The Screamin Eagle took its first flight with TJ and Alexis Arie as the first passengers on Friday February 4th. The Screamin’ Eagle is now open to the public and is included in the Rides or Go Kart armband.

From Fun Spot USA's blog: the first lucky riders of the Screamin' Eagle

Fun Spot USA is the larger of the two Fun Spot parks in the Orlando area. The park and the scooter are located in Kissimmee along US 192, which is also home to the 300-foot tall Skycoaster. The ride takes the former spot of the Cobra flat ride.

Installation of the ride was quick, as according to a blog post the ride was delivered in late January and went from arrival to operation in just about a week. Their blog also has a few pictures of the unassembled ride. In December the park had announced it purchased the ride during the annual IAAPA trade show held in November. As you can see, the sail graphics are quite stunning, melding the classic image of an eagles head found on several scooters with the flames you might find on a muscle car (or maybe an Air Crow). This scooter is the first new Larson installation since the Dragon Flyer opened at Castle Park in 2009.

Since none of the Flyer Addicts team has plans to travel to Florida soon, we’re looking for help from our fellow addicts. Are you going to Orlando for Spring Break? The ACE Spring-Con (they will be next door at Old Town as part of the itinerary)? Help us by filing a trip report…How does it fly? Any ride policies? Pictures or Video? We’ll feature your information right here on our research blog.

We’re posting a few pictures along the way on the Flyer Addicts Anonymous Facebook page. Pop on over to see some pictures we took today from our visit to Burns Park Funland. Their “Butterfly” is truly a unique portable scooter managed by someone who really cares about the rides. We’ll post a full writeup to the Research Blog after we return.

Over the course of this week, we’ll also visit Magic Springs, Silver Dollar City and some other small parks. The finally is next weekend with Coaster Mayhem (Worlds of Fun) and Bahncon (Schlitterbahn – Kansas City) events. If you see us, say hi!

[Update: We've posted our full trip report from Burns Park Funland. View that entry here.]

For Flyer Addicts, it’s a difficult credit to nab. In addition to being located deep in the Kansas plains, somewhere between Denver and Kansas City, it also operates just a few days a year during the fair. Flyer Addicts Chris and Jack even tried to plan a trip around the fair this year, but found it difficult to fit into any travel plans. There is always next year.

A Bisch-Rocco Portable Flying Scooter peeks out of the frame in this 2010 picture from the Wichita County Fair

The story on this scooter goes as follows…when the carnival operator contracted to provide rides bailed just days before their arrival in 1981, the fair was left without amusement rides. To ensure that never happened again, the locals began purchasing, refurbishing and running their own rides each year. Today, they operate boasts 12 large rides, and several kiddie rides. Like 1982, all rides today still cost just 25 cents each!

The fair has already posted several pictures from the 2010 fair in a photo gallery on their website. Rides seen include a Ferris Wheel, Paratrooper, Miniature Train, Tilt-a-Whirl and Merry-Go-Round. And of course, there is the portable model Bisch-Rocco Flying Scooter.

So, if you’re not busy this weekend, hop into the car and take a drive. Just remember that Wichita County does NOT contain the city of Wichita – but it is a short 250 mile drive to the west.
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You can get more information on the fair, including the 2011 dates (July 27-30) at their website www.wichitacountyfair.com. Hopefully, you’ll see some Flyer Addicts next year too!

Snoopy and Woodstock Greets Some Addicts!

With the ride now being 474 miles away from its former Cincinnati home, addict visits may be less frequent – but definitely still worth it. Last week, Flyer Addicts Chris, Jack and Derek were happy to see the vintage Bisch-Rocco ride not only running great — but snapping great too.

Cables are flopping the way we like 'em!

Like in previous visits, snapping was not discouraged on this ride – despite it now being located in the kid’s “Planet Snoopy” section of the park. In fact, this visit saw multiple operators encourage the practice in theory by awarding a free re-ride to the pilot who put on the best show. Sometimes it went to an acrobatic adult, but usually to a high-flying kid who giggled with excitement the entire ride.

This potential addict flys high above the ride's queue.

Over the course of the afternoon, good shows were put on by admitted Addicts, potential Addicts and even tubs filled with random children and parents. Of course, when the Addicts were front of queue, things were stepped up a notch. And just like the old days, at least one parent complained, scolding Jack after a successful cycle that “this is a kids ride!”

A determined Jack eyes his prey.

We were happy to see, on such a warm Sunday afternoon, that the Carowind’s crowd appreciated their scooter and rewarded it with one of the longer waits of the day. Who needs to be ‘intimidated’ when your can soar on a former eagle – now beagle-ized.

Enough with the safety spiel, hit the button!

Part of the archiving process at FlyerAddicts.Com is to collect the serial number of each Flying Scooter. Unfortunately, here we found the serial number (PC-0205) on this plate was generated by Carowinds when the scooter was moved in 2005. Also, the manufacture date appears to be wrong. We’ve found multiple sources that document this scooter’s first installation being Coney Island in Cincinnati in 1940 – not 1935 as indicated on the serial plate.

The ride's serial plate was generated when the ride move to Carowinds in 2005 and contains inaccuracies.

Finally, we leave you with a compilation video of the Addict Invasion, shot in 720p HD with a Canon PowerShot camera. Hit 720p and go full screen for the best experience!

Have YOU had a great visit with a Flying Scooter this year? Email us and we may post your pictures and story!

Look in the coming weeks for new articles, including updates from Wild Adventures, a visit to Carowinds and their Woodstock Gliders, and some rare information from a really cool source. Thanks for the support fellow addicts!

Flyer Addict Chris

2006 Picture from FlyerAddicts Archives

This Larson scooter was installed at Celebration City in Branson, Missouri for the 2004 season.

The park closed in October 2008 when parent company Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation announced they were looking redevelop the land into a new entertainment option. The leading rumor for the Branson site is an aquarium.

Hershend purchased Wild Adventures in 2007 after the park was forced into bankruptcy and has been slowly upgrading the park.

Screamcape announced on October 2nd that:

(10/2/09) Wild Adventures has confirmed to us that the three new rides, a Scrambler, A Flying Scooters and a new family roller coaster, will all be coming in from Celebration City. That would pretty much narrow things down to either the Jack Rabbit (Miler) or Thunderbolt (S&MC Hurricane). Somehow I don’t think the park is going to get the Ozark Wildcat, though it would be nice… since they’ve already got the trains.

It’s great to be able to take another scooter off the SBNO list!

And what better place to meet up with some fellow addicts than Stricker’s Grove just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. Stricker’s is open to the public just a few days a year and is home to an original Bisch-Rocco Flying Scooter.

Serial #4332-23

From the scooter’s serial plate, we believe this 8-car portable scooter was built in 1943. While it has resided at Stricker’s Grove since 1994, we’ve back-tracked this flying scooter to Columbian Park in Lafayette, Indiana and the Rocco Family’s own Playland Park, which operated in suburban Chicago from 1953 to 1979.

Now, for those who were unable to join us this past Sunday, here’s a quick video showing some of the aerial manouvers and good times had by dozens of fans of the Bisch-Rocco Flying Scooter.

Got that Flying Scooter itch now? You can still visit Stricker’s Grove on their two remaining 2009 Public Days – Labor Day Monday (September 7th) and Customer Appreciation Day (Sunday, October 11th). More info at www.strickersgrove.com

The news story can be found here.

You can just see the tail of one of the Screaming Eagle tubs at the very left of this picture.

The Screaming Eagle, among other rides still sit unprotected in a field awaiting their fate.  The Screaming Eagle is the Larson set of scooters that were originally installed at Wild West World in 2007.