They could hear it long before they could see it.
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Last Monday, students of Shellharbour Public School had no trouble identifying the Royal Australian Navy MHR90 helicopter as it did laps around the playground, hundreds of metres in the air.
The chopper was the focus of attention for the school’s 450 students for the next four hours.
Once the nine tonne state of the art machine was settled on the ground, classes took turns to speak with the flight and maintenance crews and took part in a guided tour.
Principal Dr John MacDonald said from sitting in the cockpit, through to being strapped into passenger seats, the students left with a greater awareness of how helicopters work and the role they perform.
“We aim to provide not only a highly effective education, but a memorable one as well," he said.
“As well as being another special memory that our students can take into adulthood, it has also been the stimulus for some great learning activities ranging from Science to Art.
“The helicopter is very impressive, but so is the crew of navy personnel who have accompanied it today, they have been exceptional in fielding a wide range of questions from our Kinder to Year six students.
"Our students have been strapped into the seats, shown the cockpit and had the smallest detail of the helicopter explained to them by an enthusiastic and very approachable group of navy personnel.” said Mr MacDonald.
Leading Seaman Aircrewman Brad Sharman who has spent 11 years in the navy said the navy personnel enjoyed their time at the school.
“We got the chance to not only respond to a natural curiosity students have about flight and helicopters in particular, but also show another side to the military and the variety of roles that military personnel can perform," he said.
After a short time the MRH90 had to head back to the Albatross base in Nowra.
Mr MacDonald said with two 360 degree spins above the playground and a crew member waving goodbye, it was a wonderful conclusion to an experience which would not be forgotten by the students of Shellharbour Public School.