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Diy White Knuckle Ride - Politics, Business, Civil, History - Posted: 17th Nov, 2006 - 3:15am
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Diy White Knuckle Ride
| QUOTE (Metro News) |
| It's the kind of mad-capped idea you might expect Wallace and Gromit to come up with. But John Ivers loved roller-coasters so much that he decided to build one in his back garden. The home-made ride, named Blue Flash, includes a 360-degree corkscrew turn and can achieve a top speed of 25mph. The farmer got hooked on the ride after riding his first roller-coaster at the age of eight. He has ridden about 20 different roller-coaster rides around the US, but says he does not consider himself a fanatic. 'I think what hooked me on roller-coasters was the thrill, the being scared,' he is quoted as saying. But waiting in line at theme parks was a drag. He said: 'I hated to go to an amusement park and stand in line for two hours for a 30 second ride.' So he came up with his own solution - his own roller-coaster. Drawing on his experience as a mechanic and with a big pile of scrap metal, he spent 18 months and $1,500 (just under £800) constructing the ride. All the parts were scrap metal bits and pieces he scrounged from his work, plus a seat from an old Ford escort. He called the ride Blue Flash after getting hold of cheap blue paint to paint the track. He built the ride over his shed in his backyard. It goes over his steeply angled barn roof and wraps around a Chinese elm. It takes about 11 seconds to complete the 180 ft track. He said while he built the ride for his grandchildren and children of friends at his work, he always has the first ride. He is currently working on Blue Two. |
To see a video of the coaster in action follow this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q41ZUQng4p8
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TOPIC: Diy White Knuckle Ride