When most people consider banners, they envision media installed on poles, hanging from buildings or framed on an interior wall, among other scenarios. However, banners towed by aircraft hundreds or a few thousand feet overhead can also be quite effective because they’re often presented in high-traffic areas (and, our innate interest in flight naturally leads us to crane our necks skyward when aircraft zoom overhead).
Ocala, FL-based Flyrite Inc. has specialized in fabricating banners for this market. Fred Nonnemacher, the company’s president, began working for the company, which his parents founded, 20 years ago. The company inkjet-prints (and, occasionally, handpaints) large-format banners to go airborne. The company uses two HP Colorspan 72-in., solvent-ink printers to fabricate its designs.
To withstand the extreme wind shear, Flyrite uses UV-retardant, rib-topped nylon with a thickness that ranges from ½ to 1½ in., depending on the duration and frequency of the application. The company uses bridle rigging, a stout system commonly used by fishermen to troll for large fish, squid and other creatures of the deep, and weighted tethers that snugly clip the prints to flexible, fiberglass poles.
To date, Flyrite’s largest project, an 85 x 160-ft. banner, flew over California beaches to promote the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week programming. The company also grabbed attention when the company fashioned a “condom” – a nylon banner attached to an oversized, inside-out balloon – for a Trojan campaign.
“We’ve made banners that have endured 600 or more hours in the air,” Nonnemacher said. “NASCAR races, football games, beaches – there are plenty of places and events where a flying banner can deliver a highly visible message to a captive audience.”