Community Corner

VIDEO: Meet The Geico Skytypers

High tech meets WWII crafts in this aerial art form.

What do you get when you mix World War II airplanes with high-tech aerial writing? You get the Geico Skytypers, of course.

This civilian squadron performs precision maneuvers at air shows across the country — including this weekend's Quonset Air Show — as well as writing messages in the sky.

[For more info on this weekend's event, check out our .]

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However, don't confused these aerial messages with skywriting, says pilot Bob Johansen. Skytyping is done at a much quicker pace with multiple planes, instead of long sweeping motions and one plane as is typically with skywriting.

These messages in the sky can sometimes be miles long, according to pilot Jim Record, with each letter standing as tall as the Eiffel Tower. To create these massive billboards in the sky, the pilots use a high-tech system that sends out signals to each plane, sending out puffs of smoke to create a dot-matrix style, forming the letters. All this is done at an altitude of 10,000 feet.

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It's not just the writing style that is unique, but the crafts that these Skytypers fly. There are only 11 remaining SNJ-2's (a World War II warplane) – six of them are used by the Geico Skytypers.

Catch the Skytypers in action at this weekend's air show. To learn more about the Geico Skytypers, visit their website.

How Do I Get There from Johnston?

Take I-295 South to I-95 South and get over to the left. Take Exit 9 (Rte. 4 South) to North Kingstown and East Greenwich. From Rte. 4, take Exit 7B (Quonset). Stay on Rte. 403.

Rte. 403 becomes Roger Williams Way. After the third traffic light on Roger Williams Way, take a left onto Conway Street. Follow signs to the Air National Guard Base.


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