David Copperfield

David Copperfield (illusionist)

David Copperfield is an Emmy Award-winning American illusionist, and was described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history. Copperfield's network specials have been nominated for 38 Emmy Awards and won a total of 21 Emmys...

 performs a flying levitation trick created by John Gaughan

John Gaughan

John Gaughan is a manufacturer of magic acts and equipment for magicians based in Los Angeles, California. His style of work is classic, not based heavily on machinery and technology....

, which is notable for its graceful motion and unencumbered appearance. During the trick, Copperfield flies acrobatically about the stage, and then appears to have spinning hoops passed around him to prove that he is not suspended from wires. He then floats down into an acrylic glass

Acrylic glass

Poly is a transparent thermoplastic, often used as a light or shatter-resistant alternative to glass. It is sometimes called acrylic glass. Chemically, it is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate...

 box, and continues to float inside after the box is covered. He selects a female volunteer (or possibly a "stooge") from his audience and flies with her in a fashion similar to Superman

Superman

Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...

 carrying Lois Lane

Lois Lane

Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....

. The illusion

Illusion

An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. While illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people....

 sometimes ends with a falcon

Falcon

A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....

 named "Icarus" grasping Copperfield by the wrist and flying off stage with him.

The performance is accompanied by an orchestration called "East of Eden Suite" by film composer Lee Holdridge

Lee Holdridge

Lee Holdridge is a Haitian-born American television composer and orchestrator.-Biography:He was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, of a Puerto-Rican mother and an American father, the botanist an climatologist Leslie Holdridge...

, originally written as the theme music for the 1981 miniseries East of Eden.

Method

John Gaughan described how the trick works in US Patent #5,354,238. According to the patent, the performer is supported by a pair of arrays of fine wires that remain invisible to the viewing audience. The wires are less than 1 mm thick, but can support 100 kg each. The wire arrays are mounted at the hips, near the human center of mass, to a harness worn under the clothing. This creates a balance point facilitating a wide range of movements while suspended. The wires are attached to a complex computer-controlled rig above the stage that maintains the tension in each, and keeps each array of wires perpendicular to the viewing audience. During the later phases of the performance, two hoops are used simultaneously, which aids the deception as the hoops do not come into contact with the wires. Instead, each ring is brought flush to the wires before being twisted under Copperfield. In the glass box demonstration, the top of the box is threaded between the two sets of wires in a vertical position, before being rotated ninety degrees and lowered into place. The wires remain in place while the performer is in the glass box, passing through crevices between the lid and the sides. Since the box limits movement and he is only able to rotate on one axis, he stays side-on to the front of the audience while in the box. When flying with a volunteer, he holds her in front of him, and she does not come into contact with the set-up.

External links

• David Copperfield's flying illusion (Video)