Round Trip: 1942

What you are looking at there is a Frank Hrubetz "Spitfire". I've never seen one in person, but I have been told that the original Paratrooper was built on a Spitfire center, and that any remaining Spitfires have all been converted to Paratroopers.

Given my experience on the Fly-O-Plane at Lake Winnie, I'm willing to bet the Spitfire was at least as unpleasant, and it is probably a much better ride as a Paratrooper.

When you look at the date you have to think that at least some of the guys (there only seems to be one woman) riding would be hoping to be in the real thing in a few months or weeks. Or maybe the next day.

One could manipulate a handle to make the planes roll. I don't think there are any of these rides in operation anymore. I think the last one was at Lake Winnie in Georgia. It might still be there. I've heard they were a real pain to maintain.

Eyerly rides were popular from the late 1920s until the 1970s. Many can still be found at amusement parks today including the Loop-O-Plane, Rock-O-Plane, Octopus, Monster, and Spider.

That would be so fun to ride! They have a ride similar to this at Cedar Point in Ohio. I don't know what the ride is called but it is fun! Also if you can can you find some old pictures of Cedar Point.

At least from what I can see in the photograph, that ride looks surprisingly well-maintained. Better than the ones I usually see these days. I wonder if it was well taken care of or if the ride just happens to be brand new at the time this was taken.