Fireworks are a great way to celebrate with friends and family. While going to a professional show is always a treat, creating your own display links you to European kings and ancient Chinese alchemists, allowing you to build on both history and modern technology to create the show of your dreams. But buying fireworks can be confusing. Here is a look at 10 types of aerial fireworks that are sure to impress your friends.
1. Aerial Repeaters
Also known as “cakes”, aerial repeaters are among the top selling fireworks, and for good reason. A cake is a group of mortars bundled together and lit from a single fuse. The cake follows a pre-set firing routine, treating viewers to a variety of explosions in different patterns, colors and sizes and rising to heights as high as 300 feet. Although some of the 200 gram Aerial Repeaters can be found for as little as $5, the 500 gram finale versions can range from $30 to $300. Cost aside, however, the majority of people would agree that there is no better choice for a fireworks show grand finale than a large Aerial Repeater cake.
2. Reloadable Mortars and Aerial Shells
A reloadable mortar is designed to launch a single aerial shell, one at a time, from a reusable tube that can be used over and over. Aerial shells are available in a stunning array of colors, patterns, sounds and sizes. The traditional 1.4g shell is in the shape of a circular ball, typically 1.75 inches in diameter in the United States, with the propellant cylinder mounted at the bottom. To create even more action in the air, you can also find double, triple, quad and quintuple shells… where you have two to five balls attached together for maximum explosion in the air! Also, in recent years, the evolution of the Canister Shell, which resembles a 3 to 5 inch long cylindrical shape, has helped to pack even more powder and effects into a single shell. Mortar shells launch high into the air, as high as 300 feet, before exploding into a complex burst that is reminiscent of a 1.3g professional display.
The mortar tubes themselves can be made of either cardboard or high-density polyethylene (HDPE) fiberglass. As you might suspect, fiberglass mortar tubes are more expensive, but provide greater safety and stability than the cardboard models and are, quite frankly, a requirement to safely and properly shoot the more impressive powder-packed shells. Also, in recent years, due to the greater size and power of the associated shells, the evolution of the REINFORCED HDPE tube has also hit the marketplace…now providing a fiberglass firing tube thickness of nearly 1 full inch. As a tip, a great sign of a powerful, impressive, and sizeable fireworks mortar kit is IF it includes a fiberglass or reinforced fiberglass tube in the box!
Mortars are typically sold in packages, which include the firing tubes, containing anywhere from six to more than 100 individual shells and the cost can range from $5 to $400 depending on the diameter of the shells, the number of balls and breaks, the materials of tube construction, and the display effects and noise levels.
3. Aerial Display Tubes
Aerial display tubes are just like reloadable aerial shells and mortars, except that they can create even more unusual and complex patterns. You can purchase individual tubes, or multi-tube displays that consist of multiple effects connected to a single fuse. Some fireworks users prefer these items, because while they are very similar in display to their reloadable mortar and aerial shell brothers, the aerial display tubes come PRE-LOADED for you, minimizing risk exposure. The size of these pre-loaded display tubes can range from a quarter inch to three inches in diameter and can travel as high as 300 feet in the air. The cost on these aerial fireworks items can range from $2 to $100 depending on diameter, quantity of tubes, display effects and noise level.
4. Skyrockets
Skyrockets are among the oldest and most traditional types of aerial fireworks. Originally modeled after Chinese military rockets in the 1200s AD, skyrockets are always evolving to incorporate the latest technologies and effects…like smiley face designs in recent years. A skyrocket consists of a paper tube loaded with propellant and a pyrotechnic effect. Unlike aerial shells, you can actually track the sky rocket’s trajectory before it explodes. Skyrockets need to be launched correctly in order to minimize risk and maximize performance; which, means they should be launched out of a steel cylinder long enough to receive the entire wooden stick. A bottle is not a sufficient launching cylinder for sizeable skyrockets nor is simply sticking the rocket stick in the ground and hoping it pulls itself out and up! These aerial fireworks items can range from $2 to $25 depending on package quantity, aerial height, size, effects and noise levels.
Missiles, on the other hand, resemble miniature NASA rockets and range from 2 inch tall versions (like the old-fashioned Whistling Gemini Rocket) to 18 inch tall versions. Missiles are fun to launch, similar to a model rocket, but since they have a limited payload, due to most of the cylindrical tube being reserved for propellant, the display is not normally as impressive as an Aerial Repeater, Mortar Shell or Display Tube. These aerial items can range from $1 to $25 depending on size, height achieved, display diameter, effects, sound and package quantity.
5. Bottle Rockets
Bottle rockets are the kid brothers of skyrockets, but are no less impressive. A bottle rocket is basically made of a rocket engine on a stick. They come with multiple effects these days ranging from the good old-fashioned rocket with the firecracker bang to the whistling bottle rocket (which whistles on the way up and prior to the bang) to the flashing glittering light version (like the Silver Fox) or even to the neon color rockets that include the firecracker bang. By placing the stick in a bottle, the mouth of the bottle controls the direction of flight. Please note that bottle rockets are banned in some jurisdictions due to their ability to fly in multiple directions, so check your local laws before making a purchase. These aerial items range from $2 to $10 depending on effect, package quantity, and brand.
6. Roman Candles
A Roman candle is a tube packed with multiple effects and a delay charge. The smaller ones are typically held in your hand, although all reliable brands and fireworks experts will tell you to NOT launch them in this manner for safety reasons. Rather, by sticking them in the ground or firing them from inside a launching tube, an impressive and rapid-firing aerial display can be achieved. Roman Candles most commonly contain 10 shots, but could pack other quantities as well…ranging from 5 balls to over 220 balls. Roman candles vary widely in the individual collection of effects they offer. Because of this variety, a few well-chosen Roman candles can dramatically enhance any fireworks show. These aerial fireworks range in price from $1 to $30 depending on effect, package quantity, noise level and brand.
7. Mines
Mines are technically ground-based, but they are a hugely popular and sometimes hard-to-find part of many fireworks displays, both consumer and professional. They consist of large tubes that shoot sprays of pattern effects dozens of feet into the air. Like aerial shells, mines are available in a vast array of colors, patterns, and sizes. Some even combine a traditional mine effect with an aerial shell for a multi layered display at different heights in the sky. These aerial items can range from $5 to $50.<
8. Flying Spinners
Also known as helicopters, flying spinners are not what most people think about when they picture aerial fireworks. They don’t blast high into the air, and are often sold with ground fireworks. However, they are a lot of fun and add a unique component to your firework shows. Unlike traditional ground fireworks, helicopters actually lift into the air, upwards of 100 feet, before ejecting a shower of sparks or even exploding altogether. While not as impressive as aerial shells and cakes to some, they can be a great addition to your aerial fireworks show and they range from $1 to $10 depending on package quantity, effects, size, noise and brand.
9. Parachutes
Fireworks parachutes also straddle the line between ground fireworks and aerial fireworks, but they are too much fun not to include in your show. When lit, the parachute fires like a rocket or shell and then releases a parachute that brings the cardboard tube gently back to earth. Some even include military action figures or flags hanging from the chute. Parachute items come in single-parachute tubes to multi-parachute cakes with as many as 61 parachutes. In addition, there is a daytime version, which contains more smoke, as well as a nighttime version which comes with a more detailed explosion and display prior to the parachute release itself. Parachutes can impressively launch nearly 100 feet in the air and can travel quite a ways from their launch site, much like model rockets, so be sure you are ready to go after yours to retrieve them. These items range in cost from $1 to $20./p>
10. Novelties
Novelties is a catch-all category that includes all sorts of rare or unusual firework items, including a number of aerial fireworks – such as Sky Lanterns (which are miniature hot air balloons that can rise hundreds of feet in the air and travel as far as a mile), Whistling Chasers (which resemble bottle rockets without the stick) and Star Balls (which resemble a tennis ball on fire that bounces multiple times and up to 20-30 feet in the air). Many items in this category are small ground fireworks, but occasionally aerial fireworks, such as those mentioned previously, are released that fit into this category. If you are looking for something to grab your visitors’ attention, ask your fireworks supplier to recommend their favorite aerial novelties.
At Dynamite Fireworks, we don’t only sell top-quality, name-brand fireworks. We also provide the information you need to know to use them responsibly, legally, and safely. If you have any questions or concerns, give us a call at (219) 937-4090. We look forward to becoming your one-stop shop for all your fireworks needs!