Foy Automation Leading the Field

Advanced Automation and in-house fabrication for
Dollywood's Sha-Kon-O-Hey!

Just as Peter Foy was the pioneer of modern stage flight in the 20th Century, so he was the pioneer of stage flight automation. In his work with the Ice Capades, it became apparent that the speed, forces, & complexity of choreography demanded  systems beyond the capacity of manual operation. Now in the 21st Century, Flying by Foy remains the leader, with decades of experience in the field. The automated approach is not always the best approach, but when shows demand it, nothing beats Flying by Foy Automation. Here is a sampling of some of our system components.  [scroll on...]

IW8 Winch - Unveiled at LDI 2007

This innovative winch system mounts within a standard 12" truss, and has thus proven ideal for large touring productions. The system provides 60' of lift and 120' of travel in its standard configuration. It is rated to lift 300 lbs at  7 feet per second

DW-V2 Winch - Unveiled at LDI 2007

Barbara Foy is shown here proudly posing with the IW-8's big brother. This winch system features a flexible mounting system.  It can lift 400 lbs at 5 fps, 200 pounds at 10fps, or 100 pounds at 15 fps.

Our systems are precision engineered and custom built in house to exacting standards.
 

Pegasus DMAC
Control System

Both of the above winches are run on Foy's unique custom engineered  Pegasus Control System. The system is Windows-based and has an extremely user-friendly front end for the writing, editing, and storage of cues. The system is capable of hundreds of axis of motion control. An option to remotely interrogate the system once it is installed is also available, as is a wireless handheld control option.

Depicted to the right is our standard  5-axis compact control console

Winches and Consoles are Just the Start!

The needs of Film and modern arena shows can be very complex and exacting. Often performers are required to spin, pitch, corskscrew, and even fly in multi-performer rotational patterns. Flying by Foy shines in these circumstances, designing, with its staff of engineers complex automation systems allowing for sophisticated control of performers through any number of flight geometries and circumstances. A tiny sampling of these systems are depicted below.

The following rig was developed for Céline Dion's Las Vegas show. The requirement was for a couple to fly independently into the air, join up, and then to continue in flight while circling one another. The flying effect was magnificent!

Putting it Together

Advanced Automated Flying in Dollywood's Sha-Kon-O-Hey! For this production, the flight required multiple performers to fly in formation, circling while simultaneously moving out over the audience and back. The required patterns were a snap using our automation systems coupled with our in-house fabrication to support our artistry.

Above is one of our favorite examples of such engineering in the service of art. In this new musical, Nina and the Twelve Months, produced in Tokyo, 13 performers fly simultaneously. 12 lift in sequence, forming a circle in the air, revolving, separating, and then landing individually, whilst Nina spirals in the center.