How Does Skywriting Work?
SURRENDER DOROTHY OR DIE. This was the message written in the sky by the wicked witch in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. Ever since then airplane skywriting has fascinated young and old alike. (Actually the witch’s message was done with special effects in a 6 foot by 6 foot glass tank.) But skywriting goes back to 1922 where it was first done in England. That same year advertisers cashed in on the idea and skywriting became famous by Pepsi-Cola who used it from 1931 to 1953.
Skywriting smoke is made by shooting paraffin oil into the exhaust of the plane. As it heats in the exhaust, it produces an environmentally friendly smoke that forms the letters. Of course, the pilot doesn’t want the smoke to appear continually. He must decide just when to turn it on or off so that part of a letter is formed.
How tall are the letters? A mile tall. How long is the message? Up to fifteen miles long. How long do the letters stay visible before drifting away? They last up to twenty minutes. What determines if the skywriting will be a success? First, the skill of the pilot. He must be really good at maneuvering the plane and knowing exactly where he is in terms of the message. Second, the size of the plane engine. It must be large enough to make the letters quickly, but it also must be hot enough to vaporize sufficient paraffin oil to make the smoke. That means the paraffin must reach 1500 degrees and to do this, some recommend 450 horsepower engines that are six times hotter than small planes.
Besides these factors, there is the weather. The wind cannot exceed three to five miles per hour. The sky must be nearly clear for the white letters to be visible against the blue sky. Since wind speed may vary at different heights, the planes will fly anywhere from 7000 and 17000 feet. At these heights, the message is visible for thirty miles on either side. Cooler air temperature makes more smoke, but the air temperature cannot exceed 95 degrees. The best months for these conditions are September and October.
How large is the message? It is usually four to six letters and it takes one to two minutes to form each letter. A shorter message is more likely to be visible at once. Why not make it longer? When a message is longer than this, it will take too long to form so that it is seen all at once. One remedy is to hire multiple pilots. The two or three pilots coordinate their maneuvers so that, as they work together, they will produce the message visible for the minutes before it drifts away.
Remember too that the pilot is writing from the top, horizontally, that is, parallel to the earth. Therefore he must write the letters backwards so that they appear correctly to the readers below. They must also be relatively the same size and in a straight line so that the message is readable. All this takes great skill.
Who would benefit from using skywriting? After all, it is so unique that people would have a hard time NOT reading the letters as them form in the sky. Some who have benefited from skywriting are advertisements for websites, political candidates, motion pictures, soft drinks, and others. It is also used for novel announcements. Fifty marriage proposals are written in the sky each year by one company.
What is the average cost of a skywriting message? Companies vary and so does availability. To fly in a skilled pilot would add significant cost to the endeavor. But for local skywriting, prices usually start around $1000 and discounts are offered for multiple messages. Call a company that specializes in aerial advertising and you can get started today.
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