PREMIÉRE

Showman Andreas Aignerfrom Munich ran a count-down on his website sinceMay, giving the days, hours,minutes, and very secondsuntil his “Parkour” eventual-ly went into operation – asplanned and announced – atthe Wiesenmarkt in Erbach(Odenwald) on July 17th. thewebsite had served to trulywhet the fans’ appetite for hismuch-heralded novelty ride.

Text & Photos: Norman Vogt

At a champagne reception held precisely at3.30 p.m., the owner, fairground directors,

fans and politicians drank to the revival and suc-cessful reconstruction of the former “Sound Fac-

tory” (manufacturer: Schwarz-kopf, ride type: “Absoluter”)under new management,name, and with a new ride patt-

ern. The ride was then opened by Mayor HaraldBuschmann, Frank Reubold from the Erbach cityauthorities responsible for the Markt, and fair-ground director Peter Breidenbach, Chairman ofthe Darmstadt Showman Association, JürgenUnterköffer, and naturally Andreas Aigner sym-bolically cutting a red ribbon.

Stylish Opening in Erbach

When congratulations, floral bouquets, andgood luck coins had been presented, the ridewas ready for the first rounds, and the 20 gon-

Première at the

Erbach Wiesenmarkt:

Andreas Aigner’s “Parkour”

Parkour

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dolas (2 persons per unit = 40 seats) occupiedin a flash for the première ride. The ride se-quence: once the gondola brakes have been re-leased, giving rise to a gentle swinging of thegondolas, the arms move up and down and thegondola crosses begin to rotate. The ride ac-celerates as the main motor in the ride centrekicks in, until eventually high-speed rotationsand thrilling movement sequences provide thepassengers with an exhilarating ride experi-ence. Despite its high speed,the “Parkour” is a family-friend-ly ride.

„Polyp” considered at first

Originally, Andreas Aigner hadplanned to purchase a “Polyp”,as this ride type has not beenat home in Munich for sometime. But then he noticed the“Sound Factory”, and duringthe last Oktoberfest purchasedthe ride – which had been instorage for eight years – fromthe Kinzler firm. The transportswere collected in Freiburg inBreisgau and driven to the Ger-stlauer firm in Münsterhausen.Together with Gerstlauer it wasdecided to dismantle the

heavy looping gondolas and replace them bynew suspended gondolas without looping.

Step bar is foldable

The special feature of these suspended gondo-las is a step bar, which is folded under the seatprior to commencement of the ride to provideeasy loading. Moreover, every single part of theride was dismantled, worn parts replaced, and

PREMIÉRE

The gondolas with a step

bar for easy embarking and

disembarking

“Parkour” in the evening

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an ultrasound scan was carried out on the arm.The electronic system was completely renewedand existing light elements replaced by 8,000power-saving LEDs. The new large name signwas created by the Eck firm. The huge Coke canin the middle of the ride was replaced by a“Parkour” dancer. After three months of mainte-nance and reconstruction work, as well as the

12-year inspection, the “Parkour” was ready tooperate. According to Andreas Aigner, a total of1.2 million Euros were invested in the purchaseand reconstruction of the ride. The cooperationwith the Gerstlauer firm worked out perfectly.Even Hubert Gerstlauer came to the premièrefairground in Erbach and together with AndreasAigner was very pleased with the good atten-dance received by the “Parkour”.

Top-Event: Munich Oktoberfest

Prior to the season's top event, the Munich Ok-toberfest, the new ride will also be presented inKronach and Augsburg, as well as in Memmin-gen afterwards. Several decoration elements(still missing in Erbach) have in the meanwhilebeen delivered and installed. The ride has elec-trical requirements of 250 kW and ground mea-surements of 23 metres (diameter). ■

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PREMIÉRE

“Parkour” waiting

for passengers

At the opening ceremony

(f.l.t.r.): Frank Reubold (Erbach

city authories), Harald

Buschmann (Mayor), Andreas

Aigner, Jürgen Unterköffer

(Darmstadt Showman Associa-

tion) and Erbach‘s fairground

director Peter Breidenbach

The 6-axle centre trailer of

the ride

Hubert Gerstlauer

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