We’ve been working behind the scenes collecting information and researching our list of over 120 flying scooters.
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
Today Screamscape.com confirmed from the park that the Larson Flying Scooters that have been sitting SBNO at the former Celebration City will move to Wild Adventures in Georgia for 2010.
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!
Every once and awhile, a Flyer Addicts Anonymous researcher must leave his computer and conduct some…uh…field research.
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
Who would defile Bisch-Rocco Flying Scooter? If its 1960, then the answer would be Bushkill Park in Eaton, Pennsylvania.
While a definitive arrival date has not been found, the 8-car portable scooter was present in the park as early as 1943. Sometime in the early 1960′s the ride was severely modified to capitalize on the race-to-the-moon frenzy. The new ride, seen below in an 1970s brochure picture, was called the “Gemini 9″.
Bisch-Rocco Scooter Hacked
Yes, those are supposed to be Gemini space capsules where our beloved tubs should be hung. We still wondered how the ride would run, and thanks to the magic of YouTube – we have our answer in the form of video taken of the park and ride in July of 1988. The Gemini 9 footage runs from about 1:10 to 3:45.
As you can see, “spins” replaced “snaps” in this new ride modification that operated like a cross between a Heart Flip and the modern Wisdom Tornado.
Bushkill, sadly, has been closed the last few years after the nearby creek flooded the park on several occasions. During an FAA trip in 2005, Flyer Addicts Chris and Jack were given permission to stroll through the park ground and take some pictures of the damage and the process of rebuilding. The Gemini 9 had been removed sometime before the 2004 floods.
[Thanks to Ken Philips for the Bushkill brochure.]
Flyer Addicts has been doing some behind-the-scenes networking that has helped us better understand the Bisch-Rocco Flying Scooter.
Part Bisch-Rocco Catalog, Part Manual Cover Page
The latest discovery was dropped in our lap during a visit with a self-proclaimed addict in Chicago. Among other information and brochures gathered during his long history in the amusement industry – he donated a 7-page assembly manual for a portable (8-car) Flying Scooter that includes a part list and maintenance recommendations. Thanks to Ken for this insight into the inner-workings of our obsession.
Many of the pages reference the “Rocco Amusement Company”, so we can assume this document was produced after the 1955 – when Alvin Bisch retired from the company and the related Playland Amusement Park. Click the jump for the full manual, and our commentary.
This ad from “The Billboard” caught our attention during a recent research session. This Flying Scooter was most likely a portable model as it was gas driven. This also shows why it is so difficult to track the Flying Scooter. They seemed to move around from park to park before they gained their “classic” status. This one only lasted 3 years before it was put up for sale.
Found in the April 8, 1950 issue of "The Billboard"
Rocky Glen Park opened in 1886 and closed in 1987. Rocky Glenn, Rocky Glen Park, Sterling’s Rocky Glen, Ghost Town in the Glen and New Rocky Glen are just a few names the park went by in its 101 year history.
This article from the The Pittston Dispatch states that Ben Sterling operated the park for 47 years. He started at the park as a concessionaire in 1924. He purchased a section of the park in 1936 and acquired the entire park in 1950. A Pennsylvania State Historical Marker stands at the site of the park today.
RCDB states that Rocky Glen operated for a time as two parks separated by a concrete wall after a falling out between partners. A fire in 1950 destroyed several attractions.
Our research has produced many postcards and photos of the park, but little to nothing about this set of Flying Scooters. Please leave a comment if you have any additional information or photos you would like to donate to our archive.
Posted by Flyer Addict Jack
Granite Park was supposed to be open by now, but it appears that they have found themselves in financial troubles. According to the news, the park owes about 3 million dollars to various businesses.
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.
Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series of books have been a great source of information in our Flyer Addicts research. Through their dozen of Amusement Park books, we’ve discovered new scooter installations and confirmed others.
But recently, the book on Six Flags Over Georgia (link goes to Amazon with book preview) not only gave us a date of installation for a set of scooters, it prompted the exclamation “What the heck is that!” from several flyer fans.
From the Arcadia book Six Flags Over Georgia
The Phlying Phlurpus was apparently installed in 1974, as part of the newly added Cotton States Exposition area of the park. While no concrete date of removal is known, it was probably in the early 80s.
As you can see from the picture, 10 standard Bisch-Rocco box-style are suspended from a non-Bisch-Rocco frame. In addition, the tubs appear to have rubber feet attached to their bottoms, leading us to believe the center structure lowers and the tubs touch the ground for loading and unloading.
So, this brings up many questions….
Was this built in-house from spare parts? What is that center stucture from? Where did the tubs come from? Is that snappable?
During a recent ACE event, several amusement fans and experts lent their best ideas:
So, all you Six Flags Over Georgia experts…help us out. Help us discover what a Phlying Phlurpus really is! We await your email at faa@flyeraddicts.com
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
FAA’s latest Billboard research found a previously unknown installation.
Jantzen Beach Park (rcdb link) (Park 1928 to 1969) installed a flying scooter “near the Magic House” for the 1940 season. It is unknown what model the park, which was near Portland Oregon, received.
A June 1 Billboard article says the new ride helped contribute to an 18% increase in park revenue over the first few weeks.
Also interesting to note is that the scooter will be operated by Fred Mortensen, an former champ heavy-weight wrestler. Fred and his wife also staged wrestling shows in the park during the season.
Further research has not found additional information on the scooter. If you can help us with futher information, including scooter model or how long the scooter resided at the park, please let us know at faa@flyeraddicts.com
This blog is the current research arm of Flyer Addicts Anonymous - a group dedicated to chronicling the history of the Bisch-Rocco Flying Scooter and its contemporaries.
For more information on the Flying Scooter, including where to fly them today, visit our main website at FlyerAddicts.Com.
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As of January 2009, FAA has documented 145 Flying Scooter installations, 24 currently operational.
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