Airplanes
| Other Name(s) | Aeroplane Airplane Ride Circle Swing |
|---|---|
| Type | Rotating Ride Swing Ride |
| Built | 1904 |
| Opened | 1927 |
| Closed | 1937 (park closure) |
| Manufacturer | Traver Circle Swing Company |
| Designer | Harry G. Traver |
| Architect | North Penn Iron Company |
| Width | 120 feet (36.6 meters) diameter |
| Height | 90 feet (27.5 meters) |
| Speed | 40 mph (64 kph) |
| Vehicle Type | Cars (airplane design) |
| Number of Vehicles | 6 |
| Inversions | 0 |
Around 1927, the Circle Swing, invented by Harry G. Traver, at Olentangy Park was most likely changed from boat-shaped cars to airplane-shaped cars and rebranded as Airplanes or Aeroplanes. The tower and superstructure are from the original ride.[1] The vehicles were most likely the ones Traver patented in 1922, called the "Collapsible Passenger Carrying Car for Aeroplane Swings."[2] Despite being listed for sale as "Circle Swing" in The Billboard,[3] the ride was moved to the Haenlein Brothers' Zoo Amusement Park in 1938.[4][5] It was razed at Zoo Park in 1956 after Floyd E. Gooding of the Gooding Amusement Company bought the park after the death of Leo Haenlein. According to Elmer Haenlein, it was the oldest of its kind at the time.[6] There are no existing original Traver Circle Swings left.[7]
Related Patents
- Amusement apparatus. (1904) U.S. Patent No. 758,341 https://patents.google.com/patent/US758341
- Car for swings. (1904) U.S. Patent No. 790,989 https://patents.google.com/patent/US790989A
- Circle-swing. (1905) U.S. Patent No. 830,687 https://patents.google.com/patent/US830687A
- Roundabout. (1905) U.S. Patent No. 830,688 https://patents.google.com/patent/US830688A
- Amusement apparatus. (1905) U.S. Patent No. 842,276 https://patents.google.com/patent/US842276A
- Collapsible passenger carrying car for aeroplane swings. (1922) U.S. Patent No. 1,436,371 https://patents.google.com/patent/US1436371
Notes
- The Traver Engineering Company also offered the Seaplane Deluxe in the 1920s with seaplane vehicles[8] and named "Sea Plane Whirl" at some parks.[9]
- Whalom Park in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, updated their cars to metal rockets, and after the ride was decommissioned sometime in the 1960s, the tower and a car were kept on display. [10]
See Also
References
- ↑ Uzzell, R. S. "Passing of Olentangy." The Billboard, April 23, 1938. Page 42. Accessed through the Internet Archive.
- ↑ Traver, H. G. 1922. "Collapsible passenger carrying car for aeroplane swings" U.S. Patent No. 1,436,371 Accessed through Google Patents https://patents.google.com/patent/US1436371
- ↑ Advertisement, The Billboard. April 16, 1938. Page. Page 41. Accessed through the Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/sim_billboard_1938-04-16_50_16/page/40
- ↑ Barret, Richard E. 1984. "Olentangy Park: Four Decades of Fun." Columbus and Central Ohio Historian No. 1 April 1984. Page 17.
- ↑ "Zoo Amusement Park Has Established Its Popularity." Columbus Dispatch, June 2, 1929. Page 14-A.
- ↑ "Airplane Ride is Razed." Columbus Dispatch, April 24, 1956. Page 8B.
- ↑ "The Rarest Amusement Park Rides: Circle Swing." National Amusement Park Historical Association, Accessed on August 5, 2024. https://www.napha.org/Resources/Facts-Figures/Operating-Classic-Amusement-Park-Rides
- ↑ "If this Tower could talk!" Amusement Parks and Beyond! Published on October 4, 2017. Accessed on August 6, 2024. https://amusementparksandbeyond.wordpress.com/2017/10/04/if-this-tower-could-talk/
- ↑ "Cascade Park: The Rides." Mike's Historic Amusement Parks, Accessed on August 12, 2024. http://cascadepark.mikeshistoricamusementparks.com/amusement-park-history/
- ↑ Ollikkala, Ted. 2018. "Canobie's Original Circle Swing Ride." Whalom Park Memories, Published on February 28, 2018. Accessed on August 8, 2024. https://www.facebook.com/groups/WhalomParkMemories/