The chair swing ride is one of the most popular and iconic carnival rides; it is often found in fairgrounds and at travelling carnivals. Many fair goers would know it as the carousel, except the chairs are not attached to the base, but rather suspended from the top of the carousel. Some more sophisticated versions of the ride have a rotating top that will tilt, to create even more motion.

These rides are more than 100 years old, but some of the most memorable rides, such as the Chair-o-Planes, didn’t appear until the 1970s. By 1974, there were portable versions of the same ride available.

Over the years, these rides have not changed a lot – perhaps the most interesting innovation in recent times was Funtime’s development of the Star Flyer – the first tower swinger in the world. The Star Flyer was installed in Tivoli Gardens, in Copenhagen, and offers riders incredible, sweeping views of the city centre. More at http://amusementrides.org/.

The Nordic countries actually have some amazing amusement parks – and some of the best attractions, including chair swing rides, in the world. The USA may have bigger roller coasters, but that’s not all there is to amusement parks – and those smaller swing rides can be enjoyed by more people, are more accessible, and are often the more memorable ones too.

Another place with a great Chair Swing Ride is Loudoun Castle’s Theme Park in Scotland, which has The Plough – a large chair-o-plane. In fact, they claim that The Plough is the biggest Chair O Plane on the planet. The ride hasn’t always gone by that name – it was initially called Apollo 14, when it was located in the Netherlands in the Slagharen Ponypark, but it was dismantled and taken to Dreamland in England, and then moved again to Lightwater Valley, before finally heading to Loudoun Castle, where it was repainted, and renamed. Sadly, Loudoun Castle’s theme park closed in 2010, and the ride has sat idle ever since. It’s possible that it may re-open one day, but it will likely need extensive repairs after having sat unused for so long.

There is another Chair O Plane in Alton Towers – this ride is located in the fantasy themed part of the park – in an area called Cloud Cukoo Land, and it’s another example of a renamed and repurposed ride, because it originally resided in Ug Land, and was a dinosaur themed ride. More at http://amusementrides.org/chair-swings-rides-sale-beston-amusement/.