The Enterprise was arguably the most ground-breaking ride ever for it’s time, setting a standard for a whole generation of amusement rides on its debut in 1972. The Schwarzkopf Enterprise had an overall look and engineering technology that was years ahead of its time.
The HUSS Enterprise is in actual fact a copy from Schwarzkopf who manufactured some 20 rides. In 1976, HUSS produced their own superior copy (larger capacity, with a hydraulic arm, not electro-mechanical) HUSS has now sold countless copies of the Enterprise worldwide.
The Enterprise consists of 20 gondolas, each fitting 2 people - one sitting behind the other. The ride then rotates clockwise gaining just enough speed to keep its riders perfectly in place with centrifugal force. The main arm then slowly lifts to 87° smoothly hurling the riders upside down. The ride may look repetitive and nauseating but the on-ride experience is MUCH different making for a very enjoyable, ultra-smooth ride.
Through very clever engineering there are no safety harnesses other than the grab-bars on the car walls, due to the centrifugal force making gravity and body weight are just about equal - this creates a feeling of weightlessness while also ensuring you stay on your seat.
A portable Enterprise fits on 2.5 trailers and weighs 40 tonnes, though nowadays most are park models.
As a result of Enterprise’s success, HUSS produced the larger capacity Sky Lab containing fifteen four-person gondolas. Some years later, HUSS released a stand-up variation, the UFO.
There are approximately 23 HUSS Enterprises in North America, at least 20 in Europe and 3 in Australia.
centrifugal force is not real!!!!!!! Your physics are incorrect.
drew - May 29th, 2009 at 6:40 am
This is a great ride. I see videos of this ride where people are riding single. Wade Shows, who appears at several fairs in Florida is the only organization that has the single rider restriction on it. Two people have to ride in one car. Rediculous. Complaints to Wade Shows info@wadeshows.com
Bruce - June 22nd, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I love the Enterprise! so relaxing and smooth…I could it ride it all day. Bruce, I have also dealt with the two-rider restriciton with Wade Shows (State Fair of Oklahoma back in 2000). a 4′9 carnie thug got his back up when I refused to ride with a stranger. I got in his face and he backed down.
yukongreg - July 3rd, 2009 at 6:02 am
My favorite flat ride of all time. It definitely has to be the best flat ride ever. While so many flat rides have come and gone over the years at so many amusement parks, it seems the “Enterprise” always remains. It has never been removed from Six Flags Over Georgia, known there as The Wheelie. It has never been removed from Paramount’s Carowinds, formerly known as the Meteorite, but was updated to the name, The Scream Weaver. It’s still at Cedar Point, known as the Witch’s Wheel. I first saw The Enterprise at Coney Island in 1980 when I was around the age of eleven. I wanted to ride it, but wasn’t able to. I had always been a huge amusement park ride buff, and I was blown away by The Enterprise. Never in my mind did I imagine a ride like that could exist. I finally got to ride it for the first time at the World’s Fair in Knoxville, TN in 1982. The experience was even better than I thought it was going to be. I love the speed and power of the ride. I love the roaring noise it makes prior to lift off. And, of course, the spinning upside down—What could be better than that? I have noticed that some forms of the ride, depending on the park and possibly whether they are Schwarzkopf versions or Huss versions, don’t go to the full upside down position as others. And, with some versions, the gondolas don’t swing as freely as they do on other versions. It’s more of a steadier ride. I have to say that I do like the versions that swing more freely and reach the extent of being entirely upside down better than the steadier versions that don’t reach the complete upside down position. I may be wrong, but I think it might be the original Schwarzkopf version that swings more freely and goes completely upside down. Maybe I’m wrong here? Maybe it just depends on the ride attendant whether or not the ride does reach a complete upside down position and that has nothing to do with the manufacturer. But, I’m pretty sure the extent to which the gondolas swing has to be based on the manufacturer. For some reason, an amusement park just doesn’t feel complete without an “Enterprise”. Even with all the other great rides that they may have, there’s always something lacking without an “Enterprise”.
Adam - July 3rd, 2009 at 7:20 am
omg, is this somewhere in the usa? all the good rides are in the usa, there are no good rides in the uk
Hannah - July 22nd, 2009 at 1:36 am
Edward Burton travels an Enterprise in Southern UK. Pictures at http://fun-fairs.co.uk
Mike Willis - July 28th, 2009 at 5:55 am
As a teenager in the late 70’s, I helped assemble the Enterprise for its first visit at the Canfield Fair in Ohio. It was a brand new ride and I believe it had just it had come from Texas. During transit, a chain binder had come lose and four of the wheel spokes swung out and hit a utility pole. They were damaged very badly. The ride operator used torch and bottle jack to straighten spokes. He cut some badly damaged steel out and welded some new steel in place. I’m sure he wasn’t a certified welder or millwright. The patched in steel wasn’t even the same size. They painted it with spray cans. This was all done behind the cover of several semi trailers.
Almost twelve months to the day later there was an accident in Texas where cars had flown lose from an Enterprise and there were fatilities.
I’m not saying this was the same ride or the cause, but I always think of it when I’m around portable rides and carnival folks.
I always inspect rides before I let my kids ride.
Dan - August 2nd, 2009 at 6:20 am
I worked for Wade Shows for four years (with a different show this year), and yes they have a “no single riders” rule on the Enterprise. It is for safety reasons, period. The problem with many patrons is they want to disregard safety rules (which are there to keep them safe while riding) and ride any ride no matter what; they seem to think that because they purchased a wristband and/or tickets they are entitled to ride any ride they want no matter what. And then they are the first one’s to scream and holler and make a scene when someone get’s hurt they “they should not have been allowed to ride that ride!”
Skywheelrider - September 3rd, 2009 at 4:27 am
i work on the enterprise that Wade shows owns, now we are playing one of the bigest state fairs in the UNITED STATES and about the rule NO SINGLE RIDERS on the ENTERPRISE i have something intersting to say the reason of that rule is simple its called “balance” you have to get a good balance on the ride to give a safety ride i cant put 20 plp on one side and ten at the other side its not safe……. we dont make rules we just follow the manufacters manual recomendations for safety resons. if one day we told you sorr no single riders is because our company take care of our folks.
haru - October 8th, 2009 at 10:14 am
I also had to delt with the “NO SINGLE RIDERS IN POD” thing.
Unnamed - October 19th, 2009 at 5:26 am
Being an operator on many of huss rides.The enterprise was one of the best,I worked on the enterprise that lost a gondola in 1983.I was moving the U.F.O at the time of the incident,but back to the question at hand,most men hated having to be put with another man because of the seating arrangement,side by side would not have been bad.But signs were posted prior to boarding,but when it was busy space was money ,when it was slow it did not matter as much.
william natale - December 12th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Your information is slightly incorrect as the Schwarzkopf version does use a hydraulic ram to lift the main arm. My two local ones were Magic Mountain and Knotts, and both used the hydraulic ram.
Tony Gonzalez - December 18th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
YES, centrifugal force is RIGHT, is the way it works. I love Enterprise (up close, called “Enter”)and used to see here in some Brazilian travelling parks (Trombini, Danubio, Big Center, etc) and fixed as Playcenter in SP has one until 2002, it`s the base to lose fear to face other radical amusement machines. I went to Enter most then 40 times! hahahahahaha Fui!!!
Evolution/Luty - December 31st, 2009 at 7:55 am
“My too local ones”?? Tony, what want you tell about it? Please, explain, because I didn
t undertand! Do you have one? If so, youre a very lucky guy, fui!(www.vibeflog.com/entrprise - in true, is ‘enter prise’, but I wrote quickly and got this way and I forgot to correct, but I think you can understand, fui!)
Evolution/Luty - December 31st, 2009 at 7:58 am
Dan. I only remember about the second accident in Texas, by reading in one of park site (I forgo the name of the site now, sorry!), but I dind`t knew about this first one in Ohio… is there this new in one park site, please? Fui!
Evolution/Luty - December 31st, 2009 at 8:04 am
PLAYCENTER in SP, Brazil has one of this last Schwarzkopf (is it right??) model, great look!
Evolution/Luty - December 31st, 2009 at 8:26 am
kentucky kingdom got this it is so cool i love this ride
cman101 - June 21st, 2010 at 8:56 am
I operate an enterprise at Kennywood Park in Pittsburgh. We never had an issue and it gets inspected everyday. Only due to themes around the park its now called the volcano.
awesome - June 29th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
I love the enterprise. Whenever I go to Kennywood or Dorney Park I ride it. I know if your at Dorney Park its close to Apollo and Dominator
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