Kingman Academy Middle School in Kingman, AZ, figured out a way to do it. They got Guardian Air (an emergency air ambulance company) to take them up for free.

I’ve posted an article about it below: 

KAOL students take flight for yearbook photo

KINGMAN – Some of the Kingman Academy Middle School yearbook staff got a new perspective on their peers – thanks to Guardian Air.

On March 25, Guardian Air pilot Mike Mickelson took students Sarah Christiansen, Sana Khan and Bryce Todriff with respiratory therapist Pat Alred and flight nurse Jill Swape on a flight above the school. With four cameras, a few with batteries that died mid-flight, the trio took more than 50 pictures to make sure they got a shot for the yearbook in their limited trip.

“Everything turned out great and we got a good picture,” Todriff said.

The aerial shot of the students and faculty in formation for the yearbook is an annual tradition, Khan said. This year the students voted to form a coyote paw print, representing the school’s coyote mascot.

In past years, the Arizona Department of Public Safety has accommodated the yearbook editors with a helicopter trip to take photographs. Due to budget constraints, DPS notified Kingman Academy Middle School they wouldn’t be able to assist this year, Khan said.

“We were all really sad because we wanted to go up for three years,” Christiansen said.

That’s when Todriff said he had an epiphany. They could turn to Guardian Air and request the ride.

The students were briefed on safety before the stepped on the helicopter. While the flight was less than 10 minutes, the trio exuded enthusiasm about their experience.

“It was phenomenal,” Khan said.

The flight crew was friendly and joked with them, Khan said. It helped ease the tension for Khan, who found the experience way different than flying in an airplane.

It was the first time Khan and Christiansen flew in a helicopter.

“I was really scared,” Christiansen said.

Both Christiansen and Khan said they got a great view of their classmates, and a look from above of their respective houses.

As eighth-graders, it will be the last time Christiansen and Khan will get the opportunity to fly in a helicopter to take a yearbook photograph for the middle school.

For Todriff, it was his second time flying in a helicopter. He had previously flown with the Arizona Department of Public Safety on a ride-along.

“It was fun,” Todriff said.

Todriff will get a shot at a third ride next year, when the seventh-grader said he plans on working as a yearbook editor.