The Loop-O-Plane is a little ride made by Eyerly. It is seen at virtually every small fair you can find. It’s extremely portable and has a high thrill factor; a perfect combination for a carnival company. The Loop-O-Plane is a pretty simple ride; there are 2 cars with 4 people per car attached to two arms that each sport a small counterweight at the opposite end. The coolest part about a Loop-O-Plane is that it’s operated with one of those giant levers that the ride op has to push in whatever direction he/she wants the motor to run. These rides are usually in good condition because they all have been around for so long that at some point they were fixed up.
The Ride
First you cram into a small caged car with a lapbar made by Satan himself. When the door closes, the lapbar closes down with it, and the bar is actually secured by having one end stick out through a slat in the door. The lapbar is the standard Eyerly torture device that is made with a small tubular bar with a seatbelt strap looped between the two ends; it’s kind of like a big violin bow.
Once all 8 riders are secured, the ride starts…obviously. First the arm rocks back and forth, gaining speed to complete a loop. The operator pushes the lever back and forth quickly to get the cars to complete the first loop and after that it’s all momentum. The op simply holds the lever all the way to one side as the cars do fast looping maneuvers. I remember getting like 25 flips before the ride op decided to switch directions on Keansburg Amusement Park ’s Loop-O-Plane (pictured above.) I had to close my eyes after a while to prevent from getting too nauseous. The weird thing is after a bit I had no idea of whether I was upsidedown or rightsideup while my eyes were closed. The real kicker on these rides is when the op stops the cars upsidedown; you are truly at the mercy of the operator on this ride.
7 Comments
I still like the Loop -O-Plane . Great ride. Took many long rides on this. What I would like to do on this ride is to do over 100 revolutions in each direction for a total of over 200 plus.
I’ll even attempt to ride the Loop-O-Plane for maybe a few hours non-stop, with the ride going at the fastest speed. Great Ride. If there is anybody that wants to take me up on this my e-mail is bdbell1940@yahoo.com
One Time The Loop-o-Plane Came To My Town Burney CA USA It Was Almost The Scarest Ride I Went On But The Zipper Wa The Scarest
Eyerly gets its name from Lee Eyerly, an aviator who took his knowledge of flight to create rides that continue to be the staple of carnival midways nationwide:
– Loop-O-Plane
– Roll-O-Plane
– Octopus
– Fly-O-Plane
– Rock-O-Plane
– Midge-O-Racer
– Bulgy the Whale
How awesome was Eyerly? Well, it is long rumored that Disney ripped him off when creating the Dumbo adn Mad Hatter Tea Party rides. Quite the compliment.
In the Midwest in the early 1970s the ride was also known as “The Salt and Pepper Shakers” and/or “The Hammers”.
Jeez, I musta had a cast iron stomach and brass balls back then.
Nowadays I’d probably lose my keys, my wallet, my phone and my sunglasses. Upon disembarking I’d no doubt lose my lunch.
We have a fly-o-plane at our http://www.miracleofamericamuseum.org, in Polson, Montana.
Serial # 5020-M. Where can I find out the history of this unit as to who pre-owned it and where all it was used, etc? Our contact phone is on our website.
I operate a loop-o-plane and they are quite fun to ride or run. I haven’t mastered stopping it upside but I have gotten plenty of screamers 😂