Messages In the Sky: The Skywriting Trend Resurges

When messages started showing up in the sky above New Orleans in late April, the public was baffled, intrigued, and above all else — delighted. Turns out, a New Orleans businessman named Frank Scurlock, hired Kentucky-based skywriter Nathan Hammond to ‘paint’ the cheery and uplifting messages in the sky as random act of kindness.

Over 10 days of gorgeous weather, Hammond and Scurlock colluded over conference calls to determine the content and location of each day’s positive messages (three times a day). The messages spelled out “LOVE”, “FREEDOM”, “RELAX”, and true to the heart of New Orleans, “JAZZ”. Smiley faces and hearts also appeared in the sky.

A long history

Skywriting, originally called ‘smoke casting,’ first appeared in 1922 when a pilot demonstrated writing a phone number in the air over Times Square. Operators at the hotel that owned the phone number received nearly 50,000 calls in three hours as the number floated across the sky. While skywriting is a rare art these days, it was considered the pinnacle of advertising less than a century ago. The technique is relatively simple, but it takes a significant amount of skill to do well. Engine-heated paraffin oils are mixed with the plane’s exhaust to produce fluffy streams that expert pilots can loop and turn to spell letters and shapes on the canvas of the sky.

Today’s skywriting pilots are allowed to fly at level altitude while skywriting, and they turn off their radios to pay attention to their art, communicating only with local air traffic control. A message has to be pointed in the right direction, positioned correctly in relation to the wind, and of course spelled correctly.

Why the skywriting over New Orleans? Frank Scurlock seems to be a true Good Samaritan. According to his co-worker Charla Miller, the man behind the message was concerned with the increased violence as of late and wanted to remind people that good exists. Turns out, that sentiment runs in the family —Scurlock’s father is credited with inventing the bouncy house!

Reports indicate that the bill for the skywriting has been over $20,000 so far, but Hammond recently hinted he would be decorating the sky over Baton Rouge once again sometime soon. So keep your eyes on the sky to see what new delights skywriting will bring.