Banner Tow

WAASPS Cost-Effective Banner Towing for
Publicity, Information and Education

Watch out for our promotional banner being flown around the Eastern and Volta Regions of Ghana! Listen for the gentle flapping sound of the banner and watch as Kwabena looks as though he is waving on this flying bill-board drawn through the sky!

WAASPS is the first Ultralight air-work, Ultralight training and aircraft assembly operation in Ghana. One of the key services offered is banner-towing.

Based on the French experience (the company is supported by Rand Kar SA, France, one of the premier Ultralight companies in the world, and well-versed in banner-towing operations), large banners carrying images and words can be pulled behind Ultralight aircraft at an air speed of around 70Km/hr – slow enough to be seen, and pointed out to others.

In France, banner-towing is popular all summer long, especially along the coastal regions and areas of public outdoor activity. In West Africa, almost every day of the year offers good enough weather to tow banners. The unusualness of this activity will draw crowds to observe the panel being towed – as well as the small aircraft slowly buzzing along overhead.

What better use of this information dissemination method than to bring product awareness, pre-event information or health and education messages to villages and towns alike. An aircraft can target several villages on a circuit – no matter how rural – passing each one in turn once only, or passing each one twice in order to bring secondary observers out on hearing the aircraft returning. If flying a coastal route, a ‘reversible’ panel is essential for the return route. Co-ordination with ground teams (to tell people about the planned campaign, and to disseminate follow-up information) will undoubtedly bring even greater impact. “Keep an eye on the sky for we will send you a message to remind you about what we have said today….” or “Do you remember seeing the picture towed behind an aeroplane telling you about the importance of education//filtering water/avoiding AIDS/etc…”. Such is this communication tool and its flexibility.

Banner-towing reaches young and old people, alike. It is there in the sky – not only at the local post office, in a newspaper or on a school wall. It is unobtrusive, in that no direct entry to the community is needed, and yet it is attention-grabbing – perhaps more than a full-page colour advertisement in the local newspaper!

Due to Civil Aviation and safety restrictions, over flight of built-up areas (cities) and transit through restricted zones (e.g., firing ranges or sensitive sites) are generally not permitted, although special permission can always be sought.

Each banner is costed individually, and belongs to the client. Pricing is based on surface area. The smallest panel is approximately 50m² in size, and can go up to 100 m². We do not recommend over 60m² in area for use in tropical conditions.

Clearly, large images and simple text are most appropriate for this medium. Banners are 3- 4m tall and up to 25m long (15m in the tropics). Each banner has a life of around 200-300 hours (but sometimes as long as 400 hours). Production of these will soon be carried out in Ghana and costing is on an individual banner basis.

Should the aircraft be purchased and operated on behalf of the organisation, lower rates will apply. Under such circumstances pod and fuselage logos/messages may also be applied.

Customers must seek necessary local authorisations (as may apply from country to country) before banner-towing can be carried out.

Rates on application.