How Do They Get Aerial Banner Ads Launched?

Remember something like this? You are lying on a beach or attending a music or sports event and suddenly you hear the drone of an airplane. You look up and see a banner floating toward you. It displays a message that you might still be able to remember. This method is called airplane advertising and is 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.

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.

When the plane is safely off the ground, the pilot releases the hook and lets it fall so that now it is hanging below the plane, still attached to the tail. On the ground, the banner is laid out in an open area, attached to a lead pole in front. The lead pole is attached to a long rope called the pick up rope, and this, in turn, is attached to a loop of rope that is stretched between two poles about five feet off the ground.

Now the plane with the hook below flies low over the area where the loop of rope from the air banner 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.

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 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.

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!