Divebomber
Eyerly patented this thrill ride in 1938, conceived as part of his background in flight-simulation training. The ride consists of twin cars mounted on a vertical rotating arm, the cars spinning on their own axles. The trick is that the rider is never turned upside-down, but the Dive Bomber remains a fearful ride. Built under licence at Blackpool, the original machine had a tilting boom that gave another plane of flight, but this was quickly discarded. Innovative showmen twinned the machines in later years to increase capacity.
The Dive Bomber can be argued to be the first true thrill-ride, cutting an imposing site on any fairground up until the 1980s. The ratchet noise of the chain drive combined with the stark and lonely nature of the vertical car (often decorated in fighter pilot imagery) made the Dive Bomber a tentative hit on the fairground, something that loitered in the punter's memory.
Dimensions 20ft(W) x 50ft (D) x 45ft (H)
