Here's my review:

How many of you have gone out and purchased an effect that was supposed to be amazing? You purchased an effect that was hyped up to be the greatest product ever envisioned by man. This effect was supposed to allow you to do the impossible and take you to a place where you completely cross the boundary of reality and somehow transcend into a Universe where you have powers only capable of the supernatural. . . And you are excited!!! How could you not be? With the way this effect is marketed and advertised people are going to be convinced that you have sold your soul to the devil. So the effect is now in your hands, your mouth is practically salivating with anticipation, and you open the package and. . . Wait a minute. . .What is this!?! This effect that was supposed to be the greatest thing since the invention of playing cards is actually a piece of crap! You were lied to!!! It doesn’t do as it was advertised. You can’t do what the demo says you can do, unless of course you have an elaborate set-up and do switching and use stooges and do an entire list of things that were edited out of the video! Has this happened to you? This has happened to me over and over again. Because of the false advertising and faulty workmanship behind many effects, especially with “hot” effects like card thru window and levitations, I am going to give an honest in-depth review of Darryl Vanamburg’s Freakiest Levitation Yet (F.L.Y.).

I have been searching for the end-all-levitation since I started magic. I am requested to do a levitation more than any other effect! Naturally I wanted something that would please my spectators, but I also wanted something that I felt comfortable doing. So I started looking into everything that was on the market. But every time I purchased a levitation I felt let down. My attitude became, “This is the best thing on the market right now, sadly, so I need to be happy with what I have.” But I knew there had to be something that would completely satisfy me. And that something has finally been released! My first thought about the F.L.Y. as a magic consumer was, “Well, it looks pretty cool, but is it worth all the hype and all of the money?” After practicing the effect and performing it for others the answer is YES! The F.L.Y. is the BEST effect that I own. Those are words that I do not use lightly! I have invested thousands of dollars into magic and have effects for everything from mentalism to traditional card magic to large stage illusions. The F.L.Y. has been my best purchase so far! But what makes it great?

Overview:

Presentation – 10/10: This is by far the strength of this effect! You have no limitations. How do you want to present this levitation? Do you want to lightly touch your spectator to draw upon their energy? Do you want walk around a little bit to find the “right spot” to harness power from the earth? Do you want to just do the levitation because you have a special gift? It’s completely up to you how this is presented. You don’t need to use any weird patter that you have needed to use in the past with other levitations because there is nothing to cover up! You can now do what magic is all about – showmanship! This is my favorite aspect about the F.L.Y. I can’t tell you how many effects collect dust because I am so concerned about moves and misdirection that I don’t get a chance to make what I am doing believable to the spectator. Instead of the spectator seeing something that seems sleighty and awkward, they now see real magic! You can say whatever you would like to say, you can show the bottoms of both feet at the end of the effect, and you can do a mid-air rotation. You can customize your presentation to you!

Angles – 10/10: 120 degrees of angle safety was not an exaggeration. This allows you to levitate for more than 2 people finally! You don’t have to spend most of your time worrying about positioning your spectators. You don’t have to be uncertain about your performance because you are worried about someone “seeing something”. You can now levitate with confidence.

Learning Curve – 6/10 (1 being a kid can perform this, 10 being only a professional could pull this off): There is a very steep learning curve on this! It will take time getting acquainted to and feeling comfortable with the gimmick as well as learning how to perfect your usage with it. This effect takes a lot of practice. Is this a turn-off for the effect? In my opinion the answer is no. The learning curve on this is spent learning the gimmick. It is not spent learning how to make a gimmick, it is not spent altering clothing, it is not spent coming up with misdirection so you can perform different “moves”, and it is not spent worrying about angles. This levitation deserves to have flawless execution and this only comes with practice. Besides, although a self-working effect is nice, don’t we all do tricks that took a lot of practice? How many times did you practice your pass before it became invisible? How many times did you break your invisible thread before you were able to levitate an object for all phases of the routine? How much time did you spend in front of a mirror before your metal bending routine looked believable? The F.L.Y. is no exception. And if you are not willing to put the time into this effect than it is not for you (nor is magic in general in my opinion. I am a little tired of impatient “magicians” performing something minutes after they opened the package, videotaping their butchered miracle, then posting it on YouTube for the world to see the secret. This type of exposure is worse than what the masked magician has done!).

Craftsmanship – 8.5/10: Up to this point, the best constructed gimmick I have seen was the Black Widow. The F.L.Y. is far superior in my opinion. I think this says something about Darryl Vanamburg and Roy Kueppers. The only reason this doesn’t get a higher rating is because there are a lot of tiny parts that could break if handled extremely recklessly, which is the same reason this isn’t sold to minors. Don’t get the wrong idea though, this effect is pretty durable. They didn’t use cheap plastic pieces that break easily, which is something that seems to almost be synonymous with magic gimmicks these days. I saw on a forum that the F.L.Y. unit is kind of like a gadget that you would see James Bond using. This is an excellent analogy. The innovativeness, the functionality, the creativity, the practicality, and the design are all top notch. How Darryl Vanamburg was able to invent this levitation blows my mind! I think the bottom line is that this levitation is very well constructed and we don’t have to worry about some atrocious knock-off ever hitting the market.
What about the Dr. Martens? If anyone out there is familiar with Dr. Martens, they know that they are very durable shoes that will last you a long time. With reasonable care, they will last you a lifetime. These boots are casual enough that you can wear them with jeans or cargo pants, yet you can also wear them with slacks for more professional events. You will not be disappointed with the quality of the shoes!


Reactions – 10/10: By far the best I have ever seen with any product – ever!!! I would rate this as the best effect that I own just because of this point! I know there is a lot of criticism about how high the levitation is, how the rotation looks, etc. As magicians, we are very critical of products. We have very high expectations! But the real key to this is to think as a spectator. And what do they think? After performing the F.L.Y. I have been asked if I made some sort of pact with Satan, I have had people scream (not casually speak but actually scream) every profane word that you can think of, I have had people run away from me quickly because they are absolutely frightened, and I have even had people turn very pale, losing all ability to even utter words. How many effects do you have where you get great reactions like this every time you do the effect? From a magic trick perspective I am extremely pleased with the reactions; from a levitation perspective I am absolutely ecstatic! I have been told that I levitated 2 feet in the air, I have had people try to inspect every inch of my body, and I have not had one person tell me that they know how it was done! In fact, not one person has even tried to speculate how it is done. Now keep in mind, the reactions I get are partly due to the material and effects that I do before hand. The stronger the effect that you present before hand, the stronger your levitation reaction will be. I don’t walk up and do a levitation and then leave. The spectator thinks I might have supernatural powers before I do the F.L.Y., the F.L.Y. just confirms for them in their mind what they already believe.
Because of the insane reactions that I get from this, I have decided to completely change my repertoire and presentation style all together. The F.L.Y. has inspired me to primarily do mentalism and PK effects. When you realize the power that you have on others with this effect, you will have a strong desire to harness those reactions every time with every other trick that you do.


Overall – 9.5/10: There is no perfect effect, but this is close. I like how you don’t have to take extraordinary chances to pull this off! An important aspect of a powerful trick is the old saying that “simple hits hard!” This effect is simple! You walk up, you levitate, you walk away – that’s it! There are no get-readies; there is no clean-up. There is no re-set. There is no cover needed, nor do you need excessive patter or misdirection. This can be performed anytime, anywhere. Both feet are literally in the air for any amount of time. You have complete power over the mid-air rotation. The speeds in which you levitate up and hover back down are also under your control. This is the best levitation out there, period.

One thing I would also like to address in this review are the Frequently Asked Questions that I have seen in many different forums:

1. Is this product safe?

If you follow the instructions exactly as they are taught by Darryl, the answer is yes. This product has its risks, just like many of the illusions out there. The difference is that these risks only come into play with the F.L.Y. when the unit is mishandled. I think we will need to worry about flash paper much sooner than we will have to worry about this levitation.

2. Does this come with everything that I need in order to perform immediately?

Not quite. Your shoes will be completely prepared and the unit will be completely constructed, but there is one thing that you will have to buy. This product is very inexpensive and is available at many locations. Darryl lists many stores where this can be found in the U.S. and in Canada and also gives you a hint on how to search the internet to find more locations that carry this. I bought it at Wal*Mart.

3. Is the gimmick really as complex as they make it out to be or is it something I can make?

The hype about the complexity is actually correct for the first time in magic. I have seen coin benders that are supposed to be revolutionary, but I know that a few hardware pieces will get the job done just as efficiently and it will cost me about 1/100th the price. So I took my bargain hunter mentality to the F.L.Y. I thought if he could come up with this I can too! I did my research. In fact, I investigated this concept for months! I tried finding parts to accomplish this at hardware stores but couldn’t find anything. I know people that own mechanical body shops and engineering facilities. I sat down with these individuals with my rough blue print and we all came to the consensus that this was borderline impossible to create. So then I decided to purchase the F.L.Y. After I received it I was amazed with all of the fine intricacies the unit had to offer. This gimmick truly is remarkable!

4. How does this levitation rate with other levitations out on the market?

The easiest way to answer this is by listing the pros and cons of the more popular levitations on the market.

Balducci
Pros-
This levitation is the best no gimmick levitation that can be done and it was the levitation that took David Blaine to where he is today. You don’t need to do funny moves to hide anything and there aren’t many clothing restrictions whatsoever (you can actually pull this one off in shorts).
Cons-
This has horrible angle restrictions. Not only do you have to be careful about how you position yourself against your spectators so that they don’t see how this is done, but your back is against your audience. That is never a good thing to do during the climax of a performance.
The biggest draw back though is the amount of exposure this has. There are an infinite number of internet sites that teach how this is done. In fact, I remember going to a restaurant and doing some amazing hard-hitting visual magic to many different people. I was asked by almost everyone to do a levitation but I didn’t feel comfortable doing one (I didn’t own the F.L.Y. yet)so I said I didn’t have the proper concentration to pull one off. One spectator said, “Oh, you don’t need to have concentration. Watch!” He then performed the Balducci and let everyone there know how it was done.

King Rising
Pros-
This levitation is also considered to be ungimmicked. You can get more of a rise out of this levitation than most of the other levitations out there. The spectator views you from the side and is able to see both feet go into the air.
Cons-
A lot of misdirection is needed! A tip to get past the misdirection is by using a jacket to help cover your move, but now you have a clothing restriction. Also, you really need to be careful with spectators that come up to you and inspect you immediately after this is performed as there is clean-up that needs to be done. There is also a pretty bad angle restriction, but by being able to look at your spectator this is a little bit easier to manage.
This also has had a lot of exposure as of late. It is being exposed on many large websites and I fear that this will inevitably turn into what the Balducci has become.
The biggest problem with this levitation in my opinion is that you look like you are falling over when you perform this. I had never noticed this until a spectator pointed this out to me. I then went back in front of a mirror and looked at my entire body, rather than just looking at my feet and noticed that I did look like I was going to fall. I have also seen many videos of others performing this levitation and they all appear to have this same problem. This ended up not looking as magical as I thought it did. .
A personal frustration of mine is how this is marketed as “the closest to what David Blaine does.” That is a blatant lie! The closest thing to what David Blaine does is the Balducci (do that and then get a crane to suspend you and you will be in business!).

Wild
Pros-
You have excellent angles! You can levitate pretty high on this one.
Cons-
A jacket covers the move you need to do in order to make this levitation happen. The levitation still looks pretty impressive, but your spectators will want you to remove the jacket and perform it again. The jacket (or some other object like a towel) is needed.

Elevator
Pros-
You are able to levitate without any clothing restrictions! You can do this in shorts and barefoot where all other levitations mentioned require you to at least wear shoes. You have excellent angles and can perform a mid-air rotation.
Cons-
The set-up required for this looks strange! I have tried many different techniques to get-ready for this levitation, but none of them work as perfectly as I would like them to. Also, the gimmick for this is very bulky! You will want to be careful that people don’t figure out your method of levitation because they see a large bulge sticking out of the pocket area of your pants. I think there is a lot of risk with this levitation for only getting an inch or two of height.

Elevator 2
Pros-
This has more height than the original Elevator. A lot of thought was put into this gimmick and there are a lot of improvements over the original. The gimmick is able to be compacted to the size of a wallet. Peter Loughran is also an amazing guy. I had a problem with my gimmick where I needed some replacement parts. I called Master of Illusions so I could find out where I could buy these parts. I spoke to a rep there and when I told her my problem she put me on hold. I waited for a second and Peter got on the line. I told him my problem and he was shocked. He and I talked for a while to figure out what the problem was and how to prevent it from happening again. He then got my address and overnight mailed me the replacement parts that I needed free of charge. He also gave me a good deal on other illusions that he sells. That was very noble of him and he completely exceeded all of my expectations!
Cons-
This levitation has more of an angle restriction than the original Elevator. Part of the reason for this restriction is the “new and improved” set-up (this new set-up doesn’t have to be performed; you are still able to use the old way). This set up doesn’t look as bizarre as the original set-up, but it takes a lot of practice! If you are able to master this set-up, you then move on to the next stage – mastering the levitation. The learning curve on this levitation is very steep! Getting the hang of the gimmick and making this levitation look natural will take you a lot of work. You will also need to spend time working on bringing the gimmick into play as silently as possible. There is a lot of practice a head of you on this one.
Because of the new design on this gimmick, the mid-air rotation is not possible. This new gimmick also requires you to wear shoes.

Criss Angel/Jacob Spinney
Pros-
This is a levitation that was actually performed by Criss Angel on his special. You get a lot of height out of this levitation. You are able to levitate onto an object (like a chair or step).
Cons-
There is a lot of work that needs to go into this! First, you need to build the gimmick. Criss does a horrible job explaining the construction and the DVD is very choppy. You will have to go back and forth to figure out how to construct this. You will also have to alter clothing. In order to alter the clothing, you will have to follow instructions that are not included on the DVD. You practically have to be a seamstress in order to get the clothing altered. The gimmicked clothing is very uncomfortable! This is not something that I recommend you wear all day. Criss even admits that he only wore it when they were filming.
Angles on this are horrible! This is performed with your back to your audience, which as I mentioned before is an awful idea during a climax of an effect. There is clean-up that you need to do before turning to face your audience. If you aren’t careful, your spectators may discover the discrepancy in your clothing even after you finish your clean-up.
This levitation really only looks good when you levitate onto something. When you do a stand-alone levitation, you lean forward quite a bit and you look like you may fall over. My observation is that spectators expect to see a stand-alone levitation. This doesn’t mean that they won’t be impressed if you levitate onto an object, but they may be a little disappointed.
The presentation for stage does not look good at all. I was getting together a stage show and performed this (as well as other illusions) for close friends so that I could get some honest feedback as to what was good and what needed to be cut. Everyone agreed that this stage version looked terrible.
This had been exposed. The DVD explaining this effect was uploaded onto the internet and is now available for everyone to see.

Icarus Effect
Pros-
This effect looks amazing! This levitation can be performed as either a stand-alone levitation or you can levitate onto an object (like a step or ledge). There are a few stage versions of the effect and they all look fantastic. This is performed facing your spectators.
All of the tools that you need to build your gimmick are included in the package. The DVD walks you through how to build the gimmick step-by-step. Aaron Paterson actually builds one with you. You also get to alter clothing of your choice rather than having to follow a pattern
Aaron is an exceptional person. I was very disappointed with the Criss Angel/Jacob Spinney levitation, so I had my reservations about this effect as they appeared to be very similar. I emailed him with some questions and my concerns. Aaron personally called me and walked through each question that I had and gave me a rundown on his levitation. I was so impressed with the way he responded to me that I bought his levitation the next day.
This was my favorite levitation until F.L.Y. was released.
Cons-
There is a clothing restriction. There is also a very big angle problem but because you are facing your spectators, it is easier to misdirect them. You need to practice this a lot in order to identify where your angle issues rise. The gimmick does take a lot of time to build, but the instructions are very clear!
The gimmick is much more comfortable than the Criss Angel/Jacob Spinney, but it still isn’t the most practical to wear all day. You can take the gimmick out of your altered clothing which is nice if you decide to have more than one piece of altered clothing.
You will need to be careful about people finding a discrepancy in your clothing. Most people won’t notice it as it is easier to hide than the Criss Angel/Jacob Spinney levitation, but if a heckler wants to inspect you, you might be in trouble.

F.L.Y.
Pros-
This can be performed facing your audience like Elevator 1 and 2, Wild, and Icarus Effect, or you can do a side levitation like King Rising. Both feet come off of the ground. You can do a mid-air rotation like Elevator. There is a lot of angle safety like Elevator 1 and 2. This can be performed in front of multiple spectators with confidence like Wild.
You do not need to do any get-readies as you do in Balducci, King Rising, Wild, Elevator 1 and 2, Criss Angel/Jacob Spinney, and Icarus. Everything is done right in front of the audience with very minimal misdirection, or no misdirection at all. There is no gimmick to build as there is in Wild, Criss Angel/Jacob Spinney, and Icarus. There is no cover that is needed as there is in King Rising and Wild. There is no gimmick to ditch as there is in Elevator 1 and 2. The amount of practice and prep-work that needs to be done with this levitation is actually much less than King Rising, Elevator 1 and 2, Criss Angel/Jacob Spinney, and Icarus Effect. You can invite your spectators to immediately inspect you after the levitation is done since there is no clean-up to do, unlike King Rising, Elevator 1 and 2, Criss Angel/Jacob Spinney, and Icarus Effect.
This has not been exposed at all. Even if you were to figure out the secret to how this done, you still wouldn’t be able to perform this without the gimmick. The gimmick is not something that a person would be able to duplicate, even if they had one in front of them. The levitation unit is top notch and most of the pieces appear to be custom made.
Darryl Vanamburg is awesome. When my shoes were getting gimmicked he kept me updated the entire time. He would send me periodic progress reports so that I knew what was going on. He asked me to email him when I received my unit so that he could make sure I received it and that it was in good order. I called him with questions and he dedicated hours of his time to answer anything from basic unit maintenance to performance techniques. I was very impressed with his customer service skills, especially since he is probably going to have the most outrageous phone bill since we live thousands of miles away from each other.
Cons-
There are clothing restrictions as you have to wear pants and the gimmicked shoes. You aren’t able to levitate onto an object.

Final Thoughts:

I do understand that this levitation will not be for everyone. For some it will cost too much money, for others it will be a type of magic that they don’t like to perform. Some may even have a levitation that they currently perform that they are happy with. But for those of us who have seen the flaws that the other levitations have to offer, we now have a solution. Darryl has obviously done his homework on this. When you see the workmanship that has gone into this effect as well as the sheer thought-process behind the unit, you will understand without a doubt the amount of time he has spent studying other levitations to work through each and every short-coming that they offer. If you are serious about your art and if you understand the influence that levitation has had on magic in every context then the F.L.Y. is for you. I am working on buying more units and paying extra to gimmick other types of shoes because I believe in the product that much. I highly recommend this product as a magician, spectator, and consumer!

If anyone does have any additional questions about the F.L.Y. let me know. I have used this with great success and have performed this for spectators in many different situations.

Fly review from Gomagicgo !!!

The FLY review starts at about the 49min mark

http://media.libsyn.com/media/thetrapdoor/GMG20061214.mp3

I have been asked some other questions about the F.L.Y. through PM's that I would like to address for everyone:

Does your hand really go into your pocket?
No. I had no idea where this question came from until I watched the demo a few times. Although it might look like that on the demo to some, I can assure you that your hand never goes into your pocket (not before, not during, not after). Trust me, if you had to put your hands in your pockets for some reason, I wouldn't think highly of this effect.

What's the quality of the shoes?
Excellent! Dr. Martens will last you a long time! I have been wearing Dr. Martens for the last 7 years or so (which, when you do the math, is well after 1993. That audio clip that was pasted above was very lame!). These shoes are like any other pair that you have had in that you will need to break them in. There is a gimmick in them which will make them a little uncomfortable at first. Now that mine have been broken in I wear them all the time (around 10 hours every day). The shoes are excellent!

How much practice is needed?
That depends on the person. I went up and down and up and down over and over again. If was to guess, I probably levitated close to 75 times before I presented this. Why so much? I wanted to get used to the gimmick, I wanted to make sure it was perfectly tailored to my body, I wanted to make sure I had the right performance and patter, I wanted to make sure I knew my angles and distance limitations, and I honestly astonished myself every time I saw both of my feet come off the ground! Was this amount of practice necessary? Maybe not. But this only amounted to about 2 hours in front of a mirror and videocamera and believe me when I say this has paid off when I perform it!

I hope this helps answer any other questions people might have. If you do have other questions though, please feel free to reply here or send me a PM. I will do my best to answer as thoroughly as possible. Remember, my goal from the beginning was to be as honest as possible. We have all been burned by effects and have felt cheated out of our money. You won't experience that with this!

All the best,
jade

I don't think the question is, "Is it good," but "Why should I buy this is if Balducci goes just as high or higher for a couple of people ($0 vs. $1000+). If you "trick" the spectator, they will think you levitated with either. They don't care or know how much it cost you.

-Dengez

See my last post and you will see why. Just about everyone knows how the balducci is done. Youtube search, levitation and watch everyone hacking the Balducci (kings rising,angel etc... and exposing it( with a lot of other magic I may add ). Search Ebay magic and look for the 99 cent dvd explaining the "Blaine Levitation exposed" and google it and you will find it and the explanation. I have actually had people, regular people who knew nothing about magic, show ME the levitation that they learned on the internet and guess which one it was ? I wont have people coming up to me saying they saw it on youtube exposed because of the expense will help keep it in the right hands,people who respect magic.

It is kinda like charging a load at the door of a club so the riff raff stay out. Magic is an expensive habit and this is up there but I have seen lots of stage ellusions that were much more expensive. I think the fact that this is priced out of somes wish list will help preserve the magic part of it and will not be exposed.

Balducci is very very angley inho and I wasnt too comfortable doing it for more than one person. I feel this fly could be done for 4 or 5 or more at one time.

The angle safety and not having to hear, I know how you do that and the fact that it is completely clean.I could wear the FLY anywhere I go, anytime. I sometimes get ask to levitate while performing and I cant because of angles,lack of props,more than one or two people,not wearing the right items etc... With the FLY, I could see it being done right now, ok, I can try. Instead of, I don't feel it or I am weak right now or whatever else that states I cant. That in and of itself is a huge huge bonus for me. I have regretfully declined the levi more times than I was able to actually do it.

Granted it is a lot of money and it wont be justified by some simply by cost. Others will not be interested because they feel their levitation is working for them. I own about 6 different levitations and feel this one will be best for me due to its simplicity,cleanliness and no worrys about misdirection to "get ready". I am waiting for Piz's video and after that I think I will order.

Donkeys and Waffles

I do not have this levi but did the Balducci for may years before it was exposed. I do honestly believe that this is the best street levi out there and do not blame them for putting the cost up there.
With levi's height isn't a big factor,defying gravity is. For all that own it enjoy it as I do believe it is as good as the owners say it is.

If you have read my review you will see the distinct differences between the FLY and most other levitations on the market (the Balducci is included in my review). Let me reiterate a few points:

-The Balducci has major angle restrictions! You need to position your spectators in just the right spot and pray that they don't move. You also perform with your back to them. Why would anyone want to perform an effect with your back to the audience? That is a bad performance technique for all forms of art(if anyone has taken a class on theatre they would recall these same points being taught there). The only time your back should be to an audience with magic is when someone pulls a card out of the deck. Having your back to the audience in that situation is a powerful suggestion telling them that there is no way you would know what that card is. Would you finish an ambitous card routine with your back to the audience? I would hope not. So why would you want to perform a levitation with your back to them? It's a guilty pleasure of mine to face them and watch their reactions and expressions. Many of us do magic for that very reason.

-The Balducci has been exposed - BADLY! Donkey and Waffles made that point earlier. In fact, how many of us have been asked to do a levitation, decided not to do one because we didn't feel comfortable doing so based on the current situation (too many people, bad angles, etc.), but then had a lay person say, "It's not that difficult - Watch!" What do you know, they just performed the Balducci. If you type something along the lines of 'levitation revealed' in Google and hit search, you will find a free explanation of the Balducci on countless sites. There are videos of people showing you how it's done on YouTube. I first saw the explanation on national TV by the masked magician (that was close to 7 years ago now) and those specials are re-run on TV all the time. You can buy a DVD explaining it for about one dollar and it is explained in many different books (some of which you can find at your local library). That would constitute as A LOT of exposure to me. Does anyone else agree?

Now let's take a look at the FLY. How many lay people know how it's done? Pretty close to no one right? How many magicians have an idea about how it's done? Still not many. Out of those who might have an idea as to how it works, how many know how to actually construct the gimmick? As I said in my review, I knew how it worked. I tried to build my own because at the time it was unreleased. I couldn't find a way to build one without using many different special parts. Coming up with a prototype (which may or may not have worked) looked to be pretty expensive (with the people I had talked to, they told me I could expect to spend close to $5,000.). So when I found a way to buy this I did immediately. Now that I own it, I realize that my original blueprint was WAY off!!! I can't even figure out how to build another even when I look at the one I currently own!

So, if someone tells you to perform a levitation now, you can. Not only that, when your spectators look at each other and ask, "How the F*** did he do that?", they will most likely be speechless. Or, you may get this response, "I know how to do this one levitation, but I have never seen anything like that before!"

In my most humble opinion (I am not trying to start any fights with this comment, this is just my opinion), if you find yourself asking questions like "Which levitation is the best - King Rising or Wild?", or "Why would someone spend so much money on a levitation?", then I don't believe that you understand the significance that levitations have had on our art and I don't believe the FLY is for you. I have said from the beginning that this will not be for everyone.

-Maybe this isn't the type of magic you perform. If you are a traditionalist and only like playing for intimate cabaret or table performances, a levitation may be completely out of the realm of what you like to perform. If that's the case, don't worry about spending the money for this. You need to do effects that you feel confident with. If there is the slightest bit of doubt in your mind ("what I am doing is just a trick", "I don't like performing levitations", "no one will believe this is real") you will set yourself up for failure! You will send a negative nonverbal suggestion to your audience which will result in mediocre reactions and a loss of the rapport that you built. If a levitation is completely different from what you normally do and you think it will send that suggestion, then do not purchase the FLY.

-Maybe you think this costs too much money. If that's how you feel, I don't believe I will convince you otherwise. You have your opinion for different reasons. Maybe you are not a working performer, maybe you don't perform levitations, maybe you don't understand the importance of levitations to a spectator. Whatever it might be, do not purchase the FLY. I can say that this gimmick looks expensive. It doesn't contain cheap plastic peices that will break easily, which happens so often with most gimmicks these days. I agree with the price efficiency comment from Darryl and Roy regarding the FLY. If you do not agree, don't buy this.

-Maybe you don't understand the influence levitations have had on our art. Some belive that all lay people know that levitations are fake and are usually done through some form of wire suspension. Is that really the case? The reactions David Blaine received when he did his levitation are inspiring. I honestly hope that one day people will think I too am doing things that ARE real, that I have something 'spiritual' about me, that God intervened and I performed a miracle with divine intervention, that I am using real voodoo. I have stated to get to a point where people say those things about me and I have the FLY to thank for a lot of that. Why? Because I get asked to do a levitation more than any other effect. How many times do people come up to you and ask, "Can you do that coin trick that I saw Criss Angel do?" How about, "Can you float like I saw Criss Angel do?" I more often hear the levitation question. We as magicians should do something about this drive from our audience. Houdini's Magic Shop in Vegas has. Has anyone been to one of their stores? They have a demo that they do every 15 minutes where they perform D'Lights and then levitations using Invisible Thread. Why levitations? They are visual and people want to see them. If you don't understand this type of importance, do not buy the FLY.

-Do you already have a levitation you like to preform? If yes, do not worry about the FLY. The FLY is amazing, but if you don't find it necessary, don't worry about it. That would be like trying to fix something that you don't find to be broken.

Now what if you don't fall into one of those categories? What if you don't find the cost to be expensive because it is for a peice of magic that you know you will perform again and again. What if you understand that levitations are something our spectators want to see? What if you currently perform different types of visual magic, mentalism, PK effects, Bizarre magick, and suggestion routines? What if you don't like other levitations on the market because they don't support your 'Do it anywhere, anytime' philosophy? Then the FLY is for you. The more I use it, the more I want to recommend it! I find this levitation to be the best out there!

Anyone have a video showing the performance of the levi ? An actual real video, not the promotional video ? PIZ ?

Um, they were basing all their comments on the claims made in the ads.

As for no prep, bringing with you any kind of gimmick is prep. You would never claim that any thread work was done with no prep.

They also do acknowledge that there is no extra prep right before you do the lev though.

Also, they were just having fun. Clearly they go for comedy in their podcasts. So what if a lot of it is true

The actual device may very well be worth the money, but the effect simply is not.

IMO that is.

Yeah, it seems like the workng pro has nothing to post about except the FLY. It's a shame, he's a good writer. It's almost like he should be writing ad copy. Oh, wait........

As far as people knowing the Balducci, that's true. If you levitate a few inches people will assume you are doing that and try to look under your feet. Unfortunately, they can't look under your feet whether you do a free levitation or a $1600 F.L.Y. levitation. You can't do either levitation surrounded either.

Hogle if Piz says he will be putting a video up I'm sure he will. I'm looking forward to seeing it also.

No one has tried to look under my feet. I do a very subtle rotation as I come down. Presentation is key to any effect and this for me has been a reputation maker. Though you can't do it surrounded the angles are very good indeed.

All the best and looking foward to the video.

magicmike30

Can anyone comment on using this for strolling hours at a time week in and week out?

I have to say that both of the reviews so far on this product have not sat well with me for a few different reasons that I won't get into. I would love to see a few more...anyone?

Seriously, is this a 1 1/2 inch levitation or a 3 inch levitation ? I thought it looked quite a bit higher than an inch and a 1/2 ? Anyone ?

The Docs give the illusion that you go much higher than 1 1/2. The way the shoes are designed works perfect when levitating. Piz mentions how surprised he was when I levitate in my custom Nikes how much higher the Docs look. This is due to the Nikes having a flat bottom. So the mechanics fit perfectly into the Docs. Wait for Piz's video and you will see how it looks like with another performer.

magicmike30

Yeah, I thought it looked higher than an inch and a half. Even that old Aliun video with the tennis shoes looked higher than an inch and a half. I do remember what someone said about levitations, " It isn't how high you lift off the ground, it is the fact that you are defying gravity". Any word on the video ? I have been waiting to order until I saw another person perform this in a real life setting ? Thanks !!

Um, how do you honestly think that an upcoming start doing this on TV would go over?

After the "levitations" that Blaine and Angel have done, a two to three inch levitation would be laughed at by even laymen, ON TV that is.

I did some walk-around at a winter carnaval dinner this week-end. I got asked four times about levitating like Angel. Kind of wish I had FLY then. I could have gone into a speech about the camera not only adding ten pounds but also ten inches to levitations. I think FLY would have killed and in that kind of setting, I don't think any other self-levitation would have worked.

My comment on the price was ment entirely to be directed at FLY itself and not your post outside of a practicality issue.

Also, my comments on your joke were simply my observation as to how such a line would play in that type of situation.

Someone asks you about levitating a few feet in the air and you say, well the TV adds ten inches, [so I can only show you a levitation of a few inches] simply leaves someone bringing that up with a LOT to be desired.

My advice would be to simply NOT do a levitation in that situation. After that kind of hype around levitating two feet and you follow it with a few inches, there is simply no way to live up to that.

Odly enough, playing off of hype building up around YOU being able to levitate, and then following it up with the balducci in a controlled situation you will get a FAR greater reaction.

Using something as powerfull as a levitation in person should be handled with delicacy. Not something that is done simply because someone said "Hey can you do what that guy on TV does?" Doing the levitation imediatly after makes it the answer. It falls off just like you said 'Yeah, see' and your done.

In that situation it becomes a big let down to the big hype.

Playing it out with hype about YOU levitating rather than you doing something the guy on TV did, it becomes more of a phenomonon.

And, again, with just the Balducci, they will swear that you floated a foot off the ground.

Again, it is something that should be presented in a controlled maner, not just because of the angles, but because of the nature of the effect and the context you should be giving it.

Even when Blaine did it, he was able to hype up what was coming simply through his other magic that he prefaced it with, as well as his personality in the few times that he just walked up to a stranger and did it.

In the FLY demo, as great a performer as Daryll is, the performances come across like just another trick he did. Not something that should be the miricle it was/is.

This is where the money can come in, simply because you need to present such a stronge piece in the proper context. Such context's require control over the performance situation anyway, so the "conditions" required in other levitations become non-issues simply because they are taken care of by that "control."

Spending $1600 just to have better angles and allowing you to seemingly do it in a moments notice more easily goes against the context that should be applied to the effect.

At least that is my opinion. I do NOT think that it is worth the money to have such a complicated method to achieve an illusion with only better angles as the only real "plus" over so many other methods. That is ALL you are getting that you don't get with even Zero Gravity.

If you have such a big audience to levitate for, you do NOT want to pass this off as something you can just do when they ask.

Just like any other effect, build it up and control it. Build YOU levitating up, not duplicating what they saw on TV because they will be disapointed.

This should easily allow you to set your self in a position that is truely benificial to what ever method you are using and position everyone who wants to see it so that they CAN see it. "You'll see it better" etc, or what ever way that is not saying, you can't be behind me or you'll see what you shouldn't.

Sadly, another levitation that can duplicate what the FLY does and the angles almost identically would be Elevator.

And for the "exposure" of the Balducci, watch the video "How to Levitate" (I think that's the title) which is all on the Balducci and you will learn so much more on how to present it and control it and even be able to have it fly by those who "know" it from "some site."

Can you use the electric touch with fly?

Darryl is a nice and honest person -- no question about that. I purchased the FLY ... and have had it for a few months now. I have practiced this effect extensively before trying it in public (and I really do mean extensively). I have tried this effect in public now about 10 different times .. I thought one time I did get a great reaction (see my previous post) from some people but know now that it was just wishful thinking on my part. The device is pure genius in what it does ... but so far I must be doing something very very wrong because I have gotten 0 reactions from anyone I performed this for. After viewing the DVD a few more times I am very disappointed in this effect ... and until perhaps I see somebody else doing it successfully in some videos and can analyse what I am doing wrong I will keep this opinion. Hope that helps "Donkeys and Waffles". I too am anxiously waiting for a video from Piz -- I would do one but right now have nothing to show.