Animated Series Aims To Inspire Young Children
The combination of a passion for aviation, and a love of
educating and entertaining children has resulted in the production
of a new animated series designed for school children ages 3
through 8. It is called Andy's Airplanes.
A preview of the new series aired at the Skyscape Theatre at the
Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Museum at AirVenture in
Oshkosh, WI on July 23... and Aero News was there to meet Andy and
his friends and family.
The preview of the first series -- "Let's Fly" -- features Andy
and his best friend Yaygrr (a loyal and occasionally
discombobulated ferret) fly an F/A-18 Hornet, and tour the Navy's
newest Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan. After
landing on the Nimitz, Andy flies a combat mission in one of the
Navy's flight simulators and battles it out with a tough
competitor, "Angel"... an eight-year old girl who wins the
dog-fight.
After revealing her identity, Andy refers to her as "amazing"
and they quickly become good friends.
The series is the brainchild of Jon Pierre Francia, CEO of
Andy's Airplanes. In an interview with ANN, Jon Pierre
points out the Naval Flight Instructor in the simulator room
explains to Andy and Angel how they could become Blue Angels.
"Exposing children to careers in aviation is an important
component of the series", says Jon Pierre. "I want this to be a
show that parents love, with lots of positive role models."
Each series will feature a different airplane and will visit a
different part of the world, so children can learn about different
types of airplanes, careers in aviation, and can develop an
appreciation for other cultures.
This is Jon Pierre's second venture into the world of children's
programming. Francia was the producer of a series called
Signingtime, promoting the benefits of using sign language for very
young children. The program is now a PBS series. Jon Pierre
identified a few lessons learned from the Signingtime which he is
applying to Andy's Airplanes.
"Kids want to hear kids and parents are starving for good
content. "Music is also an important part of Andy's Airplanes",
says Jon Pierre, who then demonstrated his love for music by
entertaining the audience with a few measures of a catchy song that
described the functions of ailerons and rudders.
Jon Pierre expects the first episode of Andy's
Airplanes to be ready to ship as a DVD in approximately four
weeks. The second DVD is expected to be ready in November. After
that, Andy's Airplanes should be producing a new episode every
month.
DVD is just one of a number of formats that are part of the
series. Andy's Airplanes is working with curriculum
specialists to develop books and online, interactive learning tools
and is stocking aviation and travel related maps and other items
for purchase.
Long term, Jon Pierre expects the series to be translated into
other languages, first being Spanish.
After previewing the first episode, a representative from the
Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) presented Andy with an
official student membership. Through links to EAA, the fans of
Andy's Airplanes will also learn about EAA's Young Eagles
program.
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