Going Around?


Both of these photos show the Turbo Force at IAAPA 2001. The left photo has a clear view of the loading area and the attractive flash and lighting package. The photo on the right shows the Turbo Force spinning next to the company's Z-Force Tower.

The Turbo Force was shown (and I believe debuted) at IAAPA 2000 and was back again on the Magical Midway for 2001. On the first day of the show I felt I needed a shot in the arm for my sales, so I figured it was time to step on this bad boy. With many gawkers watching from the sides I sat down in the plastic Soriani “butt mold” seat and the O.T.S.R. was lowered. Instead of using a locking mechanism at the back of the head, the Turbo Force has a separate arm connected to each O.T.S.R. that fits in a groove along the side and locks. This way the O.T.S.R. can only be opened by the ride op. After the restraints were checked we did one revolution at a good clip, but when the car came around the second time I felt the motor accelerating and that’s when the fun started. My favorite part of the Turbo Force is the flipping action. Not only do you get thrown upside down, but there is some violent airtime as you are tossed out of the seat into the restraints. Those over-the-top moments where you are launched from the ride are awesome- the closest I will ever come to being placed on a cartoon catapult like Wile E. Coyote (genius, pure genius). The force over the top is powerful and much more intense than I anticipated. After circa. six spins the arm slowed and we were held while the other end loaded. For me, this was the most unnerving part of the ride as, if you have the heavier set of people, you are facing towards the ground. But, it does give you some time to talk with the riders located behind you. After waiting a few minutes the ride spins in the opposite direction. Aside from being thrown out of the seat the other good moments on the ride were the “dive bomb” flip, usually the first full-speed cycle, where the car went over the top at just the right angle so the riders going backwards were flung to the ground headfirst. While not the most intense extreme ride, the Turbo Force it is nice because each spin is a little different than the last and the back-to-back seating provides a variable that plays out differently with each ride. I found the Turbo Force to be a very enjoyable experience that is a very good buy for traveling carnivals. It gives them a decent capacity upcharge attraction that racks onto one trailer, a nice feat of carnival engineering.


The Katanga Skyscraper is known as one of the most intense rides in existence. It is located on International Drive in Orlando and thrills patrons 150-feet over the gold course.

Saturday night we went over to the Katanga Skyscraper, a ride whose reputation has grown throughout the enthusiast community. The closest I had gotten before was to look at it from the parking lot as, in a group of eight, two others and myself opted out while five rode. I was not as intimidated with it as in that spring of ‘99, but was still a little apprehensive as we pulled into the parking lot and saw that propeller sitting there, lit by some neon strands and several spotlights. Being the wuss I am I said I was not riding alone, although the op was kind enough to let Eric ride twice so that problem never surfaced. Since there was no line we boarded and climbed in the seats. I do like the Gravity Works seats as they are conducive to lots of riding and the restraints are heaven. Unlike the Ejector Seat Gravity Works decided against a five-point harness and designed a restraint that is roughly two L’s of belts that come across the shoulders and angle across the stomach. This provides a snug fit but plenty of space for upper body movement. I felt nervous as the ride op flashed us a smile and we were up, up and away. After the first revolution the difference between the two rides was readily evident. This thing spun FAST (although I must note that the Turbo Force was trailer-mounted & I am guessing that if a park owner wanted to run a permanent version nearly this fast it would be possible), so fast that I could readily feel the G’s in my ankles and calves. At the bottom half of each ride you could feel the wind howl as the car sped through the night. After many spins we were held at the top before the car was reversed and we did the loop backwards so the car came over the top, but we only got one good dive bomb in before the ride was over and I got off a little dazed.

The Booster: Fabbri (http://www.fabbrigroup.com/)
First Ride: January 10, 2002 Most Recent Ride: January 12, 2002


The Booster is Fabbri's foray into the extreme ride field. These pictures were taken at Euroshow and the wind was a little blustering as the ride spun around.

I rode the Booster during the 2002 Euroshow in Düsseldorf when it was rather cold outside. There is (sadly) only one of these rides in the U.S., owned by an independent operator named Mike Demas (but look for another somewhere here in 2002). Unlike the other two the Booster has a loading platform that slides to the side and uses traditional, coaster-like O.T.S.R.’s. These are kept in place by air pressure. Every time the riders are loaded an air hose is inserted in the side of the car to give the O.T.S.R.’s the pressure necessary to stay in place. The Fabbri Booster was a combination of the Turbo Force & Skyscraper, but had more intense moments than airtime. Overall I found this version of the ride, like many Fabbri products, to be well built and an enjoyable ride. I think the lighting package is as good as Zamperla’s version, which should help in the world of European fairs. Also like the Turbo Force this upcharge attraction racks up onto one trailer, which is very attractive to American buyers.


I can't wait to ride Funtime's Skytrip. They reported good sales at the show so there will (hopefully) be a few in the U.S. for the 2002 season. (The diagrams are property of Funtime of Austria and for display purposes only)

The Funtime Skytrip. Sadly, this ride was not open to riders during the show. It is a new twist on the spinning upcharge attraction. Instead of one arm this attraction has a main arm off of which spins another with seats. This looks like an exciting ride and I am looking forward to (hopefully) seeing one of these at a carnival or park soon.

So which version did I like better? Well, there were good and bad points to each ride. Between the three the Turbo Force had much better airtime and flipping while the Skyscraper was a big, intense circle. The thing that bothered me about the Skyscraper was that after a few spins it felt more like a Larson Super Loop stuck on full throttle (just continuous loops) with no real flipping. The Fabbri version was the most confusing because it ran quite intensely for a trailer-mounted attraction, but the ride did little more than roll you over the top. I never felt violently thrown out of the seat. Yes, the Skyscraper and Booster were more intense…but they were also too predictable. I think the Turbo Force gets the edge in my book, but I found that all were great rides.