Witches' Hat

After having completing my two latest models, Wave Rider & Soul Shaker already shown in latest meetings, I started a new model at the beginning of November to be ready for the Saturday meeting at the WLMS on Saturday on the 17th and at the Kempton Great Engines Museum on Sunday the 18th.

This new model I called it Witches' Hat is another fairground machine of my design of high velocity, a revolving canopy with eight long arms and cars supported on top of a narrow tower fitted to a square base with a motor and gearing system fitted to the top side.

On top of the tower a ball thrust bearing was fixed with the toothed part attached to the rotating hat and the motor driving an axle passing through a bush wheel on top of the toothed unit. The power unit worked well, but failed after attaching the arms and cars to them due to weight, so another unit was built and tested with the same result.

Disappointed I thought that the problem was big to get the model ready on time not knowing what to do at this stage, so I decided to dismantled the toothed part and fitted on top of the ball thrust with a new arrangement, I have to modified the top adding and extra inch to avoid the cars to touch the base.

A new motor and gear system replaced the latest one this time engaging the toothed unit of the ball thrust wit a sprocket chain which worked beautifully well.

The new challenge was how to achieve the rotation of the hat, arms and cars resting on top of the new system to engage into the driving unit?So a circular plate was bolted to the toothed unit and 4 long bolts added pointed upwards to engage into a hub disc fitted to the rotating hat or canopy, the result was successful and the model worked in both days without any problems.

After Kempton a lot of new improvements were carried out to the present look, the model is divided in four parts the base and tower, the rotating unit, a side section with kiosk, seats and a set of steps, mainly for easy transportation, a single transformer light is fitted on top of the tower.

The arms are limited to how much they can extend outwards at high speed but they will go well over a metre in diameter, an as per the scale and size in a real Theme park will exceed the 12 story high structure making it a very thrill and extreme machine indeed.