Carnival Ride at Sandwich IL Fair

Alright, I admit it... I was in Sandwich, IL (central IL= one giant cornfield) against my will today. ;)

But hey, I got to go on this really cool ride that was there, but I can't find any info about it. It was basically this really tall 2 sided arm, attached at the middle, that rotated around with a free moving car on each end. Each car held 4 people and basically the arm would rotate around, with the cars inverting as they flew up in the air and back towards the ground. I just want to find a picture of the thing! It had some really cool negative Gs. I'm figuring Chance makes it, but I don't know their website. Any help?

Who was the carnival company?

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I have no signature because I am being stalked by a psyco.

Sounds like a Roll-o-Plane ride. They have one of these at Little-A-Merrick-A.

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Ric Flair was hitting on the female host, he told her - "Space Mountain may be the oldest ride in the park, but it has the longest line." WOOOOO!

Roll-o-Planes are my fav flats.

Just thought I'd comment :)

I am glad others also see the fun in these cool old rides.

There is a site dedicated to the Rolloplane. I think it is rolloplane.com . See if that is the ride you are thinking of.

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Here is a picture of a Roll-o-Plane. Is this what you saw and rode?

http://www.beatniktimes.com/rolloplane/

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Ric Flair was hitting on the female host, he told her - "Space Mountain may be the oldest ride in the park, but it has the longest line." WOOOOO!

What's the coaster in the back of that picture?

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You can hear the laughter, you can hear the mighty roar. From the brickyard down in Indy to the white Chicago shore. It's a rollin', twistin', turnin' and might we both suggest. You get you fanny ridin' on the Cornball Express!

Hmm, the thing I was on was a LOT newer than that.. It was brand new and you could tell. It's the same basic concept, except the seats are in open air, and free to invert themselves, with restraints almost akin to that of Deja Vu at SFGAm-- not only was the design similar, but when they staple you, it hurts! Vekoma doesn't make flat rides, do they...

I don't have time to look around on the net for a photo, but I'll try again tomorrow.

EDIT: Stoogemanmoe... I saw it, and could identify it from a list. I was at a site recently listing all the different carnival companies (the site was mentioned in a recent thread about carnivals) but I cannot seem to locate that thread or that website either. The name started with an "S," so I could identify it that way.

*** This post was edited by JoNoJ27 on 9/8/2002. ***

Hey JoNoJ27 try this.

http://www.carnivalwarehouse.com/

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I have no signature because I am being stalked by a psyco.

Stooge: Of course I had just found it not 2 minutes before you posted...

And now the "S" theory goes unsolved, because none of the names look familiar.

EDIT: I even checked by searching for "Ring of Fire" since they had one there as well and nothing was familiar.

*** This post was edited by JoNoJ27 on 9/9/2002. ***

Maybe there's a new Roll-O-Plane design. It's a pretty old ride. Chance redesigned the Zipper, and the new one's are way better in terms of comfort.

I hope that this is true, because the one time i went on a Roll-O-Plane my leg got caught in the restraining device and every time we came around to the bottom it would pinch the skin on my leg. It was the most painful experience I've ever had on a ride, and have never ridden one again.

BTW - Does anyone know whatever happened to the SkyDiver ride. It was a giant ferris wheel, but the cars flipped horizontally and you could control the flipping with a steering wheel. That was a great ride, but the carnivals around here never have them anymore. Were they banned or something?

~me

Ya. Those would be the Chance Skydivers. Elitch Gardens had one for one season, but I heard something about cars coming off and I do believe that they were banned. Can anyone verify this? BTW very fun rides.

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"Standing in line to see the show tonight and there's a light on, heavy glow, by the way I tried to say I'd be there."-The Red Hot Chili Peppers

CornballFreak said:
"What's the coaster in the back of that picture?"

I'd be willing to bet ANYTHING that it was the now defunct Steel Phantom @ Kennywood.

As for the SkyDivers, that banning would have to have been fairly recent. I rode one at the Champaign County (IL) fair back in 1998.
lata,
jeremy
--who actually never saw SP in person

Sweet! I found it. It was a Booster from Far Fabbri.

Here are some pictures:

http://www.fabbrigroup.com/products/images/Booster-big1.jpg

http://www.fun-fairs.co.uk/visitors/mb2/p02.html

http://www.fun-fairs.co.uk/visitors/th/z11.html

Thanks for you help guys.

*** This post was edited by JoNoJ27 on 9/9/2002. ***

There was a SkyDiver at the IL State Fair this year. I tried to ride but they wouldn't let me go solo and I couldn't find anyone else to ride. It looks like a fun ride.

The Booster is the same type of ride as the Skyscraper or Turbo Force. I rode the Katanga Skyscraper down in Orlando and it's easily the most insane ride I've ever gotten on.

Kyle

Was it an upcharge attraction when you rode it? That's the only way I've ever seen them, for about $20. That's the only reason I've never ridden one, I'm not a big fan of upcharges at parks or fairs. I've done some before, but they were usually located in some toursity spot and not a park.

That is kinda like a Skyscraper except it holds 4 people on each end. The Skyscraper I rode in the Dells didn't have a restraint like Dejavu. It only had a nylon strap harness system with nothing to hold on to. It was by far the scariest ride I've ever been on. By the way I just rode a Skydiver on July 4 at a carnival in Beecher, IL.

But the GravityWorks! Skyscrapers hold two on each end....the Fabbri ones hold four on each end? Fabbri is really breaking out some SERIOUS flats these days....

edit: HOW did jeremy ID the Phantom from THAT pic....must've known from the Lopp-O-Plane colors or something....but having never SEEN Phantom, hat doesn't work either....c'mon , enlighten us, O Hostyl one....

*** This post was edited by rollergator on 9/9/2002. ***

I'll back Jeremy up on the location being Kennywood. check this photo out and its similiar paint job. Also, by the looks of the first photo, it is before the Pitt Fall opened.

Edit, you will need to look at the photo that is the second hill on Steel Phantom.

Kevin

*** This post was edited by coaster kevin on 9/9/2002. ***

rollergator said:

edit: HOW did jeremy ID the Phantom from THAT pic....must've known from the Lopp-O-Plane colors or something....but having never SEEN Phantom, hat doesn't work either....c'mon , enlighten us, O Hostyl one....
*** This post was edited by rollergator on 9/9/2002. ***

Aren't there only two of them operating at amusement parks right now? Kennywood and Knoebel's?

That'd be my guess. I'm often wrong.

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~~~ Maddy ~~~

rollergator said:
"edit: HOW did jeremy ID the Phantom from THAT pic....must've known from the Lopp-O-Plane colors or something....but having never SEEN Phantom, hat doesn't work either....c'mon , enlighten us, O Hostyl one...."

While I've never seen "Steel Phantom", I *have* been to KennyWood and rode Phantom's Revenge. I also *saw* the Loop-o-plane when I was at Kennywood and it was in the general vicinity of SP/PR.

But basically, I just used context clues and process of elimination. It *had* to be an Arrow/vekoma coaster based on the track. It also *had* to be a park with a loop-o-plane. Finally, and the most telling clue, the picture was taken by Joe Schwartz of www.joyrides.com fame. He takes the *best* amusement park related photos I've ever seen. I know he had some KW pics on his page, so I just guessed that it *had* to be from KW. The 1996 date fits that it would be SP. I suppose I could go to joyrides and check, but honestly I havent.
lata,
jeremy
--hating U of Miami more than ever today....