Not needing to wear a coat or tie for work, I probably only wear a sportcoat a half dozen times a year. Since I live in a moderate climate I rarely even wear long sleeves, let alone a jacket. And not being a pro, almost all of my performances are spontaneous and have to be done in whatever I happen to be wearing at the time. So I can't count on having a coat or jacket on.

But I have always wanted to do a ring flight effect.
I recently purchased the Revolutionary Ring Flight and it is a fantastic product. The absolute best RF with a r**l I have ever seen.
I know that this effect is typically done while wearing a suit or sportcoat but I was determined to devise a handling that could be done in jeans and a t-shirt.

Well, so far I haven't been able to come up with a method that's to my liking. Plus, I'm concerned that you need it "rigged and ready" even if you're not sure that you are even going to have an opportunity to perform it. So I'm wondering if just continuing to use the nest of wallets might be the most practical thing.

I tried Einhorn's Pro Flite and it's not my cup of tea, although I'm aware that many love it. I have performed the Gaeton Bloom method years ago but have no desire to go back to that.

Does anyone perform a Ring Flight without a jacket on a regular basis? Or could anyone recommend some material to study that might give me an idea on the better way of doing it than I have tried so far?
I would especially be interested in knowing if anyone has had any luck performing an RF with a r**l without wearing a coat.

I just like the idea of a r**l because I really like not having to even come close to where the ring ends up. Maybe a variation of Gaeton Bloom's but without the funky key case would work.

Anyway, just thought I'd see if anyone else has had any luck before trying to reinvent the wheel.

Thanks,
Bill

Then my question is, where would carry the key ring/case if you do not want to remove it from a pocket?

Dick Barry does a nice presentation of Ring Flight in shirt sleeves using a reel based prop. You need to wear pants with pockets to carry the key case. His presentation could be modified to use a Morelli style Ring Flight prop (I have). I also believe that Bruce Cervon did some work with the reel based Ring Flight that relied more on handling than the reel.

A jacket is not needed for the Gaeton Bloom or Pete Brio/Joe Porper style either. In fact with Bloom/Brio/Porper style the key case can be laying on a counter before the borrowed ring is found therein.

Steve Dusheck's "Ringer" can be used as a magic wand and the ring will pop right on in front of the spectator. Put the ring on the flat of their palm and wave the key ring over it and it jumps on the the key ring and is locked on. The key ring has to be unscrewed to get the ring off (Al Cohen used to do this bit to demo the prop in his shop back in the day).

Honestly once you have a Ring Flight prop in your hands it should be a fairly simple matter to adapt it to your costume, style of presentation, and block it to work the way you envision.

I was referring to removing it from my back pants pocket, but the reel allows me to not have to put my hand back there until after it has been shown absolutely empty.

I do it all the time but I am not a pro who has to do it X times a night surrounded by tables, etc. I have it with me most of the time and if the angles are right I finish my ring on string routine. I also more recently use deluxe nest of wallets for the same purpose, more angle friendly.
I think if you need to count on this as a cornerstone of a strolling gig that you can do at every group/table, you need a jacket, or long untucked shirt over T-shirt (another popular look for casual ring flight users)

Harry, thanks for your suggestions.
Regarding it being a simple matter to adapt to your costume, etc. For my requirements I have not found this to be the case.
To perform it you seem to really need a "cover" of some sort such as that provided by a coat or an oversized shirt as suggested in another post.
Unfortunately, these are not things I typically wear and I don't perform paid gigs, so I would need to do this in what appears to be an "impromptu" manner. Which was my desire.
I was hoping someone might have already gone down this road and worked out a handling. Maybe they have and prefer not to share and I can totally respect that.
I may end up just selling this if I can't come up with something soon. If you are interested in a good deal on this practically brand new prop, PM me an offer.
Bill

Go look at Dick Barry's routine. He wears a normal, tucked-in, short sleeve shirt and has no problem. His routine can be used for walk around (with only one brief bad angle that can be easily covered by blocking). The movements are natural and performed during the patter/script. It would look (and except for having the prop, be) impromptu. Dick's method/routine doesn't have the line pulled out more than a few inches and easily covered by the forearm and body movement.

See Dick in a polo shirt doing a very basic performance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3ReLcDwpkg

I use and highly recommend Dicks Ring Flight prop and basic routine.

I also use a Morelli type of ring flight which I set up in my back pocket. The act of taking it out of the pocket loads it. I also use a homemade (Jeff Stewart the "ring thing" based) prop that I can carry in my front pants pocket. The act of reaching in the pocket and taking it out does all the dirty work.

Neither of those props and routines are not as strong as cleanly showing the hand empty before going into the pocket. However my script covers that (I am holding an empty fist which is supposed to contain their ring out to be held or incased by handkerchief or plastic baggie depending on the routine I am playing). The strength of both my props is the difficulty in getting the ring off. In the mind of the spectator the degree of difficulty getting the ring off suggests the degree of difficulty in getting it on.

Videoman, check out Dan Tong's routine on his "Finally" dvds. (Vol2?) His is the only ring flight routine I've ever seen where I missed load onto the reel clip. Whilst Dan wears a jacket I'm fairly sure his misdirection and blocking for the routine are sufficiently strong that you don't need the jacket cover. Plus you get to learn some other killer routines on there too!

Harry, thanks so much for pointing me towards Dick Barry, it has renewed my hopes that this might become workable after all. I admit I was having serious doubts.
And thanks to Martino for the Dan Tong suggestion, sounds promising and I will definitely check into it.
I really appreciate all of the info!!!
Thanks again,
Bill

Fred Kaps did a version with no reel no gaffes. Just loaded on the clip as he took case from his rear trouser pocket.

Pete the OP wanted to show his hands empty prior to going to the pocket. Did Fred Kaps do that?

No, but Kaps didn't need to. Good sleight-of-hand and management is all you need.

Thanks all, through your advice and suggestions I went back to it with a different approach and came up with something that looks like it will work for me.
Just needed to think a little further outside the box I guess.
Thanks again,
Bill

Ringer is my choice. I have the keys hanging out of my back pocket, with the fob in my pocket, just before the start of the routine. This makes for smooth handling - no fumbling at all.

I for sure plan on doing it with an untucked button down over a white t shirt. I dress like that 90% of the time anyway

I sold my El Duco Ring Flight once I got Einhorn's Pro-Flight. Nice not having to mess with the r****l and it looks like something that I would probably use as my keychain.

I'm finding Pro-flight pretty hard work. Few weeks in now and I still have the odd fumble. Better than I was though. I'm sure I just need more practice.

It supposedly takes 10,000 hours of practicing anything to be an expert at it.

How do you like Einhorn's Pro-Flight, if I may ask?

I think the DVD is great value with the included props. I just need to more practice.