Chair-O-Planes
Encyclopedia
Carousel
A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
in which the chairs are suspended on chains from the rotating
Rotation
A rotation is a circular movement of an object around a center of rotation. A three-dimensional object rotates always around an imaginary line called a rotation axis. If the axis is within the body, and passes through its center of mass the body is said to rotate upon itself, or spin. A rotation...
top of the carousel. On some versions, particularly on the Wave Swingers, the rotating top of the carousel also tilts for additional variations of motion.
This type of swings ride was present at even the earliest amusement parks. At Idora Park
Idora Park
Idora Park was a Victorian era trolley park in north Oakland, California constructed in 1904 on the site of an informal park setting called Ayala Park on the north banks of Temescal Creek. Idora Park was leased by the Ingersoll Pleasure and Amusement Park Company that ran several eastern pleasure...
in Oakland, California, in 1908, the ride was called Flying Swing, but appears to be the same principle.
History
The Chair-O-Planes premiered in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1972, designed by Zierer
Zierer
Zierer is a German company located close to Deggendorf. Zierer manufactures Tivoli and Force line of roller coasters, as well as panoramic wheels, wave swingers, flying carpets, Hextentanz and Kontiki rides...
and built by Franz Schwarzkopf, brother of Anton Schwarzkopf
Anton Schwarzkopf
Anton Schwarzkopf was a German engineer of amusement rides, and founder of the Schwarzkopf Industries company, which built numerous rides and large roller coasters for both amusement parks and travelling funfairs....
. In 1974 the first portable unit debuted under the same partnership. Since then Zierer has built about 200 units. Other manufacturers have followed creating their own versions of the Chair-O-Planes including Zamperla
Zamperla
Zamperla is a designing and manufacturing company in Vicenza, Italy. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin operated rides commonly found inside shopping malls....
, Chance Morgan, Grover Watkins, Bertazzon, Barberi, Vekoma
Vekoma
Vekoma Rides Manufacturing B.V. is a roller coaster and thrill ride designer with its facilities based in the Netherlands. The company was founded in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld under the name "Veld Koning Machinefabriek" and had first manufactured agricultural machinery and mining equipment...
and Sanoyas Hishino Meisho
Sanoyas Hishino Meisho
Sanoyas Hishino Meisho Corporation is a Japanese company that consists of four principal business groups and twelve affiliated companies. The business groups are: the Ship and Steel Structure Group, the Parking System & Engineering Group, the Construction Machines Group, and the Leisure Business...
.
In the late 2000s, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n manufacturer Funtime developed the world's first tower swinger known as the Star Flyer. Mondial
Mondial (amusement ride manufacturer)
Mondial is a Dutch company specialising in the manufacture of amusement rides. The company was founded in 1987 and has installations throughout the world....
followed with their WindSeeker
WindSeeker
WindSeeker is a thrill ride at several Cedar Fair parks. The Mondial rides were opened for the 2011 season at Ontario's Canada's Wonderland, Ohio's Cedar Point and Kings Island, and California's Knott's Berry Farm. Charlotte's Carowinds and Doswell's Kings Dominion will open their models in 2012...
resulting in a lawsuit between the two companies. Zamperla also sell a Vertical Swing.
United Kingdom
Loudoun Castle (theme park)
Loudoun Castle was a theme park set around the ruins of the 19th century Loudoun Castle near Galston, in the Loudoun area of Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom. The park opened in 1995, and closed at the end of the 2010 season...
Theme Park in Scotland claims that its moon-shaped ride, "The Plough", is the largest Chair-O-Plane in the world. The Plough was originally called Apollo 14 and was owned by the Bembom family, operating in their Ponypark Slagharen in Holland during the late seventies. It had gondolas travelling around the outside of the ride. When moved to Dreamland
Dreamland Margate
Dreamland Margate is an amusement park located in Margate, Kent, England. It is currently owned by Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company and is closed to the public...
in England (then called "Bembom Brothers"), it was reconstructed into a Chair-O-Plane and named Heatwave. Later on, Henk Bembom moved Heatwave to his new park, Loudoun Castle, where it was renamed "The Plough" and painted green. The theme park closed in 2010 and has been standing but not operating ever since.
There is also a Chair-O-Plane ride at Alton Towers
Alton Towers
Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. Set in a fantasy themed area of the park called Cloud Cukoo Land, it is themed as a giant mushroom. This was formerly themed as a prehistoric dinosaur-type ride and located in an area called Ug Land.
Chessington World of Adventures
Chessington World of Adventures
Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park and zoo in South West London, England. It lies south of Central London. Historically opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931, a theme park was developed alongside it, opening in 1987...
is home to a monkey-themed Chair-O-Planes, named 'Monkey Swinger', that squirts water at riders. This was formerly themed to Billy Whizz
Billy Whizz
Billy Whizz is a fictional character featured in the British comic The Beano, first appearing in issue 1139, dated 16 May 1964, when it replaced The Country Cuzzins. Billy, the title character, is a boy who can run extraordinarily fast. His speed often causes chaos yet at the same time his ability...
of The Beano
The Beano
The Beano is a British children's comic, published by D.C. Thomson & Co and is arguably their most successful.The comic first appeared on 30 July 1938, and was published weekly. During the Second World War,The Beano and The Dandy were published on alternating weeks because of paper and ink...
.
North America
Zierer
Zierer is a German company located close to Deggendorf. Zierer manufactures Tivoli and Force line of roller coasters, as well as panoramic wheels, wave swingers, flying carpets, Hextentanz and Kontiki rides...
(which calls the ride Wave swinger), although some are made by Bertazzon (which calls the ride Swing Carousel) or Zamperla
Zamperla
Zamperla is a designing and manufacturing company in Vicenza, Italy. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin operated rides commonly found inside shopping malls....
(which calls the ride Flying Carousel).
Some of these include:
- Charlie Brown's Wind UpCharlie Brown's Wind Up (Kings Island)Charlie Brown's Wind Up is a miniature version of a classic swing ride. It is located at Kings Island amusement park in Kings Mills, Ohio. The ride is very similar to the Zephyr , although, since the ride was designed specifically for kids, the ride does not tilt and does not go as fast like a...
— Kings IslandKings IslandKings Island is a amusement park located northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio. Opened in 1972 by Taft Broadcasting Company and now owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, Kings Island is the most visited seasonal amusement park in the U.S...
(Zamperla) - Da Vinci's Dream — Canobie Lake ParkCanobie Lake ParkCanobie Lake Park is an amusement park located in Salem, New Hampshire, United States, about north of Boston, Massachusetts.-Description:Canobie Lake Park opened on August 23, 1902, as a trolley park for the Massachusetts Northeast Street Railway Company. The amusement park has opened every summer...
- Flying Swinger - Old TownOld TownOld Town is the typical designation of a historic or original core of a city or town. Although the city may be larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations...
(Zamperla) - Gotham City Crime Wave — Six Flags Over GeorgiaSix Flags Over GeorgiaSix Flags Over Georgia is a theme park located west of Atlanta, in unincorporated Cobb County. Opened in 1967, it is the second park in the Six Flags chain, after the original opening in 1961 in Texas....
(Zierer) - The Gunslinger — Six Flags Over TexasSix Flags Over TexasSix Flags Over Texas is a major amusement park located in Arlington, Texas , east of Fort Worth and about west of Dallas. It is the oldest park of the Six Flags chain. The park opened on August 5, 1961 following just a year of construction and an initial investment of US$10 million by real estate...
- HalloSwings — Holiday World (Zamperla)
- Italian Trapeze — KnoebelsKnoebelsKnoebels Amusement Resort is a family-owned and -operated amusement park, picnic grove and campground in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1926, the park has more than 57 rides, free admission, two wooden roller coasters, a 1913 carousel and a haunted house dark ride that was featured on the...
- Lasso — Darien Lake Theme Park Resort (Zierer)
- Lolly Swing - South Florida FairSouth Florida FairThe South Florida Fair is an annual fair held in West Palm Beach, Florida, every January or February. The fairgrounds site occupies and is located on the site of the former Palm Beach Speedway at the intersection of Southern Boulevard and Fairground Road. It is set up to make it adjacent to the...
(Zamperla Lollyswing) - Seaswings — Santa Cruz Beach BoardwalkSanta Cruz Beach BoardwalkThe Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is an oceanfront amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. Founded in 1907, it is California's oldest surviving amusement park and one of the few seaside parks on the West Coast of the United States.- Overview :...
(Bertazzon) - Silly Symphony SwingsSilly Symphony SwingsSilly Symphony Swings is a "wave swinger" attraction in Paradise Pier, at Disney California Adventure, at the Disneyland Resort in California. Themed to Disney's The Band Concert conductor Mickey Mouse conducts the attraction from high atop, synchronized with the music...
— Disney's California AdventureDisney's California AdventureDisney California Adventure, or simply California Adventure, is a theme park in Anaheim, California, adjacent to Disneyland Park and part of the larger Disneyland Resort. It opened on February 8, 2001 as Disney's California Adventure Park. The park is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and...
(Zierer) - SkyScreamerSkyScreamerSkyScreamer is a Funtime StarFlyer located at several Six Flags theme parks including Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags St. Louis. In 2012, Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags Great Adventure will also open SkyScreamers...
- Six Flags Discovery KingdomSix Flags Discovery KingdomSix Flags Discovery Kingdom, formerly Six Flags Marine World, Marine World, The New Marine World Theme Park, and Marine World Africa USA, is an animal theme park located in Vallejo, California. The park includes a variety of roller coasters and other amusement rides, along with a collection of...
(Funtime) - SkyScreamerSkyScreamerSkyScreamer is a Funtime StarFlyer located at several Six Flags theme parks including Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags St. Louis. In 2012, Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags Great Adventure will also open SkyScreamers...
- Six Flags Fiesta TexasSix Flags Fiesta TexasSix Flags Fiesta Texas is a seasonally operated theme park located on approximately of land in San Antonio, Texas.Six Flags Fiesta Texas is the major entertainment component of USAA's La Cantera, a 1,600 acre master-planned development in northwest San Antonio...
(Funtime) - SkyScreamerSkyScreamerSkyScreamer is a Funtime StarFlyer located at several Six Flags theme parks including Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags St. Louis. In 2012, Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags Great Adventure will also open SkyScreamers...
- Six Flags Great AdventureSix Flags Great AdventureSix Flags Great Adventure is a theme park in Jackson Township, New Jersey, owned by Six Flags Entertainment Corp., the world's largest amusement park corporation...
(Funtime) - SkyScreamerSkyScreamerSkyScreamer is a Funtime StarFlyer located at several Six Flags theme parks including Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags St. Louis. In 2012, Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags Great Adventure will also open SkyScreamers...
- Six Flags St. LouisSix Flags St. LouisSix Flags St. Louis , is an amusement park owned by Six Flags, Inc. It is located in Eureka, Missouri, USA . Opened in 1971 as the third theme park of the Six Flags chain, this was the last park that was built under the Six Flags name...
(Funtime) - SparklerSparkler (ride)Sparkler is a Zamperla Vertical Swing ride that is a swing ride at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari. The Sparkler is expected to open during the 2012 season.-History:...
- Holiday World (Zamperla Vertical Swing) - Swing Carousel — DollywoodDollywoodDollywood is a theme park owned by entertainer Dolly Parton and the Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation. It is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Dollywood has 3,000 people on its payroll, making it the largest employer in that community....
(Bertazzon) - Swing Carousel — Silver Dollar CitySilver Dollar CitySilver Dollar City is a theme park in the state of Missouri. Opened on May 1, 1960, the park is located between Branson and Branson West, Missouri, on Highway 76...
(Bertazzon) - Turn of the Century — Elitch GardensElitch GardensElitch Gardens was a family-owned seasonal amusement park, theater, and botanic garden in the West Highland neighborhood of Denver, Colorado, United States at 38th and Tennyson streets. For more than a century Elitch's was one of the most popular entertainment destinations in Colorado...
(Zierer) - Wave Swinger — Cedar PointCedar PointCedar Point is a 364 acre amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, United States on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Erie. Cedar Point is the only amusement park with four roller coasters that are taller than...
(Zierer) - Wave Swinger — HersheyparkHersheyparkHersheypark is an amusement park located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, near the Hershey Chocolate Factory.Hersheypark was opened on April 24, 1907 as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company, an American confectionery company. Later, the company decided to open the park to the...
- Wave Swinger — KennywoodKennywoodKennywood is an amusement park located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The park first opened in 1898 as a "trolley park" at the end of the Monongahela Street Railway. The park was purchased in 1906 by F. W. Henninger and Andrew McSwigan and thus began the Kennywood...
- Wave Swinger — Kings Dominion
- Wave Swinger — Knott's Berry FarmKnott's Berry FarmKnott's Berry Farm is a theme park in Buena Park, California, now owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, and a line of jams, jellies, preserves, and other specialty food, now part of The J. M. Smucker Company based in Placentia, California....
(Zierer) - Wave Swinger — Lake CompounceLake CompounceLake Compounce is an amusement park located in Bristol, Connecticut, United States and a part of the neighboring town of Southington, Connecticut; the lake itself lies completely in Southington. It is the oldest continuously operating amusement park in North America, having operated every year...
- Wave Swinger — PlaylandPlayland (Vancouver)Playland is an amusement park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is located in Hastings Park and is the oldest amusement park in Canada....
- Wave Swinger - South Florida FairSouth Florida FairThe South Florida Fair is an annual fair held in West Palm Beach, Florida, every January or February. The fairgrounds site occupies and is located on the site of the former Palm Beach Speedway at the intersection of Southern Boulevard and Fairground Road. It is set up to make it adjacent to the...
2005-2009 - Wave Swinger — Strates ShowsStrates ShowsStrates Shows is America's only railroad carnival. It travels the United States during a seven-month season, transporting personnel and equipment with 61 rail cars and 34 trucks. Traveling with the show are some 400 employees and families who operate the many rides, games and...
(Zierer) - Whirligig — Six Flags Great AmericaSix Flags Great AmericaSix Flags Great America is a Six Flags theme park in the Chicago metropolitan area, located in Gurnee, Illinois. It first opened in 1976 as Marriott's Great America. Six Flags purchased the park from the Marriott Corporation in 1984, making it the seventh park in the chain...
(Zierer) - WindSeekerWindSeekerWindSeeker is a thrill ride at several Cedar Fair parks. The Mondial rides were opened for the 2011 season at Ontario's Canada's Wonderland, Ohio's Cedar Point and Kings Island, and California's Knott's Berry Farm. Charlotte's Carowinds and Doswell's Kings Dominion will open their models in 2012...
- Canada's Wonderland (Mondial) - WindSeekerWindSeekerWindSeeker is a thrill ride at several Cedar Fair parks. The Mondial rides were opened for the 2011 season at Ontario's Canada's Wonderland, Ohio's Cedar Point and Kings Island, and California's Knott's Berry Farm. Charlotte's Carowinds and Doswell's Kings Dominion will open their models in 2012...
- Carowinds (Mondial) - WindSeekerWindSeekerWindSeeker is a thrill ride at several Cedar Fair parks. The Mondial rides were opened for the 2011 season at Ontario's Canada's Wonderland, Ohio's Cedar Point and Kings Island, and California's Knott's Berry Farm. Charlotte's Carowinds and Doswell's Kings Dominion will open their models in 2012...
- Cedar PointCedar PointCedar Point is a 364 acre amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, United States on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Erie. Cedar Point is the only amusement park with four roller coasters that are taller than...
(Mondial) - WindSeekerWindSeekerWindSeeker is a thrill ride at several Cedar Fair parks. The Mondial rides were opened for the 2011 season at Ontario's Canada's Wonderland, Ohio's Cedar Point and Kings Island, and California's Knott's Berry Farm. Charlotte's Carowinds and Doswell's Kings Dominion will open their models in 2012...
- Kings Dominion (Mondial) - WindSeekerWindSeekerWindSeeker is a thrill ride at several Cedar Fair parks. The Mondial rides were opened for the 2011 season at Ontario's Canada's Wonderland, Ohio's Cedar Point and Kings Island, and California's Knott's Berry Farm. Charlotte's Carowinds and Doswell's Kings Dominion will open their models in 2012...
- Kings IslandKings IslandKings Island is a amusement park located northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio. Opened in 1972 by Taft Broadcasting Company and now owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, Kings Island is the most visited seasonal amusement park in the U.S...
(Mondial) - WindSeekerWindSeekerWindSeeker is a thrill ride at several Cedar Fair parks. The Mondial rides were opened for the 2011 season at Ontario's Canada's Wonderland, Ohio's Cedar Point and Kings Island, and California's Knott's Berry Farm. Charlotte's Carowinds and Doswell's Kings Dominion will open their models in 2012...
- Knott's Berry FarmKnott's Berry FarmKnott's Berry Farm is a theme park in Buena Park, California, now owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, and a line of jams, jellies, preserves, and other specialty food, now part of The J. M. Smucker Company based in Placentia, California....
(Mondial) - Zephyr — Kings IslandKings IslandKings Island is a amusement park located northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio. Opened in 1972 by Taft Broadcasting Company and now owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, Kings Island is the most visited seasonal amusement park in the U.S...
(Zierer)
Popular culture
In ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
most of the Chair-O-Planes travel with fairs
Funfair
A funfair or simply "fair" is a small to medium sized travelling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...
.
The ride is called Seggiolini volanti ("Flying chairs") or calcinculo which literally means "kick in the bottom", from the ingenious way used to grab the high-placed "tail" and win a free ride.
Two people sit in contiguous seats, and the one sitting behind kicks the friend higher in the air.
A German rock band is named Chair-O-Plane.
A Chair-O-Planes is featured on the cover of Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...
's 1994 album Under the Table and Dreaming
Under the Table and Dreaming
-Songs cut from the album:Songs that were recorded during the sessions, but weren't included on the final cut:*"Granny" – Dave wanted this to be the band's first single, but the song never made it to any of the studio albums. Nonetheless, the song remains a strong fan favorite and is being played...
. The liner note credit lists the site of this photo as Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....
, which is the location of Cedar Point
Cedar Point
Cedar Point is a 364 acre amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, United States on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Erie. Cedar Point is the only amusement park with four roller coasters that are taller than...
.