Burbank uses a world-wide open design contest, in which anyone, anywhere, may submit a concept drawing. After the entries are received, a two-step selection process begins. First, the BTORA Board of Directors screens the designs for theme appropriateness, buildability, decoration potential. Next, the entire paid membership votes to determine the ranking of the selected designs. The membership voted for "Barnyard Aces".

Back in the day, the best of the new crop of pilots were barnstorming across the country to stir up interest in the new fangled aeroplanes. They would even earn a few dollars by giving rides to excited followers! They could really draw a crowd by flying through the open doors of a barn! Our barnyard ace deserves a perfect "10"!

The float depicts an “ace” barnstorming pilot executing a perfect loop and barn fly-through maneuver! Chickens scatter and horses enjoy watching as our ace pilot shows off his flying skills! The red carnation barn is complemented by a field of colorful rose "crops". The half-size scale model of a Stearman PT-17 airplane will climb, dive, and perform complete 360 degree rolls!

The concept is that of a barnstorming pilot performing a death defying loop-and-fly-through a farmer's barn maneuver.

The barn is covered with red carnations, sweet rice for the trim and red beans for accent.

Horses are covered with a variety of materials including uva grass, pampas grass, strawflower, coconut and farina. We plan to give each horse a unique personality with the material.

The horses are eating out of a trough of hay that contains roses, amaranths, oatmeal and dendrobium orchids.

Front flower field is a blanket of roses with yellow, pink, green, purple and orange rows cascading down to the end of the float.

Plane will be decorated with strawflower, everlasting petals, and ti leaf. Propeller is covered with mahogany ti leaf. Silver leaf and lettuce seed are used to cover the engine.

Trailing behind the plane in a curly-Q fashion, will be the illusion of puffy white smoke made from coconut, rice, cotton, orchids, spider mums, cushion mums and million star baby’s breath.

On the back of the float we have a lively vegetable garden. The garden will use kale, broccoli, cauliflower; cabbage and other assorted vegetables as well as a potato walkway.

Each of the easily frightened chickens will be given an individual look. They will have a variety of fresh and dry materials including; roses, strawflower, everlasting, parrot tulips, gladiolas and lilies.

Flower Placement - Roses

Number of Years in Rose Parade: 78

BTORA is proud to be one of only six "self-built" float entries in Pasadena's annual parade. It is a year-round organization, composed entirely of volunteers, that designs, builds, and decorates the City of Burbank's entry for the annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. The float is built in Burbank's Water and Power Department yard.

The 2010 parade marks Burbank's 76th float entry in the Tournament of Roses Parade! Burbank first took part in the parade in 1914, however, not all entries since then have been floats. In 1930 and 1931, we were represented by decorated automobiles!

This is float designer Edward Hillary's first design to be built for the City of Burbank.

Special consideration was given to the hydraulic mechanism used to "fly" the bi-plane and provide 360 degree roll movements. The silo can tilt backward and the cupola can sink into the barn roof to avoid low bridges along the parade route.

Both the drive engine and the animation engine have been propane powered since 1991. A new cleaner burning propane-powered animation engine was designed and built by volunteers for the 2007 parade. The system includes a new General Motors 5.7 liter industrial engine, a 9500 watt A/C electrical generator which is integrated into the engine assembly, and a custom-built, 108 gallon hydraulic reservoir, donated by Hydro-Craft.

A computer-based animation controller is used to synchronize character movements, music, and other effects. The barnstorming plane is manually controlled for safety considerations.

Several mini TV cameras are installed on the float to provide a float's view of the parade route. The driver can view the live video feed for additional observing capability. An on-board video recorder is used to produce a time-lapse video.

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