Santa Arrives at Frontiers of Flight via Helicopter

Dallas—The Frontiers of Flight Museum hosted its annual Santa Day on Sunday, Dec. 12.

The event was kicked off by the arrival of Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus from the North Pole via an Airbus helicopter. The museum opened up one of its wall doors, so people could watch the helicopter land from inside the museum.

Once they settled inside the museum, Santa allowed children to sit on his lap and take photos with him.

The event included holiday music, snacks, and activities for children. Youngsters could also have their photos taken with characters from ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Ghostbusters.’

Natalia Ivchenko manages digital and internal communications at Airbus. She and some of her colleagues attended the event to ensure the helicopter arrived safely.

“[Airbus] has been partners with the museum for a very long time,” Ivchenko said. “This is not our first time providing the helicopter of this event, and we have had a really great working relationship and partnership with the museum for many, many years.

“The helicopter we provided is an Airbus H1 25 model. It seems like both Santa and Mrs. Claus enjoyed their ride.”

Luis Gonzalez, development director for Frontiers of Flight, was happy with the event.

“We have educational activities,” Gonzalez said. “One of the things we’re really big on is having STEM activities that connect the experience of aviation, the educational, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics techniques that are necessary to make these things happen. The kids think they’re having fun, but they’re also learning, which is essential to engage kids in STEM to create some desire to explore education in these careers. There is right now a shortage of pilots, so we need our young people to think about becoming pilots and space explorers.”

Nathan Klemm and his family enjoyed their time at the event.

“This is our third year coming,” Klemm said. “We love it every year. My favorite part is actually Santa coming in on a helicopter.”

“It’s such a unique thing,” Caroline Jackson said. “You don’t get to see that anywhere else.”

“It’s a very good experience for the kids,” Starlyn Cryun said. “Seeing the helicopter come and the kids seeing Santa come in is a good experience.”