Kamikaze (ride)

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Video of a Kamikaze working in Expoflora at Holambra, São Paulo.

A Kamikaze (also known as a Double-Arm Ranger) is a pendulum amusement ride, usually found as a travelling ride, with some examples found at amusement parks. The ride is manufactured by Far Fabbri & Sartori, and first made its debut in 1984. Since then, over 150 Kamikazes have been sold.

1 Design and operation
2 Variants
3 Appearances
4 References

[edit] Design and operation

The ride consists of a single stationary tower, supporting two 16-passenger gondalas on rotating arms. Passengers are arranged in rows of two, with the the first four rows facing in one direction, and the other four facing opposite. During the ride, passengers are swung backwards and forwards to build up momentum, before the gondala performs several inversions. The two gondalas are connected to the motor so that they swing simultaneously; with one arm rotating clockwise while the other rotates anticlockwise

Passengers are restrained by a shoulder harness, as well as a secondary locking bar across their laps. Compressed air is used to actuate the shoulder harness, with a fail-safe mechanism which engages the shoulder harness in the event of power failure. The loss of compressed air also causes the shoulder harnesses to engage. In addition, the gondala's sides and roof are made up of closely spaced metal bars, allowing riders to see the world outside, while preventing anyone from falling out while the ride is in motion. Like most ride safety measures, these are only effective if safety and height restrictions are enforced. To date, the only deaths or severe injuries caused on a kamikaze ride have been caused by a failure to follow the height restrictions, or complacency on the part of the operator or deck personnel.

The entire ride can be stowed on a single 40ft trailer which requires a special permit to travel in the Continental United States, and can be assembled or dissassembled in less than five hours, by two trained workers.

Older Kamikaze rides were powered by a 75 horsepower DC motor, coupled to a drive shaft which traveled up the tower to drive the rotating arms, but newer models are powered by the same DC motor mounted directly to a gearbox mounted at the top of the tower. This gearbox is manufactured by Brevini in Italy, with a coupling box made by PTG. The same planetary gear used can be found on a large quantity of earthmovers all over Europe.

[edit] Variants

Similar designs have been produced by A.R.M, Topfun, Meisho, Mondial and Vekoma.

[edit] Appearances

Australia - At least three; Pharaoh's Revenge at Luna Park Melbourne, two transportable Kamikazes (Shockwave, Ranger).
Brazil - At least one.
New Zealand - At least one transportable model.
United States - According to representatives at FarFabbri, Texas, there are over 50 of these rides currently operating in the United States.