Loop-O-Plane

Last updated
Loop-O-Plane
Feature. Belmont Park BAnQ P48S1P09132.jpg
Loop-O-Plane ride in Belmont Park, Quebec.
First manufactured1933
Manufacturer Eyerly Aircraft Company
DesignerLee Eyerly
Vehicles2
Riders per vehicle4
Restraint StyleLap bar
NicknameHammers / clogs
CapacityEight riders

The Loop-O-Plane is an amusement park ride that originated in America. It was invented by Lee Eyerly and manufactured by the Eyerly Aircraft Company of Salem, Oregon, in 1933. [1] The ride was immediately popular with customers [2] and became a staple of amusement parks.

Contents

The ride was imported into Europe, where it was first used in the UK in 1937. [3]

The ride has two 16-foot-long arms, each with an enclosed car at one end and a counterweight at the other. Each car holds four riders seated in pairs facing opposite directions making the maximum occupancy eight riders. Propelled by an electric motor, the arms swing in directions opposite to each other until they 'loop' taking the riders upside down. The minimum rider height requirement is 46 inches tall.

An advertisement for the Loop-O-Plane in Dorney park. 1936 - Loop-O-Plane - Dorney Park - Allentown PA.jpg
An advertisement for the Loop-O-Plane in Dorney park.

An updated version of this ride exists known as the Roll-O-Plane. Some of the surviving machines were also converted into a variation named Rock-O-Plane.

Ride locations

A partial list containing both open and closed rides and their locations follows.

Related Research Articles

Lee Ulrich Eyerly was an American civil aviation pioneer and amusement ride manufacturer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pirate ship (ride)</span> Amusement ride

A pirate ship is a type of amusement ride based on pirate ships, consisting of an open, seated gondola which swings back and forth, subjecting the rider to various levels of angular momentum. A variant where the riders must pull on ropes to swing the ride is known as a swing boat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakeside Amusement Park</span> Amusement park in Lakeside, Colorado

Lakeside Amusement Park is a family-owned amusement park in Lakeside, Colorado, adjacent to Denver. Opened in 1908, it is the oldest amusement park in Colorado still operating in its original location, and is the lone remaining American amusement park to have had the name White City. The park, comprising nearly half of the Town of Lakeside that it was responsible for creating in 1907, features the landmark Tower of Jewels.

Ocean View Amusement Park was an amusement park at the end of Granby Street at Ocean View Avenue in Norfolk, Virginia, USA, opened in 1905 and operated by Jack L. Greenspoon and Dudley Cooper. The amusement park and its wooden coaster, the Rocket, appeared in the 1977 movie Rollercoaster but closed on September 4, 1978. The Rocket was destroyed as part of the making of the television program The Death of Ocean View Park in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Winnepesaukah</span> Amusement Park in Georgia, U.S.

Lake Winnepesaukah, commonly known as Lake Winnie, is an amusement park located in Rossville, Georgia, on the south of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Carl and Minette Dixon opened the park to over 5,000 guests on June 1, 1925. They named it after the Native American word Winnepesaukah, meaning "bountiful waters" or "beautiful lake of the highlands". The park originally featured the largest swimming pool in the southeastern United States, which debuted in 1926 and was later removed. Its Boat Chute attraction, designed by Carl Dixon and opened in 1927, is the oldest mill chute water ride of its kind still operating in the United States.

The Pretzel Amusement Ride Company was an amusement ride manufacturer that produced a variety of rides, including an early dark ride known as The Pretzel, the company's namesake. It built over 1400 rides for carnivals and amusement parks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waltzer</span> Flat fairground ride

A Waltzer is a flat fairground ride that often forms the centrepiece of traditional British and Irish fairs. The ride consists of a number of cars which spin freely while rotating around a central point, in much the same way as a carousel. As the cars revolve, the floor of the ride undulates over a track so that the cars rise and fall as the ride spins. The offset weight of the riders causes each car to rotate. The riders experience varying levels of g-force from the spinning of the car, and the rotation of the ride itself. Because of this, operators will impose height and age restrictions.

Lakeside Amusement Park was an amusement park located in Salem, Virginia, neighboring Roanoke, at the intersection of U.S. Route 460 and State Route 419. The park was named after a very large swimming pool which was opened on the site in 1920. The pool was surrounded by a beach and quickly became a favorite summer retreat for residents of Roanoke and Salem. Amusement park rides were added to the facility within a few years of its opening. The park also included a pavilion, which hosted celebrity concerts. Frequent performers included country artists Tom T. Hall and Conway Twitty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camden Park (amusement park)</span> Amusement park near Huntington, West Virginia

Camden Park is a twenty-six acre amusement park located near Huntington, West Virginia. Established in 1903 as a picnic spot by the Camden Interstate Railway Company, it is one of only thirteen trolley parks that remain open in the United States. Whereas most trolley parks were located at the end of trolley lines, Camden Park is unusual in that it was built where riders traveling between Huntington and nearby cities would stop to change lines. Not long after opening, the park soon gained a carousel and other roadside attractions. Camden Park is West Virginia's only amusement park. The park is home to more than thirty rides and attractions, including a full-size traditional wooden roller coaster, the Big Dipper, and several other vintage rides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monster (ride)</span> Amusement ride

The Monster is an amusement ride manufactured by Eyerly Aircraft Company. The ride spins while moving up and down at a slow pace. Each car spins while giant arms move up and down in a circular motion. Riders may experience the feeling of weightlessness when going in the air and coming back down to ground level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Octopus (ride)</span> Amusement ride shaped like an octopus

The Octopus is a type of amusement ride in the shape of an octopus. Six to eight arms attached to a central axis of rotation and move up and down in a wavelike motion via a counter rotating eccentric, while cars at the end of the arms, either attached directly to the arm or fixed on spinning crosses, spin freely or stay in place, depending on the exact type of ride. Each Octopus ride has the arms attached the middle of the ride. The middle or centric of the ride will move somehow. Most octopus rides require guests to be at least 42 inches to ride without an adult; smaller children must have an adult with them. This is a regular at the annual AGS and AHS fairs in Ateneo de Manila University

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scrambler (ride)</span> Type of amusement ride

The Scrambler, Twist, Twister, Cha Cha, Sizzler, or Merry Mixer, is an amusement ride in which suspended riders spinning in cars experience centrifugal force, while spinning along two separate axes. Riders are seated in small carriages clustered together and connected by beams at the top to a central point. The clustered vehicles are spun in one direction, while the ride as a whole spins in the opposite direction. There are a number of variations of the design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranger (ride)</span> Inverting pendulum amusement ride

A Ranger is an inverting pendulum ride first manufactured by HUSS Machinenfabrik in 1981. Many of the design elements were later used in the HUSS Rainbow, and the term 'Ranger' has become synonymous with inverting pendulum rides. It was the first inverting swing ride designed since Lee Eyerly's Loop-O-Plane and set the standard for many other attractions using the inverting pendulum ride system, such as the Rainbow, the Kamikaze (ride), and the Inverter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock-O-Plane</span> Amusement park ride

The Rock-O-Plane is an amusement park ride designed by Lee Eyerly in 1948 and manufactured by the Eyerly Aircraft Company of Salem, Oregon.

Wildfire (Silver Dollar City) Steel roller coaster

Wildfire is a steel roller coaster located at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the $14-million ride opened to the public on April 4, 2001. It is themed as a flying machine developed by a fictional 1880s Ozark inventor.

Castle Park, formerly Castle Amusement Park, is a 25-acre amusement park and family amusement center located in Riverside, California. The park utilizes a medieval "castle" theme and includes attractions such as a miniature golf course, arcade, and 22 amusement rides including two roller coasters such as Merlin's Revenge, a junior rollercoaster, and Screamin' Demon, a spinning Wild Mouse rollercoaster. The main "castle" themed building, houses the arcade as well as its only dark ride, "Ghost Blasters", an interactive attraction, designed by Sally Corporation, which can also be found at other amusement parks throughout North America. The park was designed, built and operated by Bud Hurlbut, who designed several rides at Knott's Berry Farm. Castle Park is currently owned and operated by Palace Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roll-O-Plane</span> Amusement park ride

The Roll-O-Plane, also known as the Bullet is an amusement park ride that originated in America. It was invented by the Eyerly Aircraft Company of Salem, Oregon, as an updated and more exciting version of the Loop-O-Plane. The ride is commonly nicknamed the "Salt and Pepper Shakers".

Frank Hrubetz & Co., Inc. was an American manufacturer of amusement park flat rides. Established in 1939, the company was located near the Salem, Oregon airport. It sold both trailer-mounted and permanent model rides to theme parks throughout the world. Models included the Meteor, Paratrooper, Round Up, and Tip Top. In 1968, the company's estimated business brought in over $1.5 million and its plant space was 25,000 square feet. By the early 1970s, Hrubetz was selling 60 rides each year, making it the second largest manufacturer of amusement rides in the United States. They closed their manufacturing doors in 1992.

Eyerly Aircraft Company was an amusement ride manufacturing company in Salem, Oregon, founded by Lee Eyerly in 1930. The company originally intended to design flight simulators for the aircraft industry but shifted to amusement rides after an early simulator, called Orientator, became a popular pay-per-ride attraction with the public. The company manufactured rides until 1985 and went bankrupt in 1990, following a fatal accident in 1988 on a ride built by the company.

References

  1. "Eyerly Invents "Loop-O-Plane"". Western Flying Magazine. 13. Occidental Publishing Company: 24. 1933.
  2. "Eyerly Loop-o-plane Wins Favor". Western Flying Magazine. 14. Occidental Publishing Company: 24. January 1934.
  3. Sheffield University: National Fairground Archive - Looping Rides Archived 2014-01-08 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed 8 January 2014
  4. "Loop-O-Plane - Keansburg Amusement Park".