HOW DO THEY DO THAT? – LETTERS & NUMBERS IN FIREWORKS

Since the discovery by a monk in China almost a thousand years ago fireworks continue to thrill and astonish young and old alike.

It is an industry with its own art-form which has continued its development from the first black powder packed piece of bamboo cane to the beautiful coloured and varied effects which fill the skies today.

As technology advances, so do the effects it is possible to achieve in a display. Today’s pyro ignition equipment first the bill in so many instances from the local Scout Group for their annual jamboree to the massive international events like the London New Year’s Eve fireworks. Both may use a firing system; for the small scouts club this might be a couple of little Launch Kontrol units, whereas the London NYE used a large number of systems and several kilometres of cabling.

One of the most exciting ‘effects’ attempted are letters and numbers but as anyone who has had either a heart rockets or a shaped shell will attest to; they rarely go the right way and the wind overhead is likely to blow the effect out of shape at times.

SteyrFire, the professional display company from Austria have worked in conjunction with Scarpato creating a system which will enable to the display operator to spell letters or numbers in the night sky.

They have created a rack which will have each letter/number laid out and then they successfully fire consecutively to write it in the sky.