Helicopters can fly in any direction — forward, backward, sideways, and straight up and down — because their spinning rotor blades generate both lift and thrust. Unlike fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters do not need a runway: they can take off and land on small rooftop pads or open fields. Helicopters are used for rescue, medical transport, police work, and fire fighting.
Coloring ideas: give the helicopter body a bright cheerful color — yellow for a rescue helicopter, red for a firefighting one, or sky blue for a tourist flight. The rotor blades look great in silver or white. Add a light blue tint to the cockpit windows and make the landscape below a rich grassy green.
Kids can count the rotor blades. Younger children can color in the big rounded body shape. Older kids can add buildings and a landing pad on a rooftop below the helicopter to show where it is heading.
