Australian Amusement Fanatics

Short video of the Explorer in motion.

Since then its had a new deck fitted, along with new fences around the outside. Still work to be done on it as time allows.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37AgbNj0d-k

omg that such a great film of the explorer inaction do you have any more pics of it ?

More pics just after it had returned to the road after winter season

I am very impressed with the way that decelerates and speeds up backwards so fast - I am very familiar with this ride and I'd have to say that is the fastest stop and acceleration to full speed I've ever seen on an Explorer. I am guessing the hydraulic drives got a good going-over too, during winter?

Clearly the operator knew what he was doing, as it is very easy to have the cars fling in and out spastically at the change of direction when it is done so quickly.

Superb ride.

on the same subject the carridges on the exploerers look exactly the same as the ones on australias alpine express apart from the lap bar restraint reverchon must have purchased the desighn off sombema when they went belly up or something lol just thaught id bring this observation up lol great ride though u kiwis have got one of the best explorer i have ever seen its up there with europes hyper (explorer)

Ride Freak, I'd say it's probably the other way around, that Sobema have based their design off Reverchon's.

oh opk thank you very muchzamperla i wasent shure who copied what desighn lol but yeah thanks so much

im very interested in seeing pictures of an explorer all packed away, and maybe some pics of how it is done along the way.

that was me sorry

Only have this one sorry, will try and get some more the next time I see it.

Definitely a great ride. the only thing I don't like is the lap bars on the Explorers I've ridden go down too low, making it a bit uncomfortable after a while. If they were just a little higher like the Alpine Express, it'd be absolutely perfect! Is this the case with the Kiwi one pictured here?

Yes Ben, the NZ Exlporer has the same carrage and lap restraint design as the ones you've ridden here. I agree, the lap restraint is probably a lot tighter than it needs to be, and this does make it limiting to larger men, and anyone with a bit of 'padding' on their stomach. (there is no adjustment setting other than locked or open)

PNC as for photo's of it racked up / set up, there were some exellent ones on the Hyper when it was in Holland (have just looked it up and it looks like all the photo's no longer exist to the link which is a pity): http://www.australianamusementfanatics. ... ight=hyper

owners site of hyper;

http://www.rademaker-vermeulen.nl/


restyle-thread;

http://themepark.nl/ubbthreads/showflat ... ost1346291

A short video of the ride at the Gisborne A&P Show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP8Et5Wvhtc

Thanx 4 that kiwi. The ride looks in great knic and accelerates and deaccelerates pretty quick too. I noticed that u hav all those ride sounds like the sonic and the sirens and the yahoo's. Can u tell me who makes them? Thanx alot

Cheers
Top Gunner14

Video that was taken at this years Easter Show. The sound box is made by Disco Smash.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EntnIi613pA

Thanks Kiwi, good video, like the rider interaction and thanks for the info on the sound box

Cheers
Top Gunner14

This is terrible news for all concerned, owners, operators, and victims, our thoughts are with you.

Children hurt in horror sideshow ride
October 17, 2008, 10:45 pm

* Latest Yahoo!7 NewsStay in touch with Yahoo!7

Children were rushed to hospital for treatment this morning after they were "flung around like ragdolls" on a malfunctioning ride at Gisborne's A&P Show.

Parents were screaming on the ground and bystanders were aghast as one child was thrown through the air and others struggled to hold on.

Many children were battered and bruised as they staggered from the fully loaded machine.

"How those kids managed to stay on the ride I don't know. They were getting flung around like ragdolls," one mother said.

St John ambulance staff at the show said they were astonished no one was seriously hurt as the Explorer, billed as New Zealand's fastest ride, malfunctioned.

The girl who was thrown from the ride was only saved from more serious injury by landing on a woman waiting at a nearby attraction.

Ambulances rushed to the scene and five or six children aged between seven and 12-years-old were taken to Gisborne Hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

The mother of an eight-year-old boy on the Explorer said parents and bystanders were screaming for the ride to stop.

"The ride was full and just as it was going to go backwards and go into a wide swing it started jerking really fast.

"It was going really high and fast and that is when the little girl flew out."

The ride operators could not see what was happening, she said.

"My friend ran over to the control box and was screaming and punching it to make the controllers stop the ride."

Children left the ride with grazes, bleeding noses and black eyes.

"It was so frightening. I know it was a freak accident but it makes you think about the safety issues of the ride," the woman said.

"All the kids were traumatised by it."

Witnesses said the person operating the Explorer seemed stunned and unable to control the ride.

The Explorer has been shut down as owners Mahon's Amusements, police and safety officers investigate what went wrong.

A shocked John Mahon said he was too busy to comment.

OMG... Thats horrible. I wonder what went wrong though? My thoughts are with all the family and freinds of everyone involved.

Geeee how would that happen? That would be scary as!

CHEERS,
Space Roller Freak

Thankfully no serious physical injuries..hopefully none of the riders come away from this incident with post traumatic stress disorders.Sounds as though most of the riders were very young,kids can be pretty resiliant.I wonder how this will reflect on Mahons Amusements,they seem to be New Zealands biggest operator..although it was horrible,it doesnt sound as bad as the Spin Dragon accident,so maybe they will pull through it okay?.

WIth all the safety regulations and OHS guidelines, it might be pretty tough for Mahons. Yeh, my thoughts are with all those family's and friends who were on the ride or bystanding. I hope the explorer can be sorted out and not taken off the road

Ride owner not to blame for freak accident, says mother

The Explorer in action
Sat, 18 Oct 2008 5:41p.m.

A mother whose daughter was hurled from a malfunctioning theme park ride in Gisborne says she does not blame the company's owner or event organisers for the accident.

Katie Blakeman's airborne ordeal did not stop her and her family from returning to the show, though she chose a more placid sideshow experience with her sister this afternoon.

And while The Explorer was cleared by Labour Department inspectors to operate, it was not a thrill Katie or her mother wanted to relive.

"It was horrific," says Debbie Blakeman. "The girls had been on it four times before. It was the first ride of the show, it just all went wrong."

Ms Blakeman watched as her daughter was flung from the machine when a circuit board malfunctioned, causing it to jerk suddenly at speed.

Katie was thrown three metres into the air, injuring her elbow when she landed.

Also on board were eight-year-olds Jake Cash and his friend, Ethan Stewart.

"Our cart started to flip, and my friend Ethan was holding on to me so I wouldn't fall in the hole," says Jake.

"The kids were screaming," says Jake's mother Justine Lister. "I saw the girl get shot out the side, and that's when I saw Jake's legs out of the cart and they were just holding on for dear life."

Ms Lister then ran toward the operator.

"I was just smashing my arms on the window telling them to stop the ride."

Under the close watch of their mothers though, both boys were also eager to get back to the show today - a swollen eye and sore back were not enough to dampen their enthusiasm for more action.

The owner of the explorer ride says the malfunction was caused by an electrical fault.

"It didn't go faster, but its rate of acceleration was too quick," says John Mahon. "Emergency stops were used, but it happened quick, probably in three quarters of a revolution."

Mahon Amusements has been touring New Zealand for more than 60 years. The Explorer has been operating for a decade. Although there have been minor incidents on the ride before, no one has been thrown from their seat.

None of the families 3 News spoke with held any grudge against the fair ride owner, and say they will be back in years to come.

3 News

Source: 3 News

http://www.3news.co.nz/News/Ride-owner- ... leID=76296

http://www.3news.co.nz/Video/National/t ... aspx#video