SURRENDER DOROTHY OR DIE. This was the message written in the sky by the wicked witch in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz.  Ever since then airplane skywriting has fascinated young and old alike. (Actually the witch’s message was done with special effects in a 6 foot by 6 foot glass tank.) But skywriting goes back to 1922 where it was first done in England. That same year advertisers cashed in on the idea and skywriting became famous by Pepsi-Cola who used it from 1931 to 1953.

Skywriting smoke is made by shooting paraffin oil into the exhaust of the plane. As it heats in the exhaust, it produces an environmentally friendly smoke that forms the letters. Of course, the pilot doesn’t want the smoke to appear continually. He must decide just when to turn it on or off so that part of a letter is formed.

The letters are generally a mile tall and the full message sometimes fifteen miles long. The letters can only be seen for perhaps twenty minutes before they drift to deformity so the message must be written quickly. Many factors determine the success of the mission. First the pilot must be skilled. He at times must fly upside down to get his letters formed. Second, the plane must be powerful enough. Not only does the plane need to be very maneuverable, but it must also be hot enough to vaporize sufficient paraffin oil to make the smoke. To do this 1500 degrees must be reached. Some recommend 450 horsepower engines that are six times hotter than small plane engines.

Of course for flying weather is a major factor. The sky must be nearly clear to see the white letters against the blue sky. The wind cannot exceed three to five miles per hour. The letters are therefore formed somewhere between 7000 and 17000 feet, wherever it is cool enough and windless enough. The cooler air temperature is better for making smoke, but it cannot exceed 95 degrees. When all is just right, message can normally be seen for thirty miles on either side. These perfect conditions are most predictable in September or October.

How large is the message? It is usually four to six letters and it takes one to two minutes to form each letter. A shorter message is more likely to be visible at once. Why not make it longer? When a message is longer than this, it will take too long to form so that it is seen all at once. One remedy is to hire multiple pilots. The two or three pilots coordinate their maneuvers so that, as they work together, they will produce the message visible for the minutes before it drifts away.

Think about this: the pilot is writing from the top, parallel to the earth though the message may seem to be vertical. Therefore the pilot must write the letters backwards from above so that they appear correctly to the readers below. The letters must also be uniform and in a straight line so that the message is attractive. This requires great piloting skills.

This method of advertising is so novel that it almost demands to be read all the time the letters are forming. So what kind of people would benefit from hiring skywriting to get their message across? Skywriting has been used to advertise soft drinks, motion pictures, websites, political candidates, products, and so forth. One company says they skywrite fifty marriage proposals each year.

What is the average cost of a skywriting message? Companies vary and so does availability. To fly in a skilled pilot would add significant cost to the endeavor. But for local skywriting, prices usually start around $1000 and discounts are offered for multiple messages. Call a company that specializes in aerial advertising and you can get started today.

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