Aerial Advertising Info

Have you ever been at a large gathering somewhere, like a sporting event or a beach, and seen an airplane fly by pulling an announcement or an advertisement of some type? These ads or messages are called aerial advertising , and have proven to be an effective way to get a message out to a large group quickly.

Getting this banner into the air is no easy trick. If it were attached to the plane before take off, then it could be damaged dragging it along the runway. This would also cause drag, making take off more difficult.

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.

Once the airplane is airborne, the pilot releases the hook from his window and lets it fall. The hook falls below the plane and is ready for the next part. Meanwhile, on the ground the banner is folded up, but it has a lead pole attached to the front. A harness is attached to that and a pick up rope to that. Finally a loop of rope connected to the lead rope is draped between two poles about five or six feet off the ground.

Now the plane with the hook below flies low over the area where the banner’s loop of rope is stretched between the poles. He is hoping to snag the loop with his hook, pulling the banner into the sky. At the moment he reaches the pick up area, he throttles the engine and pulls back on the stick, and the plane soars upward at a steep angle. The hook drags over the loop snagging it. This pulls the banner off the ground and into the sky without dragging it on the ground. And what if his hook misses? He will circle around and try 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 the pilot has completed his mission over the designated area, he will fly the banner back to the drop off place, fly low again, and, release the hook so the banner falls to the ground unharmed. This way it is reusable if that 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 companies are alike. 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!