how does the banner not get torn up during takeoff?How is it prepared before landing?How does the drag affect the way the pilot must fly?

l am not completely sure, buy my guess would be that it opens like a parachute after takeoff, and when landing there must be something that reels in the banner. Either that or they only advertise 1ce per flight and when they land it doesnt matter if it gets ripped.

1) Banners r designed to be safe & to withstand the stresses flying will impose. These r purpose built to withstand the speeds at which the tug will fly. These r so designed that they do not twirl, snag or unduly flutter in flight. The towing section is so rigged that they remain upright during flights. They r also capable of withstanding certain amount of inclement weather & rain. A high degree of safety factor is built into all banners.
2) In the olden days, the banner was laid out some distance down the runway from the take off point, paralell to the take off direction & to one side of the aircraft. The towing cable was attached to the leading end of the banner & routed back to where the tug would begin its take off run. The cable was then attached to the towing hook on the aircraft. The run of the cable to the tow was so calculated that after starting its take off run, the aircraft was fast enough to snatch the banner off the ground & take off. The pilot had to be careful with the sudden drag being imposed on the tug, & not letting the aircraft settle back on the runway. The banner was never dragged on the runway but lifted off immediately after the tug which precluded any tearing.
3) After flying the mission, the pilot would approach the runway & flying low would jettison the banner (by a quick release) on the runway from which it was retrieved by the ground crew.
4) The pilot had to fly very carefully within the safe speed of the banner with the nose held up & all turns were made very gently. The pilot had to ensure that while towing the banner, speeds were kept safely above stalling limits. The controls tended to be sluggish, hence the pilots had to antiicipate all flight manounvres well before the time of execution. The banner had a limit on cross wind flying, which were never approached. In an emergency, the pilot could jettison the banner in the air.

Banners are put on the ground,there are 2 poles that hold up the harness cable the plane has a dangling cable with a hook
the plane flys by and picks up the harness and the banner is peeled off the ground,the plane flys away.

Well first the banner is layed out in an open field (usually at an airport in grassy field next to a runway). Attached to the banner is a long rope. At the end of the rope is a loop. This loop is positioned so it is dangling between two poles roughly 4-6 feet high. Now before the plane takes off, the pilot attaches a grappling hook or two or three to the rear of the plane. While taking off the hooks r hooked to the window. When the pilot gets airborne, he throws one of the grappling hooks out of the window so its dangling behind the plane. Now the extreme part comes into play. The pilot then dives right between the two poles & if done right, the grappling hook will hook the loop & the banner will be snagged & will peel successfully off the ground! :)

Listed to podcast #10 ''Towing Banners over Tanners'' near the bottom of the page.

http://thefinerpoints.net/podcast/?Podcasts=all#