Flaming Lotus Angel of the Apocalypse
  Specifications
Concept
Specifications
Design Drawings
2005 Schedules
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General      Head      Body      Wings      Lighting      Fire Safety      Fuel      Burn      Setup & Cleanup
General
The Angel installation will be built of wood and metal, measuring on the ground 50' x 50' with a 30' clearance near the tail end for fuel tanks and effect control stations. Its maximum height is 20'. The body of the bird is a 30' X 10' driftwood fixed sculpture. Two concentric sets of wings measuring from 8' to 20' arc around the body. The head and beak serve as an all-night wood burning cauldron and chimney.

Head
The head is hemispherical, 6' in diameter, with an upper and lower beak rising out of its top, to 12' high. The head is a construction of overlapping 3/16" plates, which houses a removable steel fireplace. This inner vessel stands 1' off the ground, and will serve as a wood fireplace at night, using the beak as a chimney. A steel tube delivering fan-powered air will allow a "blaster" effect in the head, to be triggered by a control button.

Body
The Angel's body is built of 8' to 20' long pieces of driftwood, fitted and lag-bolted together to make a sturdy ovoid body shape. There are wide openings between branches, and an open center. The transition from the head to the body is welded steel pipe, providing a stable fit-up and fire perimeter for the wood body. The Angel's body is completed and sectioned pre-playa, and bolted together onsite. All fire effect fuel, electric, and air lines radiate from the wings to the outside of the installation; at no point will any fuel delivery system intersect with the wood body.

Wings
The "wings" of the Angel manifest as two sets of steel "feathers" installed in two concentric arcs on either side of the body. The inner wings are set at a distance of 15' from the Angel's body, and the outer wings 23' from the body (8' away from the inner wings). Each "wing" contains 4 to 5 feathers, set 8' to 10' apart from each other. A single "feather" is a long, curved triangular prism, anchored at its base to a wide ground plate. From this plate a welded steel tube sinks into the earth; the plate is also staked down on all corners.

The outer set of wings, rising to 15' - 20', are framed in steel tube and covered with pattern-cut sheet metal. These feature a low-pressure liquid fuel fire effect: 1/4" copper tubes, perforated and wrapped with kevlar wicking, will be pumped with kerosene and lit by propane pilot jets. This flame runs from 1' off the ground to the top of the feather (between 12' and 20' high). A basin at its foot will catch any fuel drips.

The inner feathers, built in the same shape, are smaller (8' to 12' high), and feature an interior, propane-fueled ambient flame effect. An operator's button triggers a big blaster flame effect out of the top.

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Late Night Lighting
Late night, the Angel is illuminated by battery LEDS on the wings and body so that people do not drive or bike into it by accident!

Fire Safety
Our liaison with the pyro safety team will be Miz Poon (Pouneh Mortazavi); she will be available to answer any questions or concerns. After testing, we will meet with the Fire Performance Safety Team before allowing participants to enter the Angel of the Apocalypse installation.

All of our gas supplies will have quarter turn shutoff valves and be located 30 feet from any open flame source and the participants. All propane tanks will be compliant with new federal guidelines (OPD devices) and using LPG regulators, LPG hoses and crimped hose fittings. The main kerosene container has a 2" hand shut off. There is a backcheck valve installed just after the main container to make sure that fuel and fire does not flow back into the container.

10 Dry-Chem, 3 CO2, and 2 H20 fire extinguishers will surround the Angel and we will also have wet blankets and a burn kit present. Fire safety crew will be on hand during all fuel burns at the Angel Fuel will be stored at camp and delivered to the Angel of the Apocalypse at night in preparation for the performance. Empty fuel (barrels of kerosene and nitrogen tanks) will be driven back to the fuel depot after the performance.

All Flaming Lotus Girls crew will be given fire safety training tutorials in the months of July and August along with refresher courses on the playa. Our record of fire safety is excellent; in six years as a group, the Flaming Lotus Girls have never burned a single participant. Last year, the BRFD said we had the best fire safety on the playa outside of them! Heehee!

Fuel Plan
All fuel and supplies will be stored in one location 30' from the tail in a depot shaped like a birdhouse. Fuel and electric lines will be trenched and buried. Shut off valves at sculpture and at fuel source. Wood will be stored on tarps to minimize MOOP.

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End-of-the-Week Wood Burn Plan
At the end of the week, we will set the wooden body alight in a final fire ritual. We will create a safe 30' perimeter around the burn area, as we have in the past, with the help of the BRFD. We will surround the bottom of the sculpture with a low, angled fence of perforated sheet metal, to contain burning material and keep it off the playa. The body will rest on a burn platform of cinder blocks and ungalvanized sheet metal, raising the whole wood structure 8" off the ground. After 20-30 minutes, we would like to send up quick vertical shower of fireworks to signify the rebirth and ascension of the Angel (yes we said the "F" word). We have spoken with Dave X and Jack Shroll regarding the potential for this vision and hope to work with them at every stage, from development to execution. We welcome suggestion and guidance from BMan regarding any use of fireworks.

We expect participants to gather and close in around the fire, as they do around other large wood fires. The perimeter crew will keep them back until the fire dept allows the circle to be broken and people can rush in.

Set-Up and Clean-Up
From Burning Man, we request 50 gallons of water for heating as well as the assistance of a trench-digging machine, a heavy-duty forklift, and a boom truck or a crane. Except for the trencher/water we need this assistance for both set up and breakdown.

We do our designing and much setup before we leave for the desert. We will pack the Angel of the Apocalypse and all equipment into trucks for transportation. It will take us 2-3 days to assemble and test onsite.

The Angel of the Apocalypse is made entirely out of steel, wood, and other metals. Gas and Liquid Fueled fire is emitted out of orifices that are 1 to 20ft in the air. Therefore there is no debris left behind nor will we scar the playa with fire.

We intend to create a Leave No Trace environment around the Angel. We will clean the installation daily of any participant debris, making sure that all MOOP is removed. At the end of the festival, we remove all machines and art; pull out ground stakes, scour the entire installation and surrounding area for debris and pollution, and work to ensure that we Leave No Trace.

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General      Head      Body      Wings      Lighting      Fire Safety      Fuel      Burn      Setup & Cleanup
© 2005 Flaming Lotus Girls