|
Welcome to Articles4today.com
Blog!
Articles » Business » Marketing >> View Article
|
 |
|
 |
| Methods of Getting Aerial Banner Ads into the Air |
By:
Donnell Johnson |
|
Most of us have been at a large gathering somewhere, a sports event or a beach, and have seen an airplane fly by pulling an announcement or an advertisement of some type. This is called aerial advertising and this method of getting a message out has proven to be very effective.
So how do they get such a huge banner into the sky? If the banner were attached to the plane before it took off, this would cause two problems. First, the banner would drag across the runway and get damaged. Second, The drag of the huge banner would make it more difficult to get off the ground and this means the banner would drag even longer.
It takes a plan, good quality materials, and a skillful pilot to make this happen. First, the airplane takes off without the aerial banner, but with a device called a "grapnel hook." This is attached to the tail of the plane but the hook end is hanging in the pilot's window.
When the airplane is safely off the ground, the pilot unhooks the device from the window, letting it trail behind the plane. On the ground the banner or billboard is folded up with a lead pole in front. A harness is attached to the lead pole. Then a pick up rope is attached to a loop of rope that is attached between two poles about five or six feet off the ground.
Now the plane circles around and, with the hook dragging below the plane and flying at 80 miles an hour, the pilot heads straight for the two poles. As he reaches them, he throttles the engine and pulls back on the stick, causing the plane to soar upward at a steep angle. The hook snags the loop of rope, thus pulling the banner up, off the ground and into the sky. What if he misses? Then he circles around and tries it again.
How do they keep the banner straight and not acting like a spiraling kite? The bottom of the banner is weighted so that it is always down. The end of it also has tiny parachutes that keep it stretched out. Banners could be up to fifty letters long and when you consider the letters are seven feet tall, that is a long banner to pull! It takes skill and practice to do it just right.
When he has completed his promised passes over the designated area, the pilot flies the banner back to the drop off place, comes in low, and, at the right place, remotely unhooks the banner so that it can float to the ground unharmed, ready for use again if this is appropriate.
Larger planes are able to actually pull the banner with them on takeoff without damaging it, but most single engine prop planes use the plan outlined above to get the banner into the air.
All this may seem like a lot of trouble, but the result is worth the effort. Thousands will see the banner, both at the event and on the way to and from it. The message will get out and people will be influenced by the message. But not all aerial advertising is provided equally. Some simply take an order and contract it out. Since 1996, AirSign has been leading the industry by taking personal care of their customers using the best pilots, sharpest looking planes, and providing accountability for their work through free GPS tracking. Give them a call and find out what they can do for you! |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
