STEAMBOAT SPRINGS | A Colorado man’s attempt to launch a world record aerial fireworks shell has failed.
The Steamboat Pilot & Today reports Tim Borden, a pyrotechnics expert, tried to launch the 62-inch diameter shell from the top of Howelsen Hill Ski Area in northern Colorado on Saturday night, but it exploded too early. The firework was supposed to shoot about a mile into the sky before combusting.
Borden has said it’s difficult to calculate how much explosives are needed to successfully launch the 2,500-pound shell. He and his team spent years testing progressively larger fireworks, including a 48-inch shell that was the largest ever launched in North America.
Borden vowed not to give up after the failed attempt, saying, “We’ll be back here again next winter.”
