Skydiver

Never riden one. They're ALWAYS at the carnivals/fairs I go to, but I don't ride them; they don't look safe.

Is the Skydiver fun/intense/safe?

No to all three.

-Nate

There seems to be a fine line between painful and fun when it comes to amusement rides. The Skydiver flirts with both sides of this line but I never felt particulary unsafe on one. The worst part of the ride for me is when it stops when my car is in a verticle position - especially when facing straight down! Some people have reported that the wheel can be hard to turn making it nearly impossible to remain upright. I haven't had this problem on the two examples I've ridden (Lakemont and Camden Parks).

------------------
Ripple Rock Amusement Park

The only one I've ridden (thus far) is the one at Silverwood. Shame Lakemont's was down, or I'd have given it a......spin....;). I really REALLY like the ride, but turning the wheel can be *a struggle* unless the ride is in motion....

As far as I'm concerned, they're just more of that yummy Chance goodness...:)
------------------
Tact is for people not intelligent enough to comprehend sarcasm...;)

I've never heard of an accident on one, so take that for what it's worth. I used to see a lot of them, but not anymore. At one point, the church carnival used to have one, which was surprising as it has always been a pretty small event, but now the "big" ride is a swinging ship.

------------------
-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

Never rode one of these things... last one I saw was at Lakemont. Was going to ride it, but the sign said "Two Riders Per Car" and the ride op was very strict about that. My wife was not adventurous enough to go on, so I passed.

This brings up a question about "Two Riders Per Car". I can understand on a Skydiver (the vertical forces as the car is spinning... similar to the spinning motion on a Roll-o-Plane). What I don't undersand is that same sign on Reithoffer's Ride's Zipper ride at the York Fair. On a Sky Diver I can see the "Two rider rule" for the same reason of the "no single rider" on Kennywood's Thunderbolt (lateral forces)... but why on a Zipper? No Lateral forces there. Any ideas? Is this common with all Zipper rides? Is this common with all Sky Diver rides?
------------------
Half of the people surveyed agree, half disagree and another half are unsure.

The secret to a good ride on the Skydiver is cramming in there with Moosh and letting him drive. He's THAT good.

------------------
Mike Miller - Still spinning from that ride, two years later.

The deal with "two per car" in those small cages (Zippers, Skydivers, etc.) is to prevent riders from sliding side to side. Sure, you'd still be IN the cage, but if you bounced around inside that cage for an entire ride cycle, you'd still be pretty badly beaten....
------------------
Tact is for people not intelligent enough to comprehend sarcasm...;)

That happened to me when I was 5. My Dad took me on a Skydiver. I came out of the safety harness and "bounced" around inside the cage like so much laundry. Scared the hell out of me. I haven't been on one since (although my problem now would not be my being too "small") ;)

------------------
"I go out at 3 o' clock for a quart of milk and come home to my son treating his body like an amusement park!" - Estelle Costanza

*** This post was edited by janfrederick 10/13/2003 5:19:02 PM ***

I once rode a Skydiver at the NW Alabama State Fair back in the 80's. It wasn't very fun as I recall, but somewhat scary going around upside down.
------------------
Nashville needs a theme park!
*** This post was edited by thrillerman1 10/13/2003 7:24:39 PM ***

The only parks I know with them are the ones mentioned, Silverwood, Camden and Lakemont. Not many carnivals travel with them as they require two trailers and have a pretty bad hourly throughput. In addition, being old they are getting to require a lot of parts. I want to say that Peachtree Amusements has one and I heard that up in NYC there was a guy who has a Skydiver and a Toboggan.

Adam

The one at Camden Park is quite intense........like an evil Ferris Wheel/Enterprise on speed or something. :-)

I would not recommend riding one immediately after lunch though. :-)

Is it fun? Yes

Intense? Oh yeah.

Safe? Probably not, but I have yet to hear of any injuries or fatalities on the Camden Park Skydiver. ;-)

You probably won't see me near a carni Skydiver though.

-Tina

------------------
Gimme speed, height, airtime and plenty of LAUNCH!!!

*** This post was edited by coasterqueenTRN 10/13/2003 7:57:24 PM ***

---

rollergator said:
The deal with "two per car" in those small cages (Zippers, Skydivers, etc.) is to prevent riders from sliding side to side.

---

But a Zipper has no horozontal motion. So I don't get why Zippers have "2 per car" rules.

------------------
www.zyklontribe.com

I used to be absolutely petrified of these things, until I actually rode one. And it was at a fair. And it was a freakin' blast! Been in love with 'em ever since. But they are getting harder to find around these parts. I was incredibly happy to learn that Silverwood had one. Rode theirs at CAC with Ben (Railshark). The whole spinning effect is fantastic, assuming you've got a strong stomach for such.

And yes to all three.

------------------
So long Stealth, don't forget to write...

Current owners (other than Camden, Lakemont, and Silverwood):

J & J Amusements has had one for a number of years (http://community.webshots.com/photo/80459361/80470833TSGxNq).

George Wharton owns one in England, previously owned by William Summers. He calls it the Vortex I believe.

Benner Amusement owned one in 2000, but I don't know if they still have one.

There was a Skydiver at Rocky Point Amusement Park in Rhode Island until the park closed and it was sold at auction for $27,000 in 1996. Current location unknown.

The only accidents I could find was one involving hair getting caught and one involving an accident while setting up.

I'm not sure what company provided the rides at the time, but Carnegie Mellon's annual Spring Carnival used to have a Skydiver. I know it was there in spring 1989, because it that my freshman year and my first ride on a Skydiver (with my equally insane friend Dave, who I've since lost track of :( )

I rode the one at Silverwood in August, and loved it. I had forgotten how evil, and fun, the ride was.

------------------
--Greg, aka Oat Boy
My page
"Friendship -- more lasting than love, more legal than stalking."

A Sky Diver was here at the fair about 4 years ago. It was one of the main attractions...

I'm not a huge fan, not sure why. It just isn't that fun to me. The Zippers on the other hand make me scream like a little schoolgirl. At the Spring Fair here in town they have a very fast Zipper (compared to other ones I have been on) and because no one goes to the Spring Fair, the operater just waits for you to yell "STOP!!!" before ending your ride. Go god, I thought I was going to puke pretty hard last time.

------------------
-Parker My Coaster Count
www.SFMWZone.com

Its my favorite carnie ride. The wheel is hard to turn though, like everyone says, so when you are in an uncomfortable position your pretty much stuck there cause the wheel is so hard to turn. You might wanna try you and your frend turning the wheel at the same time, the car might turn then.

------------------
This space will forever be dedicated to Hercules-R.I.P. 1989-2003

Here's the answer [paraphrased] from Chance's Zipper operation manual:

With one person in a Zipper car they can move their lower body sideways and get out from under the restraint. With two people that is virtually impossible, hence the 2-rider regulaion. It has nothing to do with lateral forces, obviously. FYI there is only one Zipper that allows single riders that I've ever encountered: the consession at Coney Island.

As for the Skydiver, I love 'em! I've never had any difficulty turning the car or staying upright, although it can be a little painful travelling the bottom of the wheel while upside-down. My favorite trick is to find the perfect wheel rotation so that I'm right-side up at the bottom and at the top.

And while I appreciate Bass' compliment at my driving skillz anyone who wants a truly wild experience should ride with Dave 'Flare' Fraser. He took the wheel at Lakemont last year and we were spinning continuously...before the main wheel even began to turn. I had no clue which was was up or down...I was laughing so hard I was crying.

mOOSH
------------------
New holiday & all-occasion cards on sale thru Oct 21st. 2004 Wood Coaster Calendar still available. All at S&D Greetings.

*** This post was edited by Mamoosh 10/14/2003 12:17:10 AM ***

After seeing Dave on Coney's Zipper, the ride that Moosh and I got on the one in Md. just pales in comparison...that guy is NUTS....:)

Bill, needs another shot on Coney's Zipper...I will never do *that*, but I know I can do better...:).

The Skydiver at Silverwood I found to be very thrilling upside-down at the bottom, with a clearance that defied logic, reminiscent of Tampico Tumbler...and a LOT of g's....:)
------------------
Tact is for people not intelligent enough to comprehend sarcasm...;)