Ted Kennedy Liked the Skyliner

It was Senator Ted Kennedy who took a case of twenty-four Skyliners to hand out to friends while he helped push nominee Senator John Kerry to the presidency unfortunately taken by another man.

Senator Ted Kennedy

His response when he saw the Skyliner, "Wow! Hey, look at this! This is terrific!" 

Senator John Kerry

He wasn't the first to deliver accolades as Defense Secretary William Cohen had them for New Years Eve, 2000. He liked them enough to mail a card of appreciation for the inventiveness.

Right Winger

Make Peace

It was Senator George Mitchell who was willing to pose for a photo with the Skyliner while a member of Disney's Board of Directors.

Deane Stern with Senator George Mitchell Holding the Skyliner (v.2)

He did this to send a message to the Buyers that some of his Maine Boys had hit it big with a product he was endorsing.

Deane Stern

Academy Awards

Were you at the Academy Awards? Neither were we! But the Skyliner was when Avatar won best picture! If you went to the after party several of the guests were twirling Avatar.

The Skyliner at AVATAR's Academy Awards Party

Don't be surprised if you see James Cameron twirling the message Best Picture next time around. The first one was nominated for nine Academy Awards.

Unknown Celebrity

Martial Arts

I am no martial artist but one evening when a purse snatcher on a bicycle tried to grab my bag in downtown Detroit, he didn't realize (neither did I) that a twirly thing rotating round like a weapon of choice from another planet would end his mission. The purse was snug over my shoulder and left arm. At the moment I realized the tug I automatically swung with my right hand, missed with my fist, but caught him in the eye with moveable arm of leds. He let go and fled with shaking head down. I was lucky. Now I program in STEAL THIS!

Melonie Wentz

Marina

I was heading out with friend from the Marina del Rey for a night sail. It was just dusk when I stumbled from the dock and dropped my Skyliner. It went kaplunk into the water. It was on when I tripped because I was planning to climb aboard the 39' Catalina with an energy of excitement and a message that read, "Stern to Stern!" No one had ever seen a Skyliner so I was determined to retrieve it as I could see where it had fallen as the leds were still flashing!

Skyliner Virtual Message Writer Mast Concept

My friend Joe, who was the designated Captain, donned his diving gear and retrieved the virtual message writer. It still worked, dried quickly, and I felt we had a backup emergency device which also could spell HELP in case we ran out of wind and fuel.

Grace Stern

Playing with the Original Skyliner Virtual Message Writer

Just the other day I found one of our very first Skyliner units in a drawer, buried under some papers, I took it out and looked it over. What a difference from our current version. The old Skyliner was jet black, always loved that phrase, had 8 bright RED LED's and came with 15 preset messages. The user could essentially program one message into the unit, however, this message was not able to be stored in the unit. Unlike the current Skyliner, version 3, which allows you to create and save three of your own messages up to 18 characters in length along with accessibility to the preset messages.

Skyliner Message Writer - First Promo Sheet

We spent several months designing, testing, retesting, prototyping, revamping, twirling, checking the program for glitches, writing instructions, working on the art card and the blister packaging. We also had to select the carton configurations, inner and outer measurements, double check the finished unit weight as well as the case overall volume, decide on the number of units per master case and all this along with countless hours on the phone to the potential rep groups, the manufacturing agent overseas, the cargo transport folks, the warehouse managers, the printers, and additional potential buyers, distributors, wholesalers, agents. I used the computer almost on a 24/7 basis creating a huge number of e-mails, I printed out every e-mail page for the first 6 months, a stack that would stand at least 18 inches tall, and stored them in looseleaf binders so I had accurate information pertaining to any discussion with our entire Skyliner team. Eventually we had our ducks in a row, a bit wobbly, but at least one was behind the next and our first version of the Skyliner was introduced. Almost immediately it seemed to capture the attention of any and everyone who saw it.

So I took this old Skyliner and pressed the button to turn it on, nothing, after all, it had been sitting in the drawer for over ten years. So, I removed the battery door and replaced the batteries. It instantly lit up, and as I twirled it the message "LETS PARTY" was perfectly clear.

There is a lot more to talk about, but I need a break.

Later,

Hal
Hal Meyers

The Skyliner and the Stripper

How about the gal who called us from Houston, Tx  to tell us the reaction she got from her pole dance at a high end strip club. She had designed her routine with various Skyliner messages choreographed into the act. She wanted to let us know how well it went over.

We also had a guy call us from Orlando who called himself Leisure Suit Light Up Larry! Yeah, he was lit up with every consumer led made plus featured the Skyliner. It was a sight to see as this older man, fifties, went every night to the Downtown Disney Club to wow the crowd. After his promo of the item we had many calls by independent vendors hoping to purchase wholesale Skyliners for raves. Why not? We, Versatile Visions, a Maine company, accommodated.

Grace Stern