The UFO is an amusement park ride designed by HUSS Maschinenfabrik in 1978, based on the company's

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

and Skylab amusement rides. Numerous carnivals feature this ride which is known as Alpha One Peeters and Vertical Limits.

Design and operation

The UFO consists of twelve, four-person gondolas, mounted in a circle around a central drive hub. This hub is in turn connected to a hydraulic arm. The ride is rotated to produce enough

centrifugal force In Newtonian mechanics, the centrifugal force is an inertial force (also called a "fictitious" or "pseudo" force) that appears to act on all objects when viewed in a rotating frame of reference. It is directed away from an axis which is parall ...

to stick the riders to the wall of the gondola furthest from the centre. Once this is achieved, the hydraulic arm is used to move the entire ride from the horizontal position to near-vertical. The time between the ride beginning to spin and the ride reaching near-vertical is approximately sixty seconds. The ride must be lowered back to the horizontal position before the rotation can cease. There are no safety restraints on the UFO; the centrifugal force is strong enough to prevent riders from experiencing any major movement while the ride is not at horizontal, and in the event of a rotational or power failure, the size and spacing of the bars that make up the gondola 'cage' (along with enforced height and safety restrictions), prevents riders from falling out. Nevertheless, minimum rider height requirement is usually or taller, as much as some extreme roller coasters.

Appearances

There are believed to be very few UFOs operating worldwide. * Canada - One; ''Wilde Knight Mares'' at

Canada's Wonderland Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting Company and the Great-West Life As ...

. * South Africa - One; ''The UFO'' at

Gold Reef City Gold Reef City is an amusement park in Johannesburg, South Africa. Located on an old gold mine which closed in 1971, the park is themed around the gold rush that started in 1886 on the Witwatersrand, the buildings on the park are designed to m ...

. * France - One; ''UFO'' traveling throughout

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. * The Netherlands - One; ''Alpha 1'' traveling throughout

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. * United Kingdom - One; ''Vertical Limit'' is/was traveling throughout the United Kingdom by John Wesseldine. It had previously operated at Flamingo Land Resort.

Past Appearances

*USA - Two; ''UFO'' at

Darien Lake Six Flags Darien Lake is a 1,200-acre (4.86 km2) amusement park and resort located in Corfu, New York, off of Interstate 90 between Buffalo and Rochester. Six Flags Darien Lake features a theme park, water park, campground and lodging. It ...

(Operated from 1980-2012) and ''UFO'' at

Lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...

(Operated from 1982-1982) *Australia - One; ''Flying Saucer'' at

Luna Park Sydney Luna Park Sydney is a heritage-listed amusement park located at 1 Olympic Drive in the harbourside suburb of Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia, on the northern shore of Sydney Harbour. The amusement park is owned by the Luna Park ...

(Operated from 1995-2013) *Sweden - One; ''UFO'' at

Liseberg Liseberg is an amusement park located in Gothenburg, Sweden, that opened in 1923. It is one of the most visited amusement parks in Scandinavia, attracting about three million visitors annually. Among the noteworthy attractions is the wooden roll ...

(Operated from 1981-1986) *United Kingdom - Two; ''UFO'' at Flamingo Land Resort (Operated from 1995-2004) and ''UFO 2000'' at

West Midland Safari Park West Midland Safari and Leisure Park is a safari park located in Bewdley in Worcestershire, England. It was opened under the name of West Midland Safari Park in spring 1973. The park holds over 165 species of exotic animals, among other attracti ...

(Operated from 1986-19??)

References

* Amusement rides Amusement rides introduced in 1978 {{Amusement-ride-stub