The How-to Video of America's Largest Balloon Biplane!
I have been doing balloon art and balloon twisting, as well as magic here in Naples and across Fort Myers and Bonita for over a decade. However, this creation was one of the largest we have ever done, and it's also getting the most press with over 20 newspapers picking up the story as well as USA today. The biplane itself was built to scale with the Sopwith Camel F-1 and used over 1500 balloons. This was not only one of the biggest creations in Naples and Southwest Florida, but one of the largest balloon planes in the world!
We have been asked to give a video showing how this large sculpture came together and I thought that would be a great idea. The video shows still shots from beginning to end and also has some video clips in there so you can see just the extreme size of the creation. You also get to see one of the scary moments of puting everything together! We almost had a huge setback!
In the video, you see myself, my wife Alexandra as the main balloon artists. We also have our other balloon artist, Linda Brummett, who works with us doing face painting and balloons here in Naples and Fort Myers as well as on Royal Carribean Cruise Lines. Because the sculpture was so large, we brought in a couple of other helpers. Brian Getz, a balloon artist from Indiana, was flown in here to Naples to help out. We also employed, Joe Mahler, who has written numerous books on knots and is actually from here in Lee and Collier County. Why have a knot expert? Well, when you spend close to 100 hours on a creation and want to suspend it, you want those lines to hold! Finally there was Micheal Riva, who we pretty much brought in for the muscle. Although they are balloons, when you get them together, lifting them can be a big ordeal.
So now that I have told you about the cast, here's the video of the creation of America's Largest Balloon Biplane. Yeah, I know, that's a lot of hot air...