Castle To Tink, You're Clear For Take Off

So now the Mouse is thinking about taking those wires down from the Matterhorn, and giving Tinker Bell free access to fly. According to an article at Disneyland Live, they're developing new technology for a literal WIREless flight pattern for the green fairy.

In 1961 Disneyland hired a 71 year old retired circus performer named Tiny Kline to do something amazing during the firework show. Disney had strung an arial cable from the top of the Matterhorn Bobsleds Attraction over Sleeping Beauty’s Castle and attached it to a landing platform on the other side that was made to look like a giant pine tree. The new part of the show would amaze guests as Tinker Bell would actually take flight during the show and zip down over the castle. This sight remained basically untouched for years as the aerialist would be litterally pushed from the start and land on the other side letting gravity do the rest. It has been a traditional part of each firework show at Disneyland, and later at other Disney Parks ever since.
For the 50th anniversary Tinerker Bell’s flight was upgraded in a radical, and amazing way. Using a motorized system she would now fly down the over the castle, back and forth and even make a return trip towards the end of the show. This system has since flown Zero during the Halloween Screams Fireworks as well as Dumbo during the latest Magical Fireworks Show. But could we see a unharnessed, remote version of Tinker Bell soon fly and land on a lamp post?
Reasearchers at MIT have designed and recently demonstrated a new system that may one day be used as such. A foam glider has been build that flys like a plane but lands like a bird! Unlike a traditional airplane that needs to reduce altiude before landing and slowing to a stop on a surface, this new system can swoop down and land in a single spot, such as a bird does on a wire. Rick Cory, a PhD student at MIT has been hired by Disney to possibly create such a system.

The US Air Force and Disney has expressed interest in this techonogy and Cory was recently quoted in an artical for MIT (link) saying the following. “The air force wants an airplane that can land on a power line, and Disney wants a flying Tinker Bell that can land on a lantern…” According to the Cory the on board computational power is currently limited but only appears to be a few years away. Cory has taken a job with Disney where he will be researching advanced robotic techniques.
So could we see a new version of Tinker Bell soon at Disneyland?

I think this will be a great new way to show off the fairy during the nightly fireworks show. My only thought of this would be that they find a way to make Tink look very real, and not just a flying rag doll. But knowing Disney, they will find a way to make it impressive no matter what. I've got trust in them, and the kids at MIT. We'll have to wait and see if the wires fall, and the fairy flies.