Back about 2006 I received a call from the managment of the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Later that same week I flew down to Minnesota to look at a space in which they wished to install a mini golf. Less than two weeks after that I flew back to present a completed design package, which they approved on the spot. On my return home we got busy in our studio creating a variety of features and signs for the golf. We built enough pieces to fill two fifty-two foot semis. A local company did the onsite work including the two story mountain, under my supervision. Over the next two and a half months I made a total of six trips to Minneapolis. One of the features we built was a large, twin engine float plane which was to be suspended from the steel roof girders. It has a wingspan of twenty-four feet and ‘tows’ a fifty foot banner with the name MOOSE MOUNTAIN ADVENTURE GOLF written on it. The engineers insisted the plane had to weigh in at less than 2,100 lbs. It was fabricated using a welded steel frame, spruce plywood, styrofoam, Precision Board high density urethane, sculpting epoxy and various other materials. The main wings and vertical tail section detached for shipping. We weighed the plane when we were finished and it weighed 2,050 lbs! It was suspended from the steel trusses by five quarter inch steel cables. The local fire chief and building inspector insisted we fireproof the plane inside and out (which we did with special paint). They also insisted we bring a sprinkler pipe down from the ceiling and then through the wings of the plane with two sprinkler heads poking through under the wings. The plane number on the wings and tail is a tribute to my dad with his initials and birthdate (month/year).
We brought the features into the mall at night when it was closed. The contractor had assembled a large crane inside the mall and we lifted the pieces up to the third floor where the golf was located. The most amazing thing about the entire project is that it was completed from concept design to finish in only three months. It is still operating and is enjoyed by visitors to the Mall of America.
