vary by operator and package. Plan to spend 30–45 minutes total including check-in, safety briefing, boarding, the flight, and landing.

A still from the video Blippi Explores Hawaii In A Helicopter! | Educational Videos for Kids by Blippi - Educational Videos for Kids
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Key Terms

Main rotor
The large spinning blade assembly on top of a helicopter that generates lift by blowing air downward, allowing the aircraft to fly.
Tail rotor
A smaller spinning rotor at the rear of the helicopter that prevents spinning and allows the pilot to turn the aircraft left or right.
Collective
The control lever in a helicopter cockpit that increases or decreases the pitch of the main rotor blades to make the helicopter rise or descend vertically.
Cyclic
The joystick-like control in a helicopter cockpit that tilts the rotor to steer the aircraft forward, backward, or sideways.
Landing skids
The two long, curved supports beneath a helicopter that act as legs for landing and takeoff, instead of wheels like an airplane.

Sources: Main rotor · Tail rotor · Collective · Cyclic · Landing skids — definitions cross-referenced with Wikipedia

Justin’s Take

This video is genuinely helpful if you're considering an aerial tour of Oahu or curious about how helicopters work. It balances technical education—showing you the rotor systems, controls, and engine—with real, unscripted sightseeing, so you get both a learning experience and a true sense of what the tour views and flight feels like. The pilot is knowledgeable and patient, and the scenery is stunning without being oversold.

What I appreciated most was how the video doesn't skip the safety details or make the helicopter seem like a mystery. Seeing the landing skids, the collective and cyclic controls, and the instrument panels demystifies the aircraft, which makes nervous flyers feel more confident. The aerial footage of the waterfall, coral, and mountains gives you a genuine preview of what you'll see, and the no-door design is shown honestly. If you're serious about booking a helicopter tour in Hawaii, watch this first to know what to expect.

Great video · 2 out of 2

Justin
Justin

Years on the front lines of helicopter tour coordination — not as a travel blogger, but as the person responsible for making every guest experience go right. Managed 2,000+ cruise guests weekly as Shore Excursions staff aboard the Pride of America in Hawaii Personally coordinated with helicopter tour operators to confirm age, weight, and safety requirements.

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Description

Blippi explores the parts of a helicopter, briefly talks about the history and uses of helicopters, and learns all about how they work. He then points out sights like waterfalls, Diamond Head, Waikiki Beach as he takes a scenic helicopter tour.
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Video transcript for “Blippi Explores Hawaii In A Helicopter! | Educational Videos for Kids” Accessibility

A full written transcript of this video, provided for accessibility. Select any timestamp to jump the video to that moment.

[Music] aloha it's me blippi and look at where i'm at today i'm on oahu which is an island of hawaii wow isn't it beautiful here yeah the trees are so green there's so much green grass and the shrubs and trees look so happy hey wouldn't it be really cool to see

what this beautiful place looks like really high in the sky yeah why don't today we ride a helicopter and see what it looks like and actually magnum helicopters here on oahu is coming here to give me a ride yeah i'm so excited do you hear it oh yeah oh there it is right there whoa

whoa it's so high whoa hey up there oh wow i am so excited i bet everything is gonna look really small from up there oh it's landing oh all right whoa i'm so excited all right now that the rotors are stopped why don't we go say hi

whoa whoa that was really cool hey who are you hi my name is doug i'm the chief pilot at magnum helicopters oh nice to meet you i'm blippi wow this is a very cool helicopter whoa how long have you been flying helicopters for i've been flying for 20 years wow 20 years that's a very long time do you know how many

hours you have flying helicopters i have over 5 000 hours whoa now that is a lot of hours whoa do you mind if i take a closer look at your helicopter not at all oh come on whoa what a colorful helicopter it's a color orange ooh and yellow oh and brown whoa hey doug what's this thing for that's just a step so the

passengers can climb up into the helicopter oh cool oh yeah and it looks like there's some seats back here oh and some seats up here whoa how many people can fly in this helicopter oh the pilot can bring four people with him if he wants wow cool and what kind of helicopter is this this is an md500 wow

md 500 whoa and up there i know what those are those are the rotors right that's right wow and what does this rotor do so the rotor it spins around like a big fan and it blows the air down creates lift and lifts the helicopter up off the ground oh cool so this main rotor creates lift so then the helicopter can

fly and there's another rotor back here that i know can we check it out yes sir wow yeah and this rotor is called the tail rotor whoa whoa and what does this do doug this can spin the helicopter left and right so it can face any direction that we want it to all right so the main rotor creates the lift and then this

rotor yeah makes the helicopter turn really cool oh and i know what that is that's the boom right wow and is this the number and letters of this exact helicopter yes sir they call it the tail number tail number and i have a fun thing for us to do do you mind saying this with me at the same

time all right all right let's do it n 3 5 7 m h wow awesome whoa what's this doug oh this is the engine back here you want to see yeah i'd love to all right this is going to be so cool seeing the engine of a helicopter whoa come check it out whoa i'm going to be very careful

because it might still be hot oh it looks very complicated whoa and back here look how dirty it looks this must be the exhaust whoa thank you so much for letting us check out the engine of that helicopter can we check out the front yes sir all right i'm on this way wait a second i know what these are

these are landing skids right wow why are they so unique looking compared to an airplane they have wheels and tires right right an airplane has wheels because it has to land moving forward on a runway and has to slow down but a helicopter can slow down before it lands on the ground and actually go straight down wow

cool so helicopters can go many many places because they can land and take off completely vertical like that oh cool whoa and this is where you sit yes it is on this side that's the pilot seat right there oh cool oh and what's this called this is called the collective oh collective i

remember that that's what controls the vertical lift right right makes the helicopter go up and down oh cool and this is the cyclic yes and what do you use that for that can steer the helicopter whoa cool and look at all those gauges what are all those gauges for oh we have gauges to keep an eye on

the engine also how high we fly and how fast we're flying wow they look very complicated you must be very smart wow and there's different types of helicopters right like firefighting helicopters like rescue helicopters or police helicopters and what do you say this is this is an air tour helicopter oh an air tour well

perfect i was actually thinking i could go for a ride around here oh and this would be a great helicopter for it because do you see the doors no you don't because there's no doors do you mind if we go for a spin that'd be great all right where should i sit i'll come around here hop in the front

seat with me all right cool [Music] whoa so just climb on in sure climb out up all right cool whoa it's so high up here wow so cozy how do i get get started well let's put your seat belt on make sure it's nice and tight okay just like in a car gotta buckle up

all right all right now what now take that orange headset right there put that out so we can talk to each other oh cool yeah orange is one of my two favorite colors all right hello hello so are you going to wear one too yes i will all right let's do this i'm so excited whoa whoa oh

here we go wow it feels so cool to be flying whoa look at those trees to the left wow they're so green whoa check this out that is a big mountain do you see how steep it is wow it goes straight up and down whoa let's head to the ocean

whoa check it out that looks like a small town next to the ocean wow wouldn't it be nice to live there whoa and look over there there's that big mountain we saw from the ground wow it is so cool how there's trees at the very tippy top of it wow now that is some blue water

wow doug you are such a great pilot you brought me all the way out to the ocean wow isn't the ocean so vast i bet there's a lot of sea creatures that live out here wow look at the top of the mountain do you see that town down there wow i bet they have some pretty views not like views like these though it's

like we're a bird this is so beautiful that is a deep valley whoa and the beaches stretch for so long whoa you can't even see rocks on these mountains they're totally covered by trees and bushes and grass i bet there's some animals that live in here

whoa check out that waterfall it is so tall wow it looks like the water starts from the top and falls all the way down to the bottom wow cool this is so beautiful it's like i'm a bird just flying anywhere and everywhere i want to go well wherever doug you want to take me

whoa the sun is coming out this is so beautiful wow i bet we could get a suntown today hey doug thank you so much for flying so safe this is so much fun whoa look at this i can see beach i can see farmland i can see mountains wow oahu is such a special place and so

beautiful whoa do you see that yeah it looks like something's in the water oh i know what that is that's coral yeah they're actually living organisms and they look so cool from the air well look at all these instruments and gauges they are very hard to read but they tell the pilot very important

information wow look at doug use that cyclic so then we can fly real safe whoa what are these things they're circles but wait a second what is this oh i know what this is this is a sand bar yeah that's just sand underneath the water but just just a little bit underneath the water

whoa check this out this is the university of hawaii's island this is where they study a lot of cool things like marine life creatures and plants it's really cool oh there's the patch of ground that we took off from oh i bet doug is gonna land right here

whoa this was so much fun wow and now we're back safe on the ground wow that was so much fun thanks for the ride doug you're welcome blippi all right see you later bye-bye [Music] oh let's get out of here he has another tour to go on

that was so much fun wasn't it i know wow we gotta see a lot of cool things we gotta see that waterfall whoa that water looks so fresh oh and all that coral yeah at the beach well i sure do love hawaii wow what a beautiful place see it spinning up wow

and weren't those mountains really tall they're way taller when you're up in the high sky huh [Music] they're spinning so fast i hope the next tour they have a great time i sure do love hawaii and i loved learning how helicopters work with you

well if you want to watch more of my videos all you have to do is search for my name will you spell my name with me ready b-l-i-e-p-i flippy good job all right aloha

[Music] so much to learn about it'll make you wanna shout blippi

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