THE BALLOON MAN

Circus Performer Bello Trapezes From Helicopter Sarasota's own Bello Nock dazzled a crowd at the Big Top Thursday when he performed trapeze stunts 500 feet in the air off of a helicopter.

By Charles Schelle

From: Sarasota Patch

February 2, 2012

In Patuxentawny, Pennsylvania, they brought out a groundhog named Phil to see his shadow on Thursday. In Sarasota, they brought out Bello Nock on a helicopter to perform trapeze.
"If you happen to see Bello see his shadow 500 feet in the air hanging upside down under the helicopter, guess what that means?" Bello asked the crowd. "Three weeks of Circus Sarasota full houses, isn't that right?"
Bello saw more than shadows on the ground as a couple hundred people showed up at the Circus Sarasota tent off of Tuttle Avenue and 12th Street where he performed a trapeze act without a safety net or parachute.
The free death defying performance served as a tease for his show, Bello Mania, which opens Friday, Feb. 10 at the Circus Sarasota tent. Bello Mania starts Friday, Feb. 10 at the Big Top and tickets are on sale now. There's a special on opening weekend tickets now for certain seats priced $10 and $20.
"We want to give you a hair raising experience," Bello said, running his fingers up through his trademark hair.
It more than raised hair.
"Are you kidding me? I almost threw up," said April Lee of Sarasota. "The second time when he hung by one foot, I thought I was going to throw up."
Bello not only does his own stunts, he makes his own stunts, too.
"I'm in an engineering state of mind, and I don't have an engineering degree," Bello said. "Once I design and come up with something, I have to daredevil it and make sure it works, then you gotta be an athlete to live through it then entertain people and do it time after time."
Bello's brother Eugene Nock was the pilot in charge of the helicopter to perform Bello's stunt Thursday.
It took 30 days of preparation and planning to pull Thursday's trick off, Eugene Nock said.
"You gotta negotiate with the FAA and present a plan and get it approved, then you have ground people," he said. It took 40 people to provide security and other ground support for the stunt, he added.
The helicopter used is only used for these type of tricks, he added.
And it didn't help there was a campaign season going on and the president in the region — the FAA tells pilots to stop flying or avoid certain airspace when there's potential security threats from the air.
"We're used to that. Our profession is doing events around the globe. We're always somewhere," he said. "Anytime it's an election year, you gotta pay special attention to that."