| 2005 Turbo Jack-O-Lantern party! | ||
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Here it is, the 2005 Turbo
Jack-O-Lantern Party. For those of you that are not familiar with this
party,
here is how it works. Bring
your pumpkin and carve the face however you like. Then, carve a hole in
the back
of the Jack-O-Lantern. Stuff
the Jack-O-Lantern with paper, pour on some racing fuel and put the cap
back
on. HOLD THE CAP OF THE
JACK-O-LANTERN down with a rake. Fire up the leaf blower, that’s right,
the leaf blower. Put the nozzle to the leaf blower to the rear hole of the
Jack-O-Lantern and watch the flames come
out the face!
Now, there are several
participants in this event. The carvings create quite a bit of difference
in flame
travel. This year, as always,
brings new ideas.
The last two entrants are
called the ALTERNATIVE FUEL CLASS. Pioneered by yours truly, I now have
competition. Alternative fuel
class means no leaf blower for the flash of the flame. This takes some
creative pre-thinking. Scott’s
involved linking several containers with black powder with a fuse, all
wrapped in tin-foil. Why
wrapped in tin foil, you might ask? Because the interior was on fire since
it
was soaked with barbecue
lighter fluid. As each container ignited, the flames would bulge out the
eyes
and mouth. The last container
was far more powerful and blew up, not out with a loud report. The crowd
went crazy and was THOROUGHLY
impressed.
Ours was a series, or family,
of five Jack-O-Lanterns with a great mix of material. It thrilled the
crowd
for almost 20 minutes while
different colors, flames and reactions happened. This thing started new
chapters. Danny Campbell of
Z-Balloon started one in De Moines, IA this year. Who’s next?
Here are links to two previous
years. Guess which is the Alternative Fuel Class.
Thanks to Al & Donna for ANOTHER GREAT PARTY!
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2005 Click the pics for a larger view.
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 The party gets started... |
 A shower of embers when the paper burns out. |
 A blast of flame at ignition. |
 Now THAT'S serious fire! |
 Must have had chili for dinner. |
 The crowd of spectators. As you can see, it's a family event. |
 This is a 'fluffing' of the flame. The leaf blower is on low while getting a good burn going. |
 OK, throttle up!! |
 Did you say you wanted some fire, scarecrow?? |
 Spark shower but still burning furiously. Different packing and holes make each jack-o-lantern fire differently. |
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 I think this face is styled after the movie "SCREAM" |
 A great display of "Big Port, High Flow" carving. Obviously, this designer is a motorhead. |
 Scott's Alternative Fuel entry. It involved barbecue lighter fluid, black powder and a daisy chained fuse. The finale included the top cap was blown 40 feet in the air. Never found it. |
 The setup begins. 5 pumpkins, spontaneous combustion with top secret reactive materials, sparkler material, fuses, methanol, road flares, large chunks of magnesium and magnesium shavings and some copper wire. Any questions? |
 Lots of Sparkler fire. |
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 The quartet is settling in, or is it? |
 All burn in a different fashion. |
 Uh, just when you think it over (about 5 minutes in) look how bright the mouth is getting on the left pumpkin. |
 The block of magnesium starts its burn to China! |
 Man that is HOT! |
 Could someone please put the SUN back? |
 Intermission for the "Cute Class" |
 This one had a bunch of little fireworks that made noises but didn't fly too far so they were very safe and looked great. |
 This is what the spontaneous combustion looked like. |
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 Leaf Blower? We don't need no stinkin' leaf blower! |
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 And the band (and host) plays on into the night. We left at almost midnight...The plans are already in motion to top this year. |
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