BILL TURNER

2007 Best Large Class C Display

In August 2007, Bill won the PGI Large Class C Display competition. That competition is for a display that uses only consumer fireworks and can use up to three shooting areas with a maximum total perimeter for all three areas of 100 feet. Bill’s setup used 8’x10’ areas 100’ apart, and a wheel midway between the two. 80% of the fireworks used were from Kellner’s.

The wheel was of Bill’s own devising and consisted of two bicycle wheels on a horizontal arm that rotated in opposite directions, while the arm could rotate on the vertical axis. The drivers for the wheels were tubes from 7” fountains, and the drivers for the arms were Crackling Silver Dragon Cone fountains. The comets were tubes from Brothers “Turkey Shoot”. The display was named “Ludwig Van”, and was set to music from Beethoven’s Third Symphony. Because Bill was using classical music, he spent a lot of time selecting relatively quiet fireworks. To achieve the necessary timing, Bill separated rows in the cakes and Ematched them; in some cases, he fired only part of a cake on a particular cue, and in other cases, he had multiple Ematches in one cake so he could start it in multiple places to make it go fast. Although Bill fired electrically, it was not computer-controlled; he was listening to the music, watching a timer, and hitting each cue at the appropriate time. There were 57 cues in Bill’s 4 – ½ minute display.

Check out Bill’s display at:

Bill’s 2007 win follows his 2006 win for the Best Small Class C Display competition. That competition is for a display that uses only consumer fireworks, that must be set up in an area with a maximum perimeter of 40 feet (essentially, 2 sheets of plywood laid side-by-side), and with a maximum duration of 5 minutes. Bill’s display was set around a counter-rotating wheel consisting of two bicycle wheels on the same axis, both extended with wooden arms. The drivers for the wheels were Crackling Silver Dragon Cone fountains. About 80% of the fireworks used in the display were Kellner’s products. The display ended with the launch of two Alien Resurrection girandolas.

In addition to winning the Best Small Class C Display competition, Bill was awarded the Best First-Time “C” Competitor trophy.

Here’s a picture of the setup:

Here’s a picture of Bill at the banquet with his trophies: