Reverse bungee

Not to be confused with bungee jumping.

A reverse bungee launch with the passenger car nearing the top of the launch.

Passenger car immediately after launch.

The reverse bungee (also known as catapult bungee, ejecton seat, or sling shot) is a modern type of fairground ride that was invented by Troy Griffin in circa 1978. His dream was to create a safer, yet more extreme, bungee jumping experience.

Skyscreamer

The ride consists of two telescopic gantry towers mounted on a platform, feeding two elastic ropes down to a two-person passenger car constructed from an open sphere of tubular steel. The passenger car is secured to the platform with an electro-magnetic latch as the elastic ropes are stretched. When the electromagnet is turned off, the passenger car is catapulted vertically with a g-force of 3–5, reaching an altitude of between 50 and 80 metres (180–260 ft).

The passenger sphere is free to rotate between the two ropes, giving the riders a chaotic and disorienting ride. After several bounces, the ropes are relaxed and the passengers are lowered back to the launch position.

Slingshot

Video of SlingShot at Cedar Point

Unlike the Skyscreamer, the Slingshot manufactured by Funtime uses cables and a patented spring propulsion device incorporating up to 720 specially designed springs. The current model can propel riders 150 m high at speeds of 160 km per hour. Also the worlds largest Sling Shot is owned by Magical Midway on International Drive in Orlando Florida with the towers standing at 300 feet tall and the ride itself launching you 400 feet into the air at 90 miles per hour giving you an instant 3 to 6 Gs of pure speed and adrenaline.

Safety and possible injury

In August 1998, Jérôme Charron died in a reverse bungee ride accident at the Ottawa Exhibition in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada when he was hurled 40 m into the air before plummeting to his death as his harness had detached. In February 2000, the firm responsible for the ride, Anderson Ventures, was fined $145,000 for this incident. Provincial inspectors had inspected the ride just 4 days before the incident and approved it, but did not see the strap because it was in a nearby box.

Often when riding the slingshot, riders may experience temporary periods of reduced consciousness, which may lead into greyouts or syncope. One notable occurrence in 2015 involved a rider blacking out whilst riding, with the shock of waking up at a great height inducing two successive blackouts.

Ordinarily, the bungee cord is changed to adjust the body weight of different riders. The operator in Ottawa instead used a lead between the carabiner and the bungee cord for this purpose. Using a lead is faster than changing the cord, so more rides can be offered; however, using a lead is less safe than switching bungee cords. The problem occurs when the lead cord wraps around the carabiner, tightens and through friction undoes the twisting safety mechanism that keeps the carabiner locked. In this case, the operator was using dual carabiners. On the bounce back up, the lead cord tightened, causing both carabiners to open. This fact was discovered by the Ottawa Police who investigated the death. A video of the incident depicts it.

External links

• Amusement Ride Extravaganza
• Sling Shot