How Are Aerial Banner Ads Launched?

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 airplane advertising and this method of getting a message out has proven to be very effective.

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.

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.

Next the plane flies over the open area where the loop of the airplane sign is visible. As he passes low over the area, the hook dragging below the plane is designed to catch the loop, pulling the lead rope and then the banner into the air. The moment he reaches the pick up area, he pulls back on the stick and throttles the engine, making the plane soar upward at a steep angle. The hook snags the loop of rope, and pulls the banner up into the sky. If for some reason his hook misses, then he circles around and tries again.

But how do they keep the banner upright and not, say, spiraling? The end of heavy billboards or banners might have tiny parachutes attached that keep it out. The bottom is also weighted so that it stays down. On some the letters are seven feet tall and it might be up to 50 letters in the message. So with pulling a message that long takes great skill and a reliable plane.

When he has finished displaying the banner, the pilot flies back to the landing field, comes in low and releases the banner. It falls to the ground and is ready for another display if the message warrants it.

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|aerial advertising is provided equally|aerial advertising services are the same]. 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!