He Made A 40-Ft. Long Fire-Breathing Dragon

He Made A 40-Ft. Long Fire-Breathing Dragon 23-6-24 Puff the Magic Dragon would probably like to have a friend like this fire-breathing steel dragon owned by Walt Barenfanger of Vandalia, Ill., who tows it on a tandem axle trailer in local parades. The dragon has mean-looking red eyes and occasionally shoots flames 2 to 3 ft. out of its mouth. "It's a big hit at parades and draws a lot of æoohs' and æaahs'," says Barenfanger, who runs a hardware store in town. He notes that Paul Schaub of Brownstown, Ill., did most of the actual work. The dragon measures 40 ft. long and 20 ft. tall and has 2-ft. high scales along the entire length of its neck, back, and tail. It weighs 2 tons. It's made from 1/8-in. thick sheet metal that has a natural rust color. In order to shoot out flames the interior is rigged with a propane gas burner, an ignitor, and a solenoid valve. The operator pulls a lever to operate the valve, which activates the ignitor. The valve can also be operated by remote control. The dragon's long neck is hinged and can be hydraulically lowered to slip under telephone wires and tree limbs. A hydraulic cylinder, operated by a hydraulic pump, is extended or retracted by operating a lever located behind one of the dinosaur's legs. "Many people confuse it with a dinosaur, but dinosaurs don't breathe fire. Only dragons do," says Barenfanger. "I got the idea because I wanted something different for our town's Halloween parade. I use a pickup or tractor to pull it. The body of the dragon is mounted on stands that bolt to the trailer floor. There's a steel plate welded to the bottom of the tail in case it drags on the road. To mount the dragon on the trailer I simply jack up the dragon and pull the trailer under it. When I'm not showing the dragon in parades I keep it in front of our hardware store." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Walt Barenfanger, Box 68, Vandalia, Ill. 62471 (ph 618 283-9700).

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