How we spent our summer vacation - F-Body Road Racing and Autocross Forums

As some may know, my wife and I are part of a crew that puts on a commercial fireworks display at a local country club. We have been doing it for about 15 years, or so, and are both Pyrotechnical Technician license holders. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/2thumbs.gif) We started back in the late 1990's when one of the members of an Impala SS club we belonged to revealed that he did that kind of work, and if anyone wanted to help, it's about the most fun you can have with your pants on. Back then, the show was 'manual'. We'd start the afternoon with augering holes in the ground to set some steel pipes of several different diameters (usually 3" to 6"). Once that was done, and it got dark, we'd load the shells into the tubes, and light them off with a road flare. TONs of fun when you're standing beside a 6" steel pipe sitting in the ground, and the shell launches into the air, then exploding about (hopefully) 600 feet directly over your head! Crazy, fun stuff, although we have come home with holes burned in our clothes, but still fun.

At that site, a county park, we'd make a club event of it. There'd be 20-30 Impala SSs, we'd bring grills and have a club picnic while we set up the event. Then, since the cars were too close, would 'caravan' the cars out to a safe distance and get to the show (probably 500' away). We ended up with just about the entire crew from the local fire station join us for food, and support. Great fun!

Anyway, the shows are now 'electronic'. That is, we have a trailer that has ABS tubes mounted in a bed of sand. We load ALL of the tubes, wire them to a circuit bar, then run cables from each circuit bar to the controller panel. When it gets dark, we roll the trailer out into a field, cable it up, cable any extra 'cakes' they have purchased, and set them off with the touch of a little battery power to the right contact on the control board. You're still nearly under the shells when they go off, but we're probably 100' away from the tubes. It's safer, and the work is different, and while fun, the big adrenaline rush is not quite there..... unless one goes off short, or flies overhead, which we've had before.

Anyway, pictures are worth 1000 words, so here's some pictures of the setup and the event:

(IMG:http://media.fotki.com/1_p,rtwfttbtrsfsgfkxgddbwddrbddf,vi/bsbfrdbrrxbrqggwgwsxbsgbrssfg/5/1331095/14009024/Trailerloaded-vi.jpg)

The trailer, loaded, wired and rolling out to the site. Since we do this at a country club, we usually load and wire the trailer under the cover where the greenskeepers are and roll the trailer out to one of the fairways, or green. Yes, all the quotes from the movie 'Caddyshack' are said as we get ready.

BTW: 10,000#+ trailer, V10 turbodiesel Tuareg FTW!!

(IMG:http://media.fotki.com/1_p,rtwfttbtrkrqfdgxgddbwddrbddf,vi/brqggwgwsxbsgrftrgkxbrqsqrkst/5/1331095/14009024/akesreadytotaketothelaunchsite-vi.jpg)

Our truck loaded up with the 'cakes', which are pre-packaged shells that will go off serially at one time. This year they used mostly 3" and 4" cakes. the 3" cakes had 25 shells in each pack, and the 4" shells held 9. They don't seem to be as strong as the individual shells, but, again, we're probably 100' away, so the whole thing seems tame now.

(IMG:http://media.fotki.com/1_p,rtwftdsrwgdqkktxgddbwddrbddf,vi/rsrfbgrqqxbsfsskdbqxbrqggwgws/5/1331095/14009024/IMG_6348-vi.jpg)

The cakes set up on the fairway, wired and ready to go.

(IMG:http://media.fotki.com/1_p,rtwftddfgrgrkgfxgddbwddrbddf,vi/bsgbrssfgxbsfsskdbqxbsgrftrgk/5/1331095/14009024/IMG_6354-vi.jpg)

The control console in the foreground, trailer and cakes connected and ready to go. The console only has about 20 ports on it, and we typically have 35-40 cables, so we're shuttling cables back and forth during the show.

(IMG:http://media.fotki.com/1_p,rtwftddktbgktfwxgddbwddrbddf,vi/brqggwgwsxbsgrftrgkxbsfgbftkk/5/1331095/14009024/IMG_6349-vi.jpg)

Looking down one side of the trailer, all wired up. The big tube is for the 6" diameter shells. The shells go up about 100' per inch in diameter.

(IMG:http://media.fotki.com/1_p,rtwftdfwgbwfqkkxgddbwddrbddf,vi/bsbfrdbrrxswtffststxkkrqfkbdt/5/1331095/14009024/IMG_6351-vi.jpg)

Another shot of the trailer. Wired and ready to rumble. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

More to follow.

This post has been edited by CrashTestDummy: Jul 6 2016, 09:04 PM

CrashTestDummy View Member Profile	Jul 6 2016, 08:51 PM Post #1
Veteran Member Group: Advanced Members Posts: 3,796 Joined: 3-July 04 From: Pearland, Texas Member No.: 385	As some may know, my wife and I are part of a crew that puts on a commercial fireworks display at a local country club. We have been doing it for about 15 years, or so, and are both Pyrotechnical Technician license holders. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/2thumbs.gif) We started back in the late 1990's when one of the members of an Impala SS club we belonged to revealed that he did that kind of work, and if anyone wanted to help, it's about the most fun you can have with your pants on. Back then, the show was 'manual'. We'd start the afternoon with augering holes in the ground to set some steel pipes of several different diameters (usually 3" to 6"). Once that was done, and it got dark, we'd load the shells into the tubes, and light them off with a road flare. TONs of fun when you're standing beside a 6" steel pipe sitting in the ground, and the shell launches into the air, then exploding about (hopefully) 600 feet directly over your head! Crazy, fun stuff, although we have come home with holes burned in our clothes, but still fun. At that site, a county park, we'd make a club event of it. There'd be 20-30 Impala SSs, we'd bring grills and have a club picnic while we set up the event. Then, since the cars were too close, would 'caravan' the cars out to a safe distance and get to the show (probably 500' away). We ended up with just about the entire crew from the local fire station join us for food, and support. Great fun! Anyway, the shows are now 'electronic'. That is, we have a trailer that has ABS tubes mounted in a bed of sand. We load ALL of the tubes, wire them to a circuit bar, then run cables from each circuit bar to the controller panel. When it gets dark, we roll the trailer out into a field, cable it up, cable any extra 'cakes' they have purchased, and set them off with the touch of a little battery power to the right contact on the control board. You're still nearly under the shells when they go off, but we're probably 100' away from the tubes. It's safer, and the work is different, and while fun, the big adrenaline rush is not quite there..... unless one goes off short, or flies overhead, which we've had before. Anyway, pictures are worth 1000 words, so here's some pictures of the setup and the event: (IMG:http://media.fotki.com/1_p,rtwfttbtrsfsgfkxgddbwddrbddf,vi/bsbfrdbrrxbrqggwgwsxbsgbrssfg/5/1331095/14009024/Trailerloaded-vi.jpg) The trailer, loaded, wired and rolling out to the site. Since we do this at a country club, we usually load and wire the trailer under the cover where the greenskeepers are and roll the trailer out to one of the fairways, or green. Yes, all the quotes from the movie 'Caddyshack' are said as we get ready. BTW: 10,000#+ trailer, V10 turbodiesel Tuareg FTW!! (IMG:http://media.fotki.com/1_p,rtwfttbtrkrqfdgxgddbwddrbddf,vi/brqggwgwsxbsgrftrgkxbrqsqrkst/5/1331095/14009024/akesreadytotaketothelaunchsite-vi.jpg) Our truck loaded up with the 'cakes', which are pre-packaged shells that will go off serially at one time. This year they used mostly 3" and 4" cakes. the 3" cakes had 25 shells in each pack, and the 4" shells held 9. They don't seem to be as strong as the individual shells, but, again, we're probably 100' away, so the whole thing seems tame now. (IMG:http://media.fotki.com/1_p,rtwftdsrwgdqkktxgddbwddrbddf,vi/rsrfbgrqqxbsfsskdbqxbrqggwgws/5/1331095/14009024/IMG_6348-vi.jpg) The cakes set up on the fairway, wired and ready to go. (IMG:http://media.fotki.com/1_p,rtwftddfgrgrkgfxgddbwddrbddf,vi/bsgbrssfgxbsfsskdbqxbsgrftrgk/5/1331095/14009024/IMG_6354-vi.jpg) The control console in the foreground, trailer and cakes connected and ready to go. The console only has about 20 ports on it, and we typically have 35-40 cables, so we're shuttling cables back and forth during the show. (IMG:http://media.fotki.com/1_p,rtwftddktbgktfwxgddbwddrbddf,vi/brqggwgwsxbsgrftrgkxbsfgbftkk/5/1331095/14009024/IMG_6349-vi.jpg) Looking down one side of the trailer, all wired up. The big tube is for the 6" diameter shells. The shells go up about 100' per inch in diameter. (IMG:http://media.fotki.com/1_p,rtwftdfwgbwfqkkxgddbwddrbddf,vi/bsbfrdbrrxswtffststxkkrqfkbdt/5/1331095/14009024/IMG_6351-vi.jpg) Another shot of the trailer. Wired and ready to rumble. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) More to follow. This post has been edited by CrashTestDummy: Jul 6 2016, 09:04 PM

Steve91T View Member Profile	Jul 7 2016, 06:29 PM Post #2
Experienced Member Group: Advanced Members Posts: 2,038 Joined: 3-March 10 From: Huntersville, NC Member No.: 9,105	That sounds like so much fun! I've always wondered what it must be like to be the crazy few standing so close who put on the show. I remember seeing on TV (so it must be true) that all fireworks come from one family who has been making them for generations? How did I spend my 4th? Well I was on call and was pretty sure I'd be working, but I happen to not be called that day. So my wife and my 2 yr old daughter went to my parents house 40 minutes south of us. My brother was also there with his wife and his 16 month old little girl. My parents belong to a country club and they put on an amazing buffet style dinner. Last year they had a huge bucket full of fresh steamed lobsters. My brother and I must have had 6 or 7 whole lobsters each. It was awesome. Then they put on a really great firework show. It seems to go on forever. So to be able to be home for this years 4th was a real treat.....except about an hour before we were supposed to leave, I started to get chills. I crawled into bed to take a nap and didn't wake up till 11 at night, 6 hour later. I missed the whole damn thing. It's ok, at least everyone else had a great time. That's what really matters. (IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Steve91T/Camaro/65B7A4D2-9EB9-44CB-91BB-3E7269EBC586.jpg)