Radar

Radar was Turbo’s predecessor and was designed and built by Gerald Barber in the late 1960’s, originally premiering as Raven; the prototype was named the Caravel and had similar seating to a paratrooper.

The Radar was essentially two Ferris wheels with both horizontal and vertical movements. Unlike bulkier Turbo cages, the Radar could be folded up on to a single trailer. Furthermore, it was possible to fit up to 4 adult riders on a single Radar seat.

In later years, Radar conversion kits were available for Turbo owners. One of these was semi-converted i.e.. Every second Turbo cage was a Radar seat thus giving two completely different ride sensations on the one structure (depending on rider choice)

There were a total of 5 ever built: 2 Ravens and 3 Radars and with no known operating Radars or Ravens… the rest is history.

Ever ridden or seen one? Please share your comments or contact me if you have photos.

4 Responses to “Radar”

  1. My mom has a video of that! sadly the seats didn’t flip…

    Ride enthuist - October 21st, 2009 at 4:37 am

  2. there is a raven forsale on used rides

    mike - January 7th, 2010 at 4:20 pm

  3. the raven for dsale belongs to mitchell bros. shows of La. and the great sutton shows had a operable radar until just a few years ago

    Dave - February 9th, 2010 at 6:41 pm

  4. i saw a radar at the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield MA around 1977

    rick - March 12th, 2010 at 5:02 am

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