Pendulum rides are

amusement rides Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This could be due to ...

based on the motion of a fixed

pendulum A pendulum is a device made of a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate i ...

. The

Ali Baba "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" () is a folk tale in Arabic added to the ''One Thousand and One Nights'' in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who heard it from Syrian storyteller Hanna Diyab. As one of the most popu ...

, Looping Starship, and

Pirate Ship Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

are some examples.

Description

Pendulum rides are

based on the motion of a fixed

. The configuration of the ride consists of a gondola, arm, and an axle. One end of the arm is fitted with a passenger-carrying gondola, while the other is attached to the axle. In some models, the arm extends beyond the axle and is fitted with a heavy

counterweight A counterweight is a weight (object), weight that, by applying an opposite force, provides balance and stability of a machine, mechanical system. The purpose of a counterweight is to make lifting the load faster and more efficient, which saves e ...

. The counterweight is often used when the gondola swings through an inversion. In addition to swinging back and forth, some designs incorporate rotating gondolas and may send riders through a complete inversion. Pendulum rides are propelled by one of two methods: a series of

DC motor A DC motor is an electrical motor that uses direct current (DC) to produce mechanical force. The most common types rely on magnetic forces produced by currents in the coils. Nearly all types of DC motors have some internal mechanism, either el ...

s driving the axle or wheels at the base of the station pushing the gondola as it swings by.

List of rides

Rides that can be considered pendulum rides include: * Afterburner (KMG Rides) * Air Spider (

Fabbri Fabbri may refer to: * Fabbri (surname), an Italian surname * Fabbri Group, an Italian amusement rides manufacturer, based in Bergantino * Fratelli Fabbri Editori, an Italian publishing house now part of Rcs MediaGroup * Fabbri and Partners Ltd ...

) *

* Booster (Fabbri) * Capriolo 8 ( Mondial Rides) * Capriolo 10 (Mondial Rides) * Capriolo Turbine (Mondial Rides) * Cyclops * Explorer Giant (Fabbri) * Freak Out (KMG Rides) * Inversion 12 (KMG Rides) * Inversion 24 (KMG Rides) * Inversion XXL (Fabbri) * Joker: Carnival of Chaos (

Zamperla Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. is an Italian design and manufacturing company founded in 1966. It is best known for creating family rides, thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin-operated rides commonly found in ...

) * Kamikaze Ride (Fabbri/Sartori/ARM Rides/

Vekoma Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is an amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is a syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory) which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld. History The company originally manu ...

/Três Eixos) * Looping Starship * Mach 1 (RCS Fun) * Mach 3 (RCS Fun) * Mach 5 (RCS Fun) * Mach 6 (RCS Fun) * Mini Loop Fighter (Technical Park) * Mini Typhoon 360 (Technical Park) * Niagara (Fabbri) * Pegasus (Technical Park) *

(Fabbri/

/Chance/Technical Park...) * Ranger *

Screamin' Swing Screamin' Swing is a pneumatically powered pendulum ride designed and manufactured by S&S - Sansei Technologies. The ride was first installed and operated in 2004 at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, United States The United ...

* Sicko (KMG Rides) * Speed 32 (KMG Rides) * Speed (KMG Rides) * Street Fighter Revolution (Technical Park) * Street Fighter (Technical Park) * Swing boat * Topple Tower * Turbo 360 (Fabbri) * Typhoon 360 (Technical Park) * Typhoon (Technical Park) * Vortex (KMG Rides) * Voyager/Júpiter (Fabbri) * XXL (KMG Rides)

References

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