An actor tosses his hat into the air. It flies 30 feet across the stage to make a perfect
landing atop a lamppost. An angry mob scales a 30-foot iron fence in seconds to pursue the
"phantom" of the opera. Peter Pan suddenly defies gravity and flies up onto the mantle.
What do all these events have in common? They are the results of special flying effects
artistically engineered by masters of that art.
In the case of the hat, Allan Fanjoy, a special-effects designer, explains that "it's done with
wires," or more precisely, with fishing line cleverly run through specially rigged pulleys
controlled by a counterweight. When the actor tosses the hat, the fishing line attached to it
takes over and, propelled by the descent of the counterweight, flies it to its target, the
lamppost. The angry mob scales the 30-foot fence all right, but they do it wearing safety
harnesses and lines designed by flying master, Peter Foy.
Peter Pan, the epitome of aerial stage roles, is probably the flying character most loved by
dazzled audiences. Foy, working out of his Las Vegas-based company, Foy Inventerprises,
bears the flying responsibilities for more than a hundred productions of Peter Pan each
year. In these, Peter Pan and the other flying members of the cast don specially designed
harnesses and learn to work with the technicians who actually fly them through the air.
Coordination is everything!
But, whether the flying objects are inanimate or animate, Foy's approach to these special
effects likely reflects the beliefs of those who excel this art: "I never start with the
equipment. I start with what I want to see. And then I go back."