A Chair-O-Planes ride with a tilting topA woman on a swing ride at the Oktoberfest in Munich, GermanyVideo of "Slänggungan" at Liseberg, Gothenburg, SwedenChair-O-Planes or "Kettenkarussell" (chain-carousel) at the Roonkarker Mart fair, GermanyAround the World
The swing ride or chair swing ride (sometimes called a swing carousel, wave swinger, yo-yo, waver swinger, Chair-O-Planes, Dodo or swinger) is an amusement ride that is a variation on the carousel in which the seats are suspended from the rotating 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.
In the late 2000s, Austrian manufacturer Funtime developed the world's first tower swinger, known as the Star Flyer.[8]Mondial followed with their WindSeeker, resulting in a lawsuit between the two companies.[9][10] Zamperla also sells a Vertical Swing.[11]
The Star Flyer, located in Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, affords sweeping views of the city's historical centre.
The Swing Carousel also located in Tivoli Gardens Copenhagen.
In Italy, most swing rides travel with fairs. The ride is called "Seggiolini volanti" ("Flying chairs") or "calcinculo", which literally means "kick in the bottom". Two people sit in contiguous seats, and the one sitting behind kicks or pushes their partner higher in the air, in order to reach a "tail" suspended beyond normal reach at a point in the ride's rotation. Any individual who manages to grab the tail wins a free ride.[12]
Sverrehusken a Wellenflieger at TusenFryd (Norway) in 2011
The second-largest amusement park within the Nordic countries is Tusenfryd (lit. “daisies”), located 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) outside the capital city Oslo, Norway. Tusenfryd features a Wellenflieger called Sverrehusken (“swear the chairs”) that has been in-operation since 1988. Sverrehusken was the first ride of its kind in the Nordic countries.
At Kongeparken (lit. ‘the royal park’), located 10 km outside the third-largest city in Norway, Stavanger, is a Wellenflieger named Spinnvidle (“spin-wheel”) that has been in-operation since 2012. Spinnvidle is the first of its kind in Norway with double seats.
The Swedish name for Swing ride is Slänggunga or Kättingflygare. At Gröna Lund, Stockholm, a swing ride with the name "Eclipse" can be found. With its 121.9 metres (400 ft), it shares the "world's second tallest" title with SkyScreamer in Texas, North America.[13][14]
The biggest amusement park in the Nordic countries is Liseberg, in Sweden's second largest city Gothenburg. Liseberg is the home of a Swing ride named "Slänggungan".
Loudoun Castle Theme Park in Scotland claimed that its moon-shaped ride, "The Plough", was 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 the Netherlands during the late seventies. It had gondolas travelling around the outside of the ride. When moved to Dreamland in England (then called "Bembom Brothers"), it was reconstructed into a Chair-O-Plane and named Heatwave. Leaving Dreamland, it opened in Lightwater Valley in 1998 where it operated until 2003 when Henk Bembom moved Heatwave to his new park, Loudoun Castle, where it was renamed "The Plough" and painted green. The park has been closed since 2010.
Until 2016, there was a Chair-O-Plane ride at Alton Towers in Staffordshire. Called Twirling Toadstool it was set in a fantasy themed area of the park called Cloud Cukoo Land, it was themed as a giant mushroom. This was formerly themed as a prehistoric dinosaur-type ride and located in an area called Ug Land.
You can also find a Chair-O-Plane at Carters Steam Fair which is one of the largest vintage travelling funfairs including some steam driven rides. Their ride's past is a little patchy but is thought to have been built in Germany in the 1920s and imported to Britain with a blank canvas. It's generally the case that British roundabouts run clockwise, whereas their Continental and American counterparts run anti-clockwise. The Chair-o-Plane certainly runs the right direction to be a British-built ride, but it may have been adapted by an early owner.
Most of the traditional-style swing carousel rides in North America are found in amusement parks, as well as at many seasonal fairs and carnivals. They are usually made by Zierer (which calls the ride ‘Wave Swinger’),[15] although some are made by Bertazzon (which calls the ride ‘Swing Carousel’)[16] or Zamperla (which calls it ‘Flying Carousel’ or ‘Lollyswings’).[17]
In recent years, many American amusement parks have opened towering (and considerably more thrilling) models, such as the WindSeeker[18] (by Mondial) or the Sky Screamer (by SNS). These high-thrill swing rides are normally a minimum of 100 feet (30.48 m) tall, with several even surpassing 200’ (60.96 m). The Texas and New England Six Flags parks have Sky Screamers measuring 400’ (121.92 m).
Spinner had dismantled when the Genting Outdoor Theme Park closed since 1 September 2013 to make way for the world's first 20th Century Fox World, which was completed by 2021.
In John Updike's short story "You'll Never Know Dear How Much I Love You" he mentions a WhirloGig.
At the end of the Lilo & Stitch: The Series episode "Short Stuff", Experiment 297, a crab-like alien who was accidentally enlarged by his creator Jumba Jookiba's growth ray and given the name "Shortstuff", has the ability to swivel his body from the waist up. He was allowed to stay at his enlarged size by being employed as a living swing ride for a carnival as his "one true place".[21]
The 2022 film Swing Ride (Italian title: 'Calcinculo'), directed by Chiara Bellosi, is a coming of age story set in the world of travelling fairs. It recounts the friendship between a young girl seeking to escape her family and a transgirl from a family of show people. Its title is a play on the Italian name for Swing-Rides (Calcinculo "kick up the arse"), and refers both to the ride and to the blows and setbacks that girls receive during adolescence.[22]
References
^"Steam Chair-o-Planes". hollycombe.co.uk. Hollycombe Working Steam Museum. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
^ abDavid Burton. "Waveswinger". Amusement Ride Extravaganza web site. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
