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Rainbow is the name of the amusement park ride created by HUSS Maschinenfabrik of Bremen, Germany which is now HUSS Park Attractions of Budapest, Hungary. The Rainbow was manufactured from 1983-2000 and is often confused with its cousins Ali Baba (ride) and 1001 Nachts but there are major differences between the ride designs. The HUSS Rainbow has developed a vast fan base due to its large stature, smooth ride and bright lights.
Contents
There were only 42 units produced which were found in many counties from Canada, United States, Australia, India, Africa, the middle east, Asia and Europe.
Still today there are several Rainbows still in operation mainly in the United States and Europe. The most recent refurbishing was unveiled at the January 2014 South Florida Fair owned by Wade Shows.
The popularity of the classic ride has sparked its own (independently managed) Facebook page and several websites and forums dedicated to the Huss Rainbow.
Design
The Rainbow was developed in the early 1980s from the design of the Ranger (ride) also built by HUSS. Its gondola holds 32 passengers in 3 rows with 2 persons per seat. An electronic controlled lap-bar (similar to the ones installed on HUSS Pirate rides - but shaped very differently) holds passengers in. Later some models were required to upgrade with seatbelts for added safety.
The Rainbow came packaged on 3 (possibly 4) oversized trailers or installed as park models. It took a crew of 4, about 6 hours to set up and 4 hours to tear down. A crane is used to erect the main shaft.
4 hydraulic motors drove this large beast.
After set up, the Rainbow stands a stunning 20 Meters (66 Feet) tall with an incredible on-ride rainbow in lights, and a large bright sun face in the middle of its long white main arm.
The overall theme varied slightly from unit to unit, Some seats were Orange, Some blue or white and the main arm displayed a V shaped stripe of varying colours. Of course, once it was sold its new owner could change it to fit their internal theme. The gondola sported illuminated clouds underneath which was one of the many trademarks of the rides style.
Operation
The ride is run manually with a joy stick, apparently some models were programmed and ran from push-buttons.
It can move in either clock-wise or counter clock-wise direction with the ability of stopping or reversing at any point in its orbit. It was very customary to stop the ride in its up-most position and wait a while, then reverse directions....or not.
Safety features
It was equipped with lap bars that raise and lower electronically from the main control booth. Most models have a foot pedal to ensure the operator is present.
In about 2000, Huss required that all Rainbows were to be fitted with seatbelts, which caused many parks to sell their old Rainbows for Ali Baba type models.
Some owners equipped their rides with cameras so the operator could see what the riders were doing while in motion, as a deterrent for the few that thought it was a good idea to wiggle under the bars and sit in the aisle.
History
On July 15, 2008, 30 people were injured when a Rainbow collapsed at Liseberg theme park in Sweden.
The ride was dismantled on July 17, 2008. Investigators then confirmed on July 19, 2008 that they had discovered a faulty drive shaft during their inspection. They believed that one of the axles that is designed to hold the passenger carriage horizontal failed. HUSS ordered the temporary closure of 40 Rainbows. The drive shaft was upgraded by HUSS in 2003, but by then many units had been scrapped or sold for parts.
Appearances
The following is a record of Huss Rainbow rides, their owners, locations and current status. The information gathered was known to be accurate at the time it was entered but as rides change hands often, can not always be verified as the current ride's status. New information is more than welcomed and citations are required throughout the page to ensure content quality. Any information that is not 'cited' may be removed.