The Flying Circus

One of the first episodes of using an aircraft to create a calamity dates back to ancient Asia. Once upon a time, when a clever general and his army were overwhelmed by an opposing general and a much larger army, the outcome of the upcoming battle seemed bleak.

The two armies were camping only a few miles apart, and spies from both sides were secretly scouting out the opposition. When the clever general with the smaller army became frustrated with the overwhelming odds, he called upon a local alchemist for help. When the wizened old wizard arrived at the worried general’s camp, he was smiling and full of confidence when he began to share his science and a new plan for battle.

The smaller army soon forgot their troubles as they began to follow the wizard’s instructions for a new secret weapon. After darkness on the night before the upcoming battle, both armies were fearful of the upcoming casualties, but the smaller army was busy with the very first aerial attack.

When the much larger army was fretful but resting, the smaller army began launching hot air balloons made of thin bamboo framework and paper bodies. In the darkness, the glowing balloons rising with the heat from oil lamps rose over the larger army and sparked absolute terror in the enemy camp. The paper drones were glowing with the faces of attacking monsters, and when a few of the new aircraft began to rise, then catch fire, and fall toward the enemy troops, the attack was complete, and the enemy scattered.

Unmanned aircraft in the 21st century have taken aerial adventure to new heights with remote-controlled drones sold everywhere. In the beginning of unmanned aerial vehicles, the early drones were larger and much more expensive than the remote flying vehicles sold in the present day. When drones with expensive cameras became the new norm for commercial photography and advertising, Los Angeles film crews began to arrive - even on Marco - and work with the latest aviation of the day.

On the first day of filming, the latest wizardry from Hollywood made a debut. It was obvious the circular contraption with eight propellers and heavy-looking, hanging camera equipment was a drone, but no one had ever seen a circular flying machine as big and bristling as the professional rig from LA. The appearance of the big black drone was menacing and futuristic.

After a quick meeting with the film crew, a particular Marco Beach Boy began to learn he was to be the support staff on the water. The drone was very important and very expensive, the wizardly producer of the film crew advised, and it was to be handled with the utmost care.

After the lecture on the drone, the producer began to list the Marco film shoot objectives. The drone would fly above the beach and the water, and it would close in on two models from LA. The attractive young man and woman who were the models from Hollywood were clearly indifferent to the familiar lecture and the instructions, but when the filming began, the three-person drone crew, the sound engineers, the two models, and the particular Marco Beach Boy scrambled into position.

The instructions for the first shot were explicit. The Marco Beach Boy was to drive the boat and stay out of sight. Meanwhile, the models who were now appearing to be a couple on vacation were ready in their costumes for the day. The young man with the perfect hair - even in the strong breeze - was wearing golf shorts and a bright red polo shirt. The budding actress from LA was wearing a blue dress, and her blonde hair was also perfect. Also on the open boat was a hotel Chef wearing his whites and a tall chef's hat, also in the strong breeze.

The shoot was to feature the couple riding in the front of the boat, laughing and pointing at the beach, while the hotel chef offered a charcuterie board full of tempting delights. When the drone came in fast for the first close-up, the thing with one large eye looked like something attacking from outer space. It came in so fast and so close, the chef dropped his delectable treats and ducked for cover, and the two models who had perfected the art of indifference also hit the deck.

After the producer finished screaming, waving his arms, and chastising the models and the chef for unprofessional behavior in the face of the camera, the Beach Boy repositioned the boat and the filming began again.

After five attempts at filming the same scenario, the producer was red-faced and furious. The drone was indeed the size of a small spaceship; it did look scary, and every time it flew in fast for an ultimate close-up, everyone in the upcoming commercial either ducked or flinched.

For the final shot of the day, everyone was nervous, and the director livid because of all the failures. Once again, the Beach Boy drove the boat to the proper starting place, but the models looked apprehensive, and the hotel chef disgusted. When the big drone with the brisling antennas and the hanging cyclops camera eye flew in faster than ever for the last time, the ever-increasing wind tore away the chef’s hat, blew the toupee off the male model, and lifted the dress of the budding actress over her head.

After the actress from LA pulled her skirt down after her “Marilynn Monroe Moment,” the male actor jumped into the water after his expensive toupee, but when the drone from Hollywood crashed into the water and disappeared forever, the only remaining star of the latest Flying Circus was the sun on the horizon and another perfect Marco sunset.