(why are all the good stories in the UK papers?)
Posted on 05/25/2013 8:45:46 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
The world’s tallest tower swing ride, which sends those foolhardy enough to get on-board a whopping 400 feet up in the air, was officially opened on Saturday at the Six Flags Over Texas amusement park in Arlington.
The Texas SkyScreamer allows up to twenty-four riders to sit in open-air swings while spinning in a 124-foot circle at speeds up to 35 mph.
At its 40 story peak - and if the riders still have their eyes open - they can see not only Arlington, but also Dallas and Fort Worth.
‘We are thrilled to add the tallest swing ride in the world to our premier line up of rides and attractions,’ said Steve Martindale, park president of Six Flags Over Texas.
‘It offers the most unique ride experience for an attraction of this kind, and also lives up to the Texas mantra that everything is bigger in the Lone Star state!’
There are seven SkyScreamer rides located at theme parks throughout the U.S. but this latest one dwarfs the competition, the next tallest is in Georgia and is a mere 242 feet tall.
Due to the far greater height though, riders are spun at a reduced speed of 35mph compared to the usual 43 mph.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
(why are all the good stories in the UK papers?)
Make sure your shoes are tied.
Texas, baby. I may be moving out there soon.
No thanks. I don’t get on nothing higher than a barstool.
LOL Yeah, because starting a free fall from 35 mph at 400 feet is much more dangerous than falling from 43 mph at 242 feet in the air.
Horizontal velocity doesn't make a bit of difference in the time it takes your body to reach the ground. It would affect the distance of your impact point from the ride, though.
Yeah the splat would be just a little further away.
NO FLIPPING WAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do not have the nads for this.
And you have clean underwear.
If I got on a ride like that, I’d never get my balls to come back down from my throat.
You may START the ride in clean underwear....
That is freakin nuts. Getting on a device 400 ft in the air than spins bodies outward using centrifugal force? Whaaat could go wrong?
It probably has more to do with the machinery.
The forth photo isn’t Texas, it’s Georgia if I’m not mistaken. Tree cover is too dense, too hilly for that part of Texas.
It’s a thrilling ride, no doubt. I hope there’s plenty of redundancy built in, in the event of a mechanical failure of some kind, though. Being slung outward at 35 mph from forty stories would send some unfortunate somebody a good distance before hitting ground.
Yeah, I know. It just sounds a little silly.
I went skydiving once, but I don't see myself jumping on this ride.
No...effin...way!
I will never go to an amusement park again. I worked with a man who did maintenance in an industrial setting. Formerly with an amusement park in Ohio. Guy was so incompetent no one wanted to work with him. Years later my girlfriend at the time wanted to go to the amusement park. While on the roller coaster I had a thought of Bob. The fun was over and I just kept looking for loose bolts and examining the timber construction.
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