PW Nov 09 P40.qxd 11/4/09 1:55 pm Page 40
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Dick Knoebel and the ‘Turns
Knoebels
Flying Turns
Ready when it’s done
The million-dollar question at Knoebels Amusement Resort, Knoebel wishes he could have known everything at the start he knows
Elysburg, Pennsylvania, is "When is the Flying Turns going to now. The park’s team has has tried several variations of train and trough,
open?" The answer, according to Dick Knoebel, is "When it's for example.
done.” Park World gets a progress report Progress has been made as problems were addressed and fixed. Mike
Boodley is now working as a consultant on the project. Portions of the
“
W
e knew when we took this project on that there would be trough have been re-profiled. The service track has been moved
serious challenges along the way," says Knoebel. But surely alongside the brake run, and lift three is changed. A new train has been
he can offer some insight as to when the ride will be ready? designed and ordered, and delivery is expected before the snow flies. If
Maybe not. “We really can't give a definitive answer other than, 'As soon the new train is successful, a 2010 opening is likely.
as possible’.”
The Flying Turns is a ride of largely wooden construction first built in
Dayton, Oho, in 1929 by visionary World War I Canadian flying ace Knoebels Golden Nugget
Norman Bartlett and legendary coaster builder John Miller. There were
Dick Knoebel has a history of ressurecting classic rides, and the Flying Turns is
seven Flying Turns built by Bartlett and either Miller or Philadelphia
not his only ongoing project. Earlier this year he rescued the Golden Nugget
Toboggan Company between 1929 and 1939.
from Morey’s Piers in Wildwood, New Jersey.
The appeal of this style of ride is that the "track" is less restrictive than a
The classic boardwalk attraction was specially constructed for Morey’s by the
regular rollercoaster. The train rides in a trough with no further guide than
Philadelphia Toboggan Company and opened in July 1960 on the newly
the curved walls surrounding it and the cars are allowed to freewheel to
constructed ocean side section of Hunt’s Pier. It was built three stories high with
wherever in the trough centrifugal force guides them. The effect is like a the top floor giving riders a mine car ride through the “desert” (as seen here).
bobsled ride, and also similar to the sort of Despite its best efforts, the Morey Organization was unable to preserve the
daredevil barnstorming performed by
coaster-based attraction and decided to remove it from the former Hunt’s Pier.
aviation pioneers, hence the name Flying
Its renovation was doomed by the expense of meeting New Jersey's strict ride
Turns. Modern bobsled rides using a steel
regulations.
trough are available from the likes of
Fortunately, substantial portions of the Golden Nugget were saved for reuse
Intamin and Mack.
prior to the removal of the exterior structure, and they have since been
Knoebel didn't think his ride would take
transported to Knoebels’ park in Pennsylvania, where there are less restrictive
regulations in force than New Jersey.
this long to complete, as he originally
Knoebel wants to re-
hoped to open it for the 2008 season, but
theme the ride, replacing
he isn't surprised at the delay either.
the original western theme
Unlike a traditional coaster, the park
with one that celebrates the
didn't have any working models to observe. history of the local
They did use structural support T-rail anthracite coal mining
salvaged from Chicago's Riverview Flying industry. When it
Turns. As they worked through the project
reopens, possibly
they learned more and more about the
in 2010, it will be
history of the Turns and the challenges this
known as the
ride presented to those that ran and
Black Diamond
maintained them.
Mine Ride.
40 NOVEMBER 2009
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