Actions for Acquiring Aerial Banner ads into the Air

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Article by Donnell Johnson
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 ads, and have proven to be an effective way to get a message out to a large group quickly.
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.
To get the banner flying behind the plane requires a skillful pilot, good materials, and a plan. First, the pilot takes off without the banner but with a long hook called a “grapnel hook” attached to the tail of the plane with the hook end secured 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 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 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.
Some larger planes have developed a method of taking off with the banner behind, being careful not to damage it before it is airborne. But the small prop planes are still using the above method to get the banner into the air safely.