# What might go wrong?



## ruinexplorer (Dec 28, 2008)

Ok, so in the light of what happened in the Christmas pageant (see news thread), what might go wrong here: Dinner in the Sky : Partners

I checked the Las Vegas site listed and it shows that their first event is on New Years Eve. Oh great, a bunch of people suspended in the sky drinking alcohol. How fast does champagne go through your system? Are they all required to wear adult diapers? Seriously, would you pay to do this?


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## avkid (Dec 28, 2008)

They do this all the time, using certified cranes.
It hardly compares to some amateur hanging from the rafters.


> For US customers:
> Especially for our US customers we have an extra US$ 10 million liability insurance policy in place which can be used for US$ 5.500/event day.


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## ruinexplorer (Dec 28, 2008)

Right, and there haven't been umpteen crane collapses here in the US this year manned by professionals.


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## TheDonkey (Dec 29, 2008)

Haven't read the article, but from the comments I assume this is about that thing where they strap people into comfy chairs, then raise them up in cranes to have dinner,

They've been doing this over in Europe for a couple years now, on the Canadian Discovery channel they have a show called Daily Planet that covered it twice, once in Switzerland, and again 6 months later when someone did it in the states.


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## cprted (Dec 29, 2008)

I can't honestly say I'd be thrilled about dining anywhere that required me to be strapped in with a five-point restraint.


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## What Rigger? (Dec 29, 2008)

Sounds like Ruin is looking for the sky to be falling. Yes, something/anything COULD go wrong. Will it? Probably not.

The thing to keep in mind here is this: Probability vs. Possibility. 
ANYthing you can imagine is possible.
ANYthing you can imagine may not be probable. 

Get it?

Case in point: my gig threw some new responsibilities my way. No sweat. Now, my nightly routine includes walking a tight rope at 60 feet (with an overhead handline) twice a night for setup/inspect/strike and general time saving. 

Is is POSSIBLE I could fall off it? Yes.
Is it PROBABLE I could fall of it? No. I'm on three safeties, and am working mindfully of the fact of where I am. 

If you're not up for managed risk, you don't have to leave the ground. Not even for dinner. Me, I'd jump on it in a heartbeat!


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## len (Dec 29, 2008)

The thing that scares me the most is the goofy wig on the trumpet player. See the Brussels photos.


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## ruinexplorer (Dec 31, 2008)

What Rigger? said:


> Sounds like Ruin is looking for the sky to be falling. Yes, something/anything COULD go wrong. Will it? Probably not.
> 
> If you're not up for managed risk, you don't have to leave the ground. Not even for dinner. Me, I'd jump on it in a heartbeat!



Not looking for the sky to fall, but up to looking for discussion of the possibilities, thus the title of the thread. You are a trained professional, these are average joes (clients) who may not take the risk seriously. Why do you think that on amusement park rides they make it so the user is unable to remove their safety devices by themselves (most of the time anyhow)? My guess is to prevent people from earning a Darwin award.

Sure, I saw that this is something that is done worldwide. That doesn't mean it's a good idea. Remember the early years of bungee jumping? A lot of professionally designed systems resulted in quite a few tragedies. Maybe statistically speaking it (bungee jumping) has always been safe, but tell that to the families of the maimed and deceased. So, managed risk, sure. I doubt we'll see any tragedies, at least not in the near future. 

Judging by the cranes in the photos, I doubt any of them will collapse (unlike the umpteen construction crane collapses I previoulsy mentioned) judging by the observed load. That doesn't say that it can't happen. 

And lastly, my comment about the adult diapers wasn't due to anyone being at risk and having the piss scared out of them. I was thinking logistically, how do they manage people having to use the facilities? Do they have to take the whole party up and down each time someone has to go? That seems like a real pain.

Hope that clears things up.


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## museav (Dec 31, 2008)

ruinexplorer said:


> Do they have to take the whole party up and down each time someone has to go?


According to the FAQs on their site they suggest everyone use the toilets before you strap in but after that, yes, they apparently do take the whole party down and back up, although they say that raising or lowering only takes about a minute. They also note that typical events are 30 minutes to 1 hour, if all 22 people had to go during that period and none at the same time that might be a real problem! However, I can see that if you had a longer event they might schedule 'breaks' every so often.

I hope they bring along extra silverware and napkins, it could be a little difficult to pick yours up if you dropped it.


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## lieperjp (Dec 31, 2008)

museav said:


> I hope they bring along extra silverware and napkins, it could be a little difficult to pick yours up if you dropped it.



I hope they keep the ground below clear... imagine what would happen if someone dropped a knife!!!


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## hwlights (Feb 3, 2009)

Maybe the tech version of this would be a romantic candlelight dinner in the genie? Anyone up for it?


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## willbb123 (Feb 3, 2009)

hwlights said:


> Maybe the tech version of this would be a romantic candlelight dinner in the genie? Anyone up for it?



Idk.. It would be cozy in a genie. Which may or may not be a good thing . I'd rather just eat on one of the catwalks over the stage.


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## What Rigger? (Feb 4, 2009)

hwlights said:


> Maybe the tech version of this would be a romantic candlelight dinner in the genie? Anyone up for it?



Sure...but not with anyone here. Jennifer Love Hewitt or Tricia Helfer (Model Number 6 on Battlestar Galactica) or my wife or any combination of the three- absolutely.


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## gafftaper (Feb 4, 2009)

$250 to be strapped into a chair for an hour long dinner hanging from a crane 180' in the air? I don't get it. For a few bucks less you can have a beautiful sunset hot air balloon flight a couple thousand feet in the air with a champagne picnic dinner to follow. This is unique, but I the hot air balloon is WAY more spectacular and romantic. Plus you can walk around a little!

...on the other hand it is a very Vegas sort of thing to do. I bet the drop it down once half way through so that the Keno girl can take your bets. Is there video poker built into the table top? I'm surprised there doesn't appear to be any stripper poles on that thing. You have to think BIG people!


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## What Rigger? (Feb 5, 2009)

gafftaper said:


> $250 to be strapped into a chair for an hour
> _You know it...instead I could go to work and MAKE that kind of money while strapped onto my flying rig._
> 
> 
> ...


Is the thinking what's big, Gaff, or the people? I never was fond of big 'dancers'. 

Sorry, I didn't sleep much today and I'm totally cracking myself up here.


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## DracoBengali86 (Mar 24, 2009)

lieperjp said:


> I hope they keep the ground below clear... imagine what would happen if someone dropped a knife!!!



According to the Tech Specs on their website they want 30x15 meters for their setup and they have a fenced off safety area. Although from the video, I can't tell if they stay over that safety area the entire time.


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