Green Lantern

The tower with "SIX FLAGS" painted on it is the Parachute Training Center: Edwards AFB Jump Tower.   The Intamin parachute drop-tower first operated at Six Flags Over Mid-America (the park currently called Six Flags St. Louis) from 1978 to 1982.  At 250 feet tall, it held the title as the world's tallest amusement park ride when it first opened.  The tower was relocated and opened in New Jersey in 1983 where it was initially called Parachute Perch.  The tower originally operated with 12 parachutes, but the ride was configured for just eight parachutes when it relocated to here.  Each parachute has a seat that can accommodate up to three passengers.  The passenger load in each seat must be between 160 and 400 pounds.   The climb up is rather slow and the descent downward is less than 25 feet per second, a rather leisurely descent rate and nowhere near the velocity achieved by modern drop towers.  While the first parachute drop rides of the early 1900s relied on the aerodynamic braking from the parachutes to slow the vehicle's descents, the cable system on this tower actually controls each seat's downward progress.  Originally painted white, the tower received these colors in 2009.   In the 1970s, nearly every Six Flags park has a similar ride, although this one had an extra segment in the tower making it the tallest one in the amusement park chain.  With the demolition of Texas Chute Out at Six Flags Over Texas in 2012, Parachute Training Center is the only remaining parachute drop tower in North or South America.

©2018 Joel A. Rogers.