THE STINIS FAMILY · SINCE 1932
A legacy of
looking up.
Before the sky became a screen, it was one family’s extraordinary idea.
From Andy Stinis’s early skywriting campaigns to today’s five aircraft Skytyping™, the story connects three generations of aviation, invention and messages made to be experienced together.
THE ORIGINS
An idea that kept evolving.
The milestones below trace the family’s aviation story and the inventions that helped shape the medium.
- 1932
A message above the everyday.
Andy Stinis begins skywriting for Pepsi Cola, connecting a brand with people looking up from the streets below. The campaign becomes a defining chapter in the family’s aviation story.
- 1946
From one aircraft to a coordinated idea.
Andy develops the multi aircraft approach known as skytyping: individual smoke releases combine to form a message across the sky.
- 1964
Invention, documented.
U.S. Patent 3,151,410, Sky writing apparatus, is issued to Anthony Stinis on October 6, 1964. It records a system for coordinating message patterns across aircraft.
- 1979
The next generation takes the lead.
Greg Stinis forms Skytypers, Inc., continuing the family business after expanding its West Coast presence. The work grows across brand campaigns, live events and international projects.
- 1984
A place in a shared memory.
The family’s aerial work becomes part of the Los Angeles Olympic Games story, alongside decades of appearances at sporting events, parades and celebrations.
- 1996 to 2004
A third generation. A digital direction.
Stephen Stinis begins formal participation in company operations in 1996. In 2004, Skytypers reincorporates in Nevada with Stephen as president.
- 2006
A new chapter in aerial message systems.
U.S. Patent 7,082,706, Systems and methods for creating aerial messages, is issued on August 1, 2006. The inventors named in the record are Gregory, Stephen and Curtiss Stinis.
- 2017
Love takes to the sky.
Stamp design by Louise Fili, illustration by Jessica Hische, and art direction by Derry Noyes. Artwork © USPS. On January 7, 2017, Skytypers joined USPS at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California, for the dedication of the Love Skywriting Forever stamp. Greg Stinis wrote “Love” above Chino, while Stephen Stinis participated in the stamp unveiling.
At the Love stamp dedication. 
A keepsake from the Love Skywriting stamp. - TODAY
The craft continues.
Skytypers brings five aircraft digital skytyping and classic skywriting to brand campaigns, live events and personal milestones. Every new message begins with the same connection: a human idea and the sky above an audience.
THREE GENERATIONS
A family story. A working discipline.
01 / ANDY
The inventor.
Anthony “Andy” Stinis connects aviation with a new form of public communication.
02 / GREG
The builder.
Greg Stinis carries the family business into larger campaigns, new markets and international work.
03 / STEPHEN
The digital generation.
Stephen Stinis brings his technology background into the next chapter of aerial messaging.
Aviation History’s November 2017 coverage described Skytypers’ coordinated five aircraft formation and the Stinis family’s continuing role in computerized aerial messaging. Aviation History, November 2017, page 45.
THE LIVING ARCHIVE
Keep the history. Create what comes next.
These photographs, press pieces and films preserve earlier chapters of the Skytypers story. Aircraft, partnerships and services pictured in the archive reflect their time.
Explore the curated campaign photography. For historical photographs and press documents, contact the Skytypers media team.
Aircraft from the archive.
Photographs from the Skytypers website archive. Select an image to see the full photograph.
Watch a film from the Skytypers archive
Timeline drawn from the Skytypers company archive and the linked U.S. patent records. Patent references describe historical milestones.
YOUR NEXT CHAPTER
Some stories belong in the sky.
Bring us your message, your audience and your moment.