Skywriting facts for kids
Skywriting is a cool way to write messages in the sky using airplanes! One or more small aircraft fly in special patterns, releasing white smoke to create words or pictures that people on the ground can read. These sky messages can be for many things, like advertisements, happy greetings, personal notes such as birthday wishes, or even messages of protest. It's like a giant, temporary billboard in the air!
Contents
How Skywriting Works
Have you ever wondered how planes make that white smoke? The plane has a special container filled with a thick oil. This oil is squirted into the plane's very hot exhaust manifold. The heat instantly turns the oil into a huge cloud of dense, white smoke.
It takes a lot of skill to be a skywriter. Pilots must fly very precisely to form clear letters. Also, the wind and air currents can quickly spread out the smoke. This means the sky message usually blurs and disappears within a few minutes. Because of these challenges, a newer method called "skytyping" was invented.
The History of Skywriting
The exact start of skywriting is a bit fuzzy, but it's been around for a long time! In 1915, a pilot named Art Smith was known for ending his amazing air shows by writing "Good night" in the sky. Thousands of people watched him do this regularly.
Later, Major Jack Savage, a former British Royal Air Force pilot, became very famous for skywriting. He had a fleet of Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 planes and performed throughout the 1920s and 1930s. He even brought skywriting to America!
The first time skywriting was used for an advertisement was in May 1922 in the United Kingdom. A pilot named Captain Cyril Turner wrote "Daily Mail" above a horse race. Just a few months later, in November 1922, skywriting came to the United States. Captain Turner and Major Savage spelled out "Hello USA" over Times Square in New York City. They then wrote a phone number, which received thousands of calls!
.jpg)
In 1932, Sid Pike started the Skywriting Corporation of America. One of their biggest customers was Pepsi-Cola. Pepsi used skywriting a lot to advertise their drinks, with thousands of flights in the 1940s.
Even artists have used skywriting! For example, Wayne Mansfield created sky messages for famous people like John Lennon. Artist Vik Muniz also used skywriting for his "Pictures of Clouds" project.
Skytyping: A Modern Twist
After World War II, in 1946, the Skywriting Corporation found a new way to write in the sky. They called it "skytyping." This method uses five planes flying side-by-side. A computer controls when each plane releases a puff of smoke. This creates letters much like how a dot-matrix printer makes words with tiny dots.
Skytyping messages are huge! They are written at about 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) high. They can be up to 380 meters (1,250 feet) tall and stretch over 8 kilometers (5 miles) long. Traditional skywriting takes 1 to 2 minutes per letter, so messages have to be short. But with skytyping, letters are formed in just 2 to 5 seconds, allowing for much longer messages before the smoke fades away.
Banner Towing: Messages on a Flag
Another way to send messages in the sky is called banner towing. This is when an airplane pulls a large sign or banner behind it. You often see this at beaches or other crowded outdoor places. It's a popular way for businesses to advertise or for people to share special messages, like asking someone to marry them!
See Also
- Aerial advertising
