Retro flat rides to ride | 1 |
I'm always on the look out for rare or exclusive flats when I visit parks and fairs, as well as seeing what rollercoasters are on offer. I've picked out some interesting old school flats that I've either done and recommend doing or that are on my bucket list!
The Roll-o-plane was manufactured by the Eyerly Aircraft Company from 1934, a company that transitioned from making aviation related devices to amusement rides. The Roll-o-plane consists of a rotating arm that can spin both vertically and horizontally with capsules that rotate, keeping the riders from inverting during the cycle. When the ride spins vertically the ride movement is similar to a non-inverting loop on a coaster and the dive towards the ground is always a bit of a thrill. These are one of my favourite flat rides and are a really fun experience! Make sure you brace yourself on the inside of the car though, otherwise you'll slide around a bit! Although once a common sight, there are now only a handful of these rides permanently stationed at parks, although I believe some do travel on the fair circuit. As far as I know there are 4 park installations currently, Knoebels, Little Amerricka, Arnolds Park and Joyland in Texas. I've done the Knoebels and Little Amerricka versions and thoroughly enjoyed both! Apparently "Oregon Rides Inc" still make parts for these and the other Eyerly models so hopefully they'll be around for a while longer!
The Rock-o-plane is another vintage Eyerly Aircraft Company ride that looks like a particularly fast ferris wheel with egg-shaped cages that can spin upside down. The ride was first designed in 1948 and each cage has a bar that you can rotate to lock or unlock the cage causing it to lock in place or spin freely. If you can get it right you can invert yourself! I love these rides! A load of them were imported from the US to the UK, mostly in the 1980s but one was first recorded in 1962. There's one that appears yearly quite local to me (in the UK) which I always make an effort to go and ride if I can because it's so much fun. It take a bit of effort and practice to invert the cages but that adds to the enjoyment in my opinion! There are a number that still travel the US and UK (some with seating modifications) as well as a handful of rides located at US parks such as Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and Lagoon.
Loop-o-planes
Although I've listed this after the roll-o-plane model (due to not having ridden one and it being slightly less exciting looking) this was the original version of the roll-o-plane with the rolling cars being an update. It's kind of like an early version of the Ranger or similar style ride that features swinging inverting cages. I've not seen one in person but online evidence suggests a few still running in the US both at parks and fairs such as at Keansburg Amusement Park in New Jersey, US. Interestingly the ride was first imported to the UK in 1937, which seems crazy and I stumbled upon a video as recent as 2018 showing one on the UK fair circuit.
Eyerly also made a model called the Fly-o-plane which features a rotating ride with plane-shaped cars that can invert or barrel roll if manipulated correctly by the rider. There is only one Fly-o-plane ride currently in operation at Quartz Mountain Fun Park in Oklahoma, US as Lake Winnepesaukah no longer operates theirs. After some digging I also found photos of a UK owned model by "Masons Funfair" but shortly after this found a photo of one of the carriages for sale at an antique dealer so I'm guessing it is no longer in operation! There is limited information online about these rides but "CivillianSatellite" has a good POV of the Quartz Mountain Fun Park ride on youtube, which I've linked below, that helps give you a sense of what the ride is like.
The Zipper was invented by Chance rides in 1968 and remains a fairground classic. Anyone who has played Rollercoaster Tycoon will recognise it's iconic look straight away and I would go as far to say that I consider these one of the most spectacular flat rides in existence because they're just so unique and mesmerising!
Ok, so I'll admit this one kinda comes in my "slightly scared to ride" category. They have quite the reputation of being intense and crazy and a lot of them seem to run pretty long cycles so once you're locked in, there's no going back!
I've never seen one in person, because, you guessed it, they're super rare nowadays, at least outside of fairs in the US. I was actually scheduled to see one at Trimper's rides at Ocean City in Maryland in 2018 (the last one in a fixed location in the US and likely the world) but the trip got diverted due to heavy rain and flooding that day and I've now been informed that the ride is no longer at the park. I'd definitely like to attend a state fair in the future and the promise of one day seeing and riding one of these is yet another incentive for me to go- I think at this point if I do find one I'll have to get on it without hesitation!
Roll-o-planes
Rock-o-planes
Loop-o-planes
Source: Coasterforce on Youtube.
Although I've listed this after the roll-o-plane model (due to not having ridden one and it being slightly less exciting looking) this was the original version of the roll-o-plane with the rolling cars being an update. It's kind of like an early version of the Ranger or similar style ride that features swinging inverting cages. I've not seen one in person but online evidence suggests a few still running in the US both at parks and fairs such as at Keansburg Amusement Park in New Jersey, US. Interestingly the ride was first imported to the UK in 1937, which seems crazy and I stumbled upon a video as recent as 2018 showing one on the UK fair circuit.
Fly-o-planes
Eyerly also made a model called the Fly-o-plane which features a rotating ride with plane-shaped cars that can invert or barrel roll if manipulated correctly by the rider. There is only one Fly-o-plane ride currently in operation at Quartz Mountain Fun Park in Oklahoma, US as Lake Winnepesaukah no longer operates theirs. After some digging I also found photos of a UK owned model by "Masons Funfair" but shortly after this found a photo of one of the carriages for sale at an antique dealer so I'm guessing it is no longer in operation! There is limited information online about these rides but "CivillianSatellite" has a good POV of the Quartz Mountain Fun Park ride on youtube, which I've linked below, that helps give you a sense of what the ride is like.
Source: CivillianSatellite on Youtube.
Zipper
The Zipper was invented by Chance rides in 1968 and remains a fairground classic. Anyone who has played Rollercoaster Tycoon will recognise it's iconic look straight away and I would go as far to say that I consider these one of the most spectacular flat rides in existence because they're just so unique and mesmerising!
Ok, so I'll admit this one kinda comes in my "slightly scared to ride" category. They have quite the reputation of being intense and crazy and a lot of them seem to run pretty long cycles so once you're locked in, there's no going back!
I've never seen one in person, because, you guessed it, they're super rare nowadays, at least outside of fairs in the US. I was actually scheduled to see one at Trimper's rides at Ocean City in Maryland in 2018 (the last one in a fixed location in the US and likely the world) but the trip got diverted due to heavy rain and flooding that day and I've now been informed that the ride is no longer at the park. I'd definitely like to attend a state fair in the future and the promise of one day seeing and riding one of these is yet another incentive for me to go- I think at this point if I do find one I'll have to get on it without hesitation!
Source: Coasterforce on Youtube
Source: Coasterforce on Youtube.
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