UFO (ride)

Amusement park ride

The UFO is an amusement park ride designed by HUSS Maschinenfabrik in 1978, based on the company's Enterprise and Skylab amusement rides. Numerous carnivals feature this ride which is known as Alpha One Peeters and Vertical Limits.

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 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.

There are believed to be very few UFOs operating worldwide. Canada One; Wilde Knight Mares at Canada's Wonderland. South Africa One; The UFO at Gold Reef City. France One; UFO traveling throughout France. The Netherlands One; Alpha 1 traveling throughout Germany. United Kingdom One; Vertical Limit is/was traveling throughout the United Kingdom by John Wesseldine. It had previously operated at Flamingo Land Resort.