Hello Saskia,
The Astroland Rocket Ship was one of the first amusement park "simulators." It debuted in 1962 at Astroland Park as one of the first of the "imaginary" space voyage simulators constructed during the Space Race. The Rocket showed simulator films of "rocket rides" while the chassis "rocked" its viewers to outer space. The Ride, which has 26 seats, lasted about three minutes, the length of the film. Originally built as the "Star Flyer," the Astroland Rocket operated until the early 70's. It sat atop the boardwalk hamburger/hotdog stand, Gregory and Paul's until just a few week ago when it became of of the early victims of Coney Island's redevelopment.
While the City and Thor Equities continue to negotiate over ownership of Coney Island, Astroland Park moved off the its property at the end of January. Owners Carol and Jerry Albert then donated the rocket to the City, which is storing it in a temporary location. It will eventually return to Coney Island as a centerpiece of a newly developed park.
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Would you know who bought the signs, i.e., the" Enjoy the Rides"sign which was mounted on the waall of the building behind the rocket. Thank you for your time.
Mr. Coney Island. I build model and high power rockets as hobby. Would it be possible to gain the diameter and any other dimensions (fin length, width, nose cone, tail cone length, etc) you may have for the Star Flyer? I would love to build a down scaled flying version of this.
Thank you for your time and attaention.
Starflyer Rocketship
I am the daughter of John Taggart. He and Sam Doughty built the Starflyer Rocket in Oakland California. It was originally put up in Peralta Park in Oakland California. It was great. I remember it quite well and if you need clarification on anything to do with it feel free to contact me.
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