Smith designed his 33-foot long, star-spangled cannon.
Smith designed his 33-foot long, star-spangled cannon.
photo by:Ken Klotzbach

Having a Blast

Dave “Cannonball” Smith, 63, kneels at the opening of his 33-foot-long, star-spangled cannon.

Dave “Cannonball” Smith, 63, kneels at the opening of his 33-foot-long, star-spangled cannon. As the barrel elevates, he waves to the crowd at the Steele County Free Fair in Owatonna, Minn. (pop. 22,343), and slips into the steel cocoon that’s aimed toward a net 145 feet away. But first he must soar 60 feet into the air and pass over two Ferris wheels.

The crowd counts down: “five, four, three, two, one!” With a loud boom and a cloud of smoke, Smith hurtles out of the cannon. The force of 9 Gs blurs his vision and distorts his body until he eventually tucks his head and flips onto his back to prepare for landing. As he hits the net, he quickly grabs hold to keep from ricocheting off. Fortunately, Smith’s nearly 4-second flight ends safely with thunderous applause.

“I was dazed and amazed,” says Joe Slezinger, a Chicago resident who witnessed Smith’s aerial performance last year. “It’s scary enough just sitting on a Ferris wheel, protected by a bar from falling out. It boggles the mind that he flew over the top of the Ferris wheel with no protection from being killed if he misses the net.”

For the 30-year cannonball veteran, it’s all in a day’s work. “I’ve learned to live with the fears and emotions,” says Smith, who gives two dozen performances each summer, spending the remainder of the year at his 50-acre farm near Halfway, Mo. (pop. 176).

“It’s a very rewarding profession,” he says. “I have little kids wrap their arms around me and say, ‘I love you.’ They want to touch and talk to me. I enjoy making people happy.”

Smith’s high-flying career launched in 1970 when he joined a traveling circus as a catcher in a trapeze act. Ambitious to star as a solo act, he designed and perfected a human-launching cannon in his spare time.

In 1975, he took to the air, performing his first show in Saginaw, Mich. Since then he’s meticulously recorded the angles, humidity, distance and temperature of thousands of his shots. “The gun is very accurate,” he says. “Given certain conditions, I can go right where I want.” Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous. “I have just the length of the barrel to accelerate enough to go the distance I want. There’s enough power to turn me into peanut butter if anything went wrong.”

Smith’s daughter, Jennifer Schneider, of Boliver, Mo. (pop. 9,143), grew up watching her father perform as the human cannonball at corporate conventions, fairs and amusement parks. “It was just what my dad was,” she says. “I didn’t think it was strange until I was older. Then I did it too.” Schneider, who goes by the nickname “Cannon Lady,” is among three of Smith’s 10 children who are professional cannonballs, using cannons built by Smith.

The family performs together for special events such as appearances on the Today Show and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Otherwise, their separate careers take them around the world. Jennifer, 32, works at motocross events in the United States; Stephanie, 28, stars in Australia as “Lady Cannon;” and Dave Smith Jr., known as “The Bullet,” has blasted across the Grand Canyon and often performs in the Middle East.

In 1998, both father and son broke the 1940 record for the longest human cannonball flight, launching simultaneously in Pennsylvania’s Kennywood Park. Dave Jr. landed first at just over 181 feet, besting the 1940 record by 7 inches. A split second later, Dave Sr. outdistanced his son with a 185-foot, 10-inch flight, which stands as the world record.

“I live for those kind of moments,” the elder Smith says.

When he’s not performing, Smith usually can be found at his Missouri farm, where his barn holds farming equipment, as well as a trampoline, trapeze and a gym for off-season training.

“I’m doing something I like,” he says. “A lot of people can’t do that. I won’t stop until I keel over.”

Vicki Cox is a freelance writer in Lebanon, Mo.

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mnskeeter wrote:
Nice article, Vicki. If I may, however, I'd like to correct the population figure for Owatonna that was listed. Owatonna, as of 2000, had a population of 22,434 (http://tinyurl.com/ylqzyd & http://tinyurl.com/yn5mgd) and a current (estimated) population of about 25,000. Thanks. Brian
cjgreg wrote:
Enjoyed the article. I thought there might have been a mention of the
Zucchini (not sure of the spelling) family who were the human cannonballs
of long ago. They performed at Pennsylvania's Kennywood Park for many
years back in the late 20's thru the 30's and 40's, I saw them many times.

I last saw members of the family in the Enchanted Forest Park in Canada in the 1970's.

Neat article, but being a previous resident of MO myself (Lebanon), I thought I detected a misspelling of Bolivar, MO in the 8th paragraph. I just wanted to point out that the "ar" ending is due to the town being ultimately named after the great South American liberator, Simon Bolivar.
One of the Amazing people I met and worked with while I was at the Humboldt
County Fair was "Cannonball Smith" This 63 year old man holds the record for
being shot the highest from a cannonball! His cannon was set up to shoot
directly over our Corndog/Hamburger stand into a net on the other side!

Yes I said I worked with him as well. He asked if we needed help at our stand
so the owner hired him to work in between and after his shoots. I thought he
just wanted some extra spending money but it turns out all the money he earned
he donates to a women who along with her husband have adopted 14 Russian
orphans! Her husband recently passed away so Cannonball David Smith Sr. is
doing everything he can to earn money to go towards her and her family of
adopted children.


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