Hydroplaning bumper car glides into production
Photo/Mindy Favreau
Lance Yule, inventor of the AquaZoom
A self-proclaimed prolific inventor has debuted his latest creation: a bumper car made for water. And it could be headed for a water park near you.
Called the AquaZoom, the bumper cars hydroplane across a mere quarter-inch of water, skimming along the surface the way a puck glides across an air hockey table. Since the AquaZoom doesn't use electricity to move like regular bumper cars, instead harnessing the power of a 12 volt battery, it's safe for water. Inventor Lance Yule says it's the first amusement park ride of its kind, and he and his team at Portland-based StarFlight Amusement Rides are hoping to strike it big with this spin on one of the amusement industry's most-loved rides. "We're expecting fast growth," Yule says.
In a warehouse near the Maine Mall in South Portland, Yule and his team have been testing the latest iteration of the AquaZoom. A rubber ring resembling a giant inner tube surrounds a custom-designed stainless steel drive mechanism that includes two wheels powered by a pair of marine batteries. Levers on board allow the rider to move in all directions and even to fire a water gun. The fiberglass chair is still being built, so instead test riders must perch on an overturned plastic milk crate.
Immobile, it's somewhat unimpressive in its unfinished state -- until the water turns on, and then the car is sliding across a raised floor, powered by valves underneath that pump out water only when the car moves over them. Yule demonstrates the car's capabilities, bouncing off the walls and doing doughnuts. The components and setup are still being tested, and the company is developing a number of ride layouts and themes, including pinball and safari.
Yule, who invented a marble maze toy called the Block-N-Roll -- which he says was an "adventure in how not to do things" -- has been working on the AquaZoom idea for five years. He and his team have poured nearly $300,000 into developing and designing it, and are gearing up for the product's major debut at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions trade show in Las Vegas in November. There, the company is hoping to find some buyers for its ride, which ranges in cost from $500,000 to $4 million depending on the type of installation. In preparation for the show, the company is having two more cars made and is planning to shoot a demo video at its South Portland warehouse, where the walls will be painted green to allow a film production company to add in animation illustrating the various themes.
The company has already garnered interest from amusement park development companies, including The Goddard Group, whose clients include Six Flags, Caesar's Palace and Universal Studios. "Part of our sales strategy is to get the ride included on the portfolio as companies are developing new parks," says Karl Small, CEO of StarFlight Amusement Rides. "There are 1,600 water parks worldwide, and if we sell 25 or 35 rides, we'll be a very successful company," adding that the company's margins will be 60% to 70%.
Small, a sales and marketing professional and former Idexx employee, came to StarFlight in June. He's been involved in several startups, but never in the amusement business. "It's a fun industry," he says. "I like to get involved in things I know nothing about, and that's certainly the case here. It's a great challenge."
The StarFlight Team also includes mechanical designer Craig DeRoche, machinist Dave Arsenault and marketer Taja Dockendorf.
Small says the amusement park industry is "somewhat recession-proof," since parks are usually boosted by the staycation trend. "Attendance figures are good around the world," he says. "It bodes well for us."
Still, the company has had a hard time attracting investors, Small says. The company's startup money has come from the team's own pockets, most of it from Yule. "Everything I've made in the last five years has gone into it," Yule says.
After the Las Vegas trade show, Yule and the others are expecting to ramp up production, giving a boost to other Maine companies. Lane Systems in Brewer, which traditionally makes conveyor belt systems, is manufacturing the car's drive mechanism -- Yule says 50 people there are working on the car's components -- and Knowlton Machine Engineering in Gorham is making the wood mold for the fiberglass chairs. It's all part of StarFlight's philosophy to utilize as many local companies as possible. "We consciously chose to work with local companies. It increases our costs, but we're Maine-based and we want to work with local businesses," Small says.
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