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The generic name for this ride is “Flying Coaster” and it was one of 5 such machines built by a manufacturer called Lang Wheels. The ride basically consists of 8 carriages mounted on the end of tubular arms which run on circular track with a single large hill. The cars “fly” off the end of the hill and are returned gently to the track by means of a Hydraulic damping system. The machine was delivered new to the Kursaal Amusement Park in Southend on Sea in 1962 and spent over a decade there before embarking on a travelling life. The ride was mounted on a low loader trailer in the mid 1970s in order to make it easier to transport, and successive owners have toured it all over the UK but it also spent a few years in Cyprus in the 1990s.
Retro Funfairs bought the “Ski Jump” as it was now known in 2005 and embarked on a tour of the Scottish borders that year. Places visited that year included Jedburgh, Hawick, Galashiels, Peebles, Innerleithen, Melrose, Haddington, Newtongrange and Gorebridge.
Due to other business commitments and some technical problems the ride is currently in store in our yard, but hopefully it will be possible in due course to renovate the Ski Jump so that it can entertain the fair-going public once more. For a detailed history of all the Flying Coasters/Ski Jumps which were operated in the UK see the Flying Coasters section of the National Fairground Archive
