Funtime Rockets are scary. Especially when this happens.

So I'm stuck at work for another 3 hours, and I was surfing around YouTube when a video was recommended for me. I decided to check it out, and here's what I saw:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSj9P-xJJ70

One of those Funtime rockets had its front cable snap in July 2010. This ride can't be very old. These are recent developments in the industry, aren't they?

You'll have to look past the sensationalism and overall "OMG EVERYONE WAS ALOMST DEAD" vibe, but I think I remember all of us having a discussion about the fear of something like this happening at some point or another. You couldn't pay me enough to get on one of those for the vomit factor alone, now I think it's solidified in my mind. I'm in no way saying that I think these rides are unsafe, but that's a bit much for me to handle.

edit: added date.

yep - when I rode some rides of theirs in Europe - I was drunk - if sober I would never have gotten on them...Scary crap!

This makes riding one of their Starflyers all the more scary.

Yeah. Those things, and these already freaked me out enough. I think I may have finally met my thrill seeking match.

Not the only cable snaps I am afraid of ;)

Flyers? I gotta admit, I'm not as fearless about snapping those as I once was, either. I get really shaky and my heart beats out of my chest whenever I do it now.

^Not what I was thinking - more like "Intamin cable mishaps." As it were ;)

Flyer snapping was always a big thrill b/c there was that element of danger; are there many still around that you can even get away with snapping?

Oh yeah, those too I suppose. That's a little more controlled, and you're at least still on the ground, or close to it and not dangling from a thread, as it were.

There's a few around that let you snap, but in general there aren't very many around anymore at all.

I rode the freefall at SFKK 90 minutes (2 times) before the foot amputation in 2007. It was chilling seeing blood being mop/broomed up, on the way out of the park.

Thing is, I was having my own ERT on another cable propelled ride - Greezed Lightnin'/Tidal Wave (was in my own perfect world/pink cloud on that ride for an hour!) when the accident happened.

Even though I still wanna ride every ride, I can't help but think about the cable snap on the freefall, and even more so, on the recent Intamin cable launch coasters. Just hope it doesn't happen when I'm on it!

Oh geez, I forgot about that freefall ride, too. Thing is, I rode Kennywood's shortly after and it didn't even phase me. There's something about being attached to the structure or track that makes it seem OK vs. dangling.

That sure is a strange failure in this case. Those cables are redundant, which means there had to be a double failure.

Wow. That would be terrifying.

I always thought it would be cool to have flyers that rose up a tower like a Chance Aviator does. Now, I'm not so sure.

AV: Ever see a Chance Aviator? It's a great lesson in how to badly screw up a Flying Scooter, but it's high capacity and it goes up a 120 foot tower...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Yes, I've ridden a couple. Lame ride. But to combine an actual flyer ride with the elevator tower... Gold. Imagine snapping a hundred feet or more above the midway!!!!

Given how scary it was when I hooked the back of my tub at PPP a couple of years ago, I don't think I'd want to do that. :-O

I rode on a Funtime Rocket at Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany.

I think th eone oin the YouTube video is a single rocket model, the one at the Wiezen has something like 6 rockets in a circle. All the same glad I saw the video AFTER the ride.

Ride itself, looks worse than it is, felt a lot like KI's old Flight Commander except you didn't control the rolls.

And only 5 Euros a ride on value days

My (scary) idea is to combine a vertical tower swing ride with a Gyro Drop - give the riders a nice ride to the top, give 'em a few turns in the air then free-fall drop 'em back to earth while it's still turning. The rigid arms and sturdy seats of Windseeker would be best for this concept- the chain chairs on a Starflyer would be all over the place. I would also turn the seats inward, like Stratosphere's Insanity, for a thrilling view of the pavement below. It would also be more comfortable (and probably safer) for the riders during the braking section at the bottom.

I'm not sure I would climb on such a ride, but I sure would like to invent it.

Didn't I read that Starflyers drop somewhat quickly, providing a slight freefall sensation? I've never seen or rode a Starflyer, so I don't know firsthand.

It's not a true Funtime Starflyer, but Flight at Martin's Fantasy Island doesn't provide any freefall sensation.

The Starflyer I rode in Orlando went up and then down rather quickly, (it seemed very well "balanced") but nothing like what you'd consider an actual freefall... and it couldn't come down fast enough for me, truth told. (hated it...)