All I can find are the chair suspensions/levitation or the princess flying carpet... then I saw one with what looks like a maze in the floor. Seems like the options as slim... is there a levitation that is light weight , packs flat, is durable and not cheesy looking ? At the end of the day I might just fold and buy the mak chair suspension and call it a day but wanted to know if there were any other levitations out there ... ( sorry but I'm not paying over $500 for a levitation, I only plan on performing this for large crowds.)

J Rodriguez

I wouldn't underestimate the effectiveness of the chair suspension. Check out the performance at the seven-minute mark of this video. Still amazing national TV audiences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StZYM30QJ88

Hi Michael,

The chair suspension is great , sorry if I came off a little negative . I just wish there were more options available...

The Kid in the Balloon Box levitation is nice, and relatively easy to make, relatively inexpensive, too. Done with cardboard boxes (although you can make them from plywood or hardboard if you wish), one box fits inside another. The inner box has rings along the top and sticks out above the outer box by an inch or so. Neither box has a top. The kid is asked to sit on the floor cross-legged and to keep his legs crossed as you lift him up and lower him into the inner box. You don't have to do it that way- you can have his parents lift him up and deposit him in the box. Now you begin tying helium filled balloons to the rings along the top of the inner box. When you tie the last balloon, you can see the box is ready to float... and so it does. Up it goes out of the outer box and high into the air. Once it clears the outer box, the outer box can be shown empty, open mouth facing the audience. The inner box continues to rise. If on a stage, it can go right up into the flies if you want. Or it can begin to descend and you catch it and show that the kid has disappeared. You rotate the outer box around and cover it with a six foot silk, and the kid stands up inside the box. The silk is removed and you help the kid climb out of the box.

Jim. A video would only do justice to what you have just described.

Rhino Flight.

https://magicbackdrop.com/products/rhino-flight

Rhino flight looks cool but $3,700??? Come on.... way to much .

Food for thought. You might want to consider investing in a higher-quality chair suspension, such as the ones that Jay Leslie builds. He seems to have a lot of satisfied customers (do a Magic Café search).

https://www.thehouseofenchantment.com/pr......lusions/

Yes, it is more than the $500 you have budgeted in your mind.

- Donald

This is new to me. Does anyone have a video or picture you can spare?

Hi Mike -

See this thread for a discussion on Rhino Flight (video on that thread).

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......&forum=7

There are other threads on the illusion (or variations of it) in the "Grand Illusion" area of the Magic Café.

Here's a variation:

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......&forum=7

- Donald

P.S. To the original subject -- in addition to a Chair Suspension and a Princess Flying Carpet, other floating illusions to consider are: Super-X Suspension, Jim Steinmeyer's Hot Air (instructions in one of his books, but there is an illusion builder who makes them commercially), Walter Blaney's Suspension 3001, Walter Blaney's Ladder Levitation, etc.

If you want to float yourself and not a child, then you have options like Smoky Mountain Magic's This End Up, Jimmy Fingers' Magellan Levitation, Barstool Levitation, etc.

Also, J Rodriguez, on the other thread you talked about back surgery and needing to change what you carry for shows. You really shouldn't get into Stage Illusions then. That's all about the heavier & bigger equipment.

- Donald

Thanks your for input and concern Donald... I'm recovering very well from my back surgery. The chair suspension will be something I do maybe 5 or 6 times a year and will make sure I have help carrying and setting up that illusion. As for the backdrop, I've gotten so use to using one that I set mine up for every show and would like something light weight and instant.

BTW, at one time there was another child floating illusion called a "Walkaway X Suspension". Do a Google search and some Magic Café threads will show up. Some liked it, and some didn't. They were sold through Klamm Magic, but they were built by Jim Sommers. When Bob Klamm passed away a few years ago, his website shut down. Jim Sommers doesn't have a website, but he's been building illusions for a long time. You might try reaching out to him by phone to see if he is still around and if he's still building illusions, and specifically building that prop. (Some people were recently discussing Jim Sommers on a thread in the Grand Illusion area of the Café.) I seem to recall that Jim Sommers' version of the "Walkaway X Suspension" was in the $400-$500 range.

Jim Sommers also built an economy version of the Chair Suspension that some liked, as an alternative to the MAK version.

But again, I believe in spending a bit more for quality, when it comes to some magic props and illusions. That's why I saved up and purchased a Richard Hughes Botania, for example, and not another model that is a fraction of the price. And that's why I would buy a Jay Leslie version of a Chair Suspension if I was wanting to buy one of those.

- Donald

Andrew Mayne has some neat inexpensive levitations hidden in his "Illusion XX" book along with, or course, many of his other neat inexpensive illusions. There is also a DVD available. http://andrewmayne.com/

I think the ones that leave a child's head unsupported are distressing to the child (and no wonder) as well as the parents. I'm sure they are OK in the end but it does not come off well in the watching.

-Mary Mowder

Thanks Donald.

I performed an inexpensive chair suspension for years, and, honestly, always dreaded it. I was constantly concerned about the child being too heavy or not placing the child correctly. I also didn't like any of the routines that I could come up with.
I am now doing a comedy routine by mat fore, which I love and gets a great reaction.
I also sold my inexpensive prop and invested in a Jay Leslie version, which I can honestly say, I do now with no hesitation (well still some, but its waning). The main issue,which you might want to consider is that its freakin heavy. Part of what makes it work so much better is that the gimmacked chair is made of metal, instead of just wood with a flange to hold the table/gimmack. That additional weight allows a much heavier participant to perform the effect. It is rock solid and I've put some children on their that I never would have allowed on my old version.
Just my thoughts