It's not a bird or Superman, it's a FULL SIZE BIPLANE, made entirely of balloons!
We like to take on big project sometimes, and usually they are in the realm of balloon decor and decorations. We have decorated for all sorts of parties from weddings to corporate events to birthday parties from Naples to Fort Myers to Indiana. It takes a good amount of time with people wanting columns, arches, table centerpieces, and always geared for their theme. However, we have never done a project as big as we did this past week in Fort Myers, Florida.
A company asked us to build a full size biplane built to the exact specifications of a World War 1 Sopwith Camel. The Sopwith Camel F1 was the most successful Allied aircraft of World War 1 credited with the destruction of over 1,500 enemy aircraft. Most notably was Canadian Roy Brown's Sopwith Camel, who on April 21, 1918, was ultimately credited with the downing of the legendary Manfred von Richthofen or the "Red Baron" himself.
We loved the idea of such a huge project so we jumped right in. It took over 1500 balloons and 80 man hours, but it was ready in time and raised to the ceiling. When finished, the creation was massive with a wingspan of over27 feet and a fuselage of 18 feet and is to be suspended from the air for an entire week.
All of the attendees were extremely pleased and there were articles written about it in the local news-press as well as being picked up in national publications such as the USA Today and the FAA's International Newspaper. (I guess those FAA guys can't get enough of planes.)
We have already been approached for similar projects in Naples and Marco Island. After a couple days of rest, we are ready for the next big project!
