The Hurricane was first manufactured from 1972 till 1991 by Frank Hrubretz & Co (USA) based on the more primitive 1948 design of the Saturn 6. From 1992, Dartron Industries (USA) took over as the Hurricane’s sole manufacturer. There were however, some 5 units manufactured in Australia under license in the 1970’s by Kevin Ferrari and Lenmax
The ride consists of 6 arms, each carrying 4 people, which undergo a fast rotation combined with a series of fast-paced bounces. This gives riders of all ages a fun, action-packed ride as the bouncing arms expose the rider to varied speeds and centrifugal forces, as well as feelings of weightlessness.
Underneath the centre post is a giant compressed air cylinder that is connected at the top to the 6 arms. At the completion of each bounce, the operator activates a control that releases air in the cylinder, causing the arms to fall again.
A carnival is not complete without the familiar scene of the cars sweeping over the heads of passers-by, with the loud bursts of compressed air that go hand-in-hand to the classic hurricane ride.
Dartron has since released a variationt of the Hurricane: Downdraft using a semi-suspended seating configuration with increased capacity of 6 per car.
There are approximately 40 hurricanes in North America, 8 in Australia and 3 in New Zealand with never-ceasing popularity amongst the young and old. The ride racks up on a single trailer and can be set up in around 2 hours.
Looks awsome!
ba-boss-bomb - July 2nd, 2009 at 7:48 am
I went on this ride not so intense but fun good ride
Drew Katonak - August 23rd, 2009 at 7:28 am
I have been looking all over this ride
Aaron J. Smith - September 13th, 2009 at 9:00 am
As a kid, this ride was fun, and I thought the sound of the compressed air being released was the coolest thing ever. Gary
Gary - October 24th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
I used to run one of these. I was the best ride to run,setup, and teardown.
Jim Gardner - November 29th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
This was my absolute favourite ride as a kid. I went on it for the first time as an adult on New Years Eve - it hasn’t lost any of its charm
Kate - January 2nd, 2010 at 7:31 am