A couple of weeks ago, Google announced they would make available thousands of magazines through their Google Book Search.
October 1935 Popular Mechanics
We immediately threw “Flying Scooter” in the search, and were extremely surprised to find the following gem in an October 1935 Popular Mechanics magazine: “Flying Scooter” Ride has Motions of Plane
The short blurb could be one of the earliest media mentions of the Bisch-Rocco flying scooter. The article is from 1935, the year that Riverview Park in Chicago received the prototype scooter. We’re looking for confirmation that the pictured scooter is in fact from Riverview.
The picture shows a park model Flying Scooter very similar to those seen in later years. One of the box-style tubs is clearly experiencing a “snap” in the background. The article text reads:
Giving the rider sensations of an airplane flight, a new amusement park device is the “flying scooter.” Framework supports small car suspended from steel “arms” by cables. As the framework is revolved by an engine, the cars swing outward. Vertical fins, attached to the car at front and rear, can be manipulated by the rider to change the direction of the swing.
Handwritten notes on the Google scan identify the inventor as “Alvin Bisch” and list the company address as 3900 S. Parkway, Chicago, Ill – an address we’ve already identified and visited (its now a Baba’s Famous Steak and Lemonade).
2008 view of 1935 Bisch-Rocco factory
July 7th, 2009 - 7:27 am
This was the shop that the flying scooters were created, but the prototype ride that preceded them was called the “captive plane ride” and was introduced at 97th & Western, Chicago.It was then featured in 1934 at the World’s Fair “Century of Progress” by the land McCormick place is now on. The first flying scooter was built and featured at Riverview Park, and was a 10 car scooter. Later, in 1940, Bisch-Rocco moved the shop to 54th & Cottage Grove where they produced more of the flying scooter rides, mostly portable units, and shipped them to different parks mostly in the east.
July 7th, 2009 - 7:49 am
Thank you to another family member for their valuable Bisch-Rocco information!
December 24th, 2010 - 11:19 am
I could not tell you how, as a young kid (between ages 8-16 years old), I could not wait for summer to arrive at Paragon Park at Nantasket Beach in Hull, MA so I could once again ride the flying scooters and snap the cables relentlessly. I remember how I went with my uncle once in the late spring of 1972 to the local dump to find a part he needed and as we rounded a curve there I saw all 10 cars sitting atop a refuse heap. I then knew exactly what ‘turning a page in life’ meant. Fond memories of the Flying Scooters (and Paragon Park) will remain forever etched in my mind and I still like to think of that as one of life’s nicest treats.——–Danny Sordello
December 31st, 2010 - 12:50 pm
Thanks Danny. Billboard magazine shows the scooter was new in 1948. We assumed it remained at the through its closing in 1984 – but looking over pictures and notes today it does seem it left earlier. An “Indy 500″ ride was added to the park in 1974, and it looks like it is in the same spot as the Scooter. That fits your timeline. Thanks for the tip.
February 4th, 2011 - 3:36 pm
In looking once more at the image of “Queen of the Flying Rides” (above) I should mention that the original red and yellow cars for the Flying Scooter ride at Paragon Park flew counter-clockwise therefore the entry to the cars was on the opposite side as is being shown above. When Paragon Park had an enormous fire in 1963 and the 10 cars were destroyed (they were being stored in the Chateau Ballroom at the rear of the Park and that building was reduced to rubble) the replacement cars arrived with the entry to the cars exactly as shown above (and as I recall, I think they were blue and white). The cars then flew clockwise and as I understood it, the motor also had to be somehow reversed to allow the ride to function with it’s intended safety first in mind. As an older teen my Flying Scooter days were on the wane so getting adjusted to the opposite direction flying was fast becoming a non-issue for me. ———Danny Sordello