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Curtis D. Summers

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Curtis D. Summers
Born(1929-09-17)September 17, 1929
Abilene, Kansas
DiedMay 11, 1992(1992-05-11) (aged 62)
Montgomery, Ohio
Occupation(s)Amusement park engineering, roller coaster designer
Known forCurtis D. Summers, Inc

Curtis D. Summers (September 17, 1929 – May 11, 1992) was an engineer and American roller coaster designer credited for designing or providing structural engineering on 25 wooden roller coasters around the world.[1] He earned a degree in Architectural Engineering at Kansas State University and was a registered engineer in 40 states.[1]

Career

Curtis D. Summers began his career in the amusement industry when he was contacted by Cincinnati's Coney Island to provide structural repairs to the park's Shooting Star roller coaster. He was hired by the Hixson Engineering Company and worked with Coney to keep the park's two wooden coasters, Shooting Star and Wildcat, structurally sound.[1] In 1972, Summers left Hixson Engineering to start his own firm, Curtis D. Summers, Inc., based in Cincinnati, Ohio[2] The owners of Coney Island, Taft Broadcasting, closed the park in order to escape the repeated flooding from the Ohio River and built a new park, Kings Island, 25 miles to the north. Summers was asked to design most of the structures of the new park and worked alongside John C. Allen to assist him by providing the structural engineering on the two new wooden coasters constructed for the park.[3]

The Taft Broadcasting Company, and its successor, Kings Entertainment Company (KECO), went on to build two more amusement parks, Kings Dominion and Canada's Wonderland. They purchased an existing park, Carowinds; managed California's Great America and were co-owners of Australia's Wonderland. Curtis D. Summers and his firm continued to be the primary engineers for each of the parks. When John Allen retired from the coaster-building business in 1976, Summers took over as the primary designer of wooden coaster projects for the Taft/KECO chain of amusement parks.[4]

In 1978 KECO started building The Beast at Kings Island. Summers' firm was brought on board to provide structural engineering for the massive helix finale. The project was built in-house and was overseen by Charles (Charlie) Dinn, Kings Island's Director of Construction, Maintenance and Engineering. Dinn left Kings Island in 1984 to start his own firm the Dinn Corporation. In 1985 he contacted Summers' firm to provide the design for the restoration of the helix of Paragon Park's Giant Coaster which Dinn was moving to Wild World in Largo, Maryland.[4] That was the start of relationship that lasted until 1991. Following a few more coaster moves and rebuilds, the two teamed up in 1987 to start building new coasters. The two companies always operated separately but every new coaster built by the Dinn Corporation from 1988 to 1991 was engineered by Curtis D. Summers. Ten of these "Dinn & Summers" coasters were built during that time period, and many of them featured record-breaking drops.[4]

Dinn retired in 1991 and closed the Dinn Corporation. Summers went on to design one more coaster, Jupiter at Kijima Amusement Park in Japan. The coaster was built by Intamin and opened in July 1992, a few months after Summers died. Two of the designers from Curtis Summers Inc. went on to start their own firms. Dennis Starkey started the Stand Company and Larry Bill worked a number of years for Custom Coasters International before becoming one of the founders of The Gravity Group.[4]

Wooden roller coasters

Opened Name Park Notes Status Ref
1972 The Racer Kings Island Assisted John Allen with structural engineering Operating [3]
1972 Woodstock Express Kings Island Assisted John Allen with structural engineering Operating [3]
1974 Ghoster Coaster Kings Dominion Assisted John Allen with structural engineering Operating [3]
1975 Rebel Yell Kings Dominion Assisted John Allen with structural engineering Operating [1]
1976 Thunder Road Carowinds Based on Philadelphia Toboggan Company/John Allen design Demolished August 2015 [1]
1979 The Beast Kings Island Structural support, primarily the helix finale Operating [1]
1981 American Eagle Six Flags Great America Contracted by Intamin to provide structural engineering Operating [1][5]
1981 Mighty Canadian Minebuster Canada's Wonderland Loosely patterned after Shooting Star at Coney Island, Cincinnati, Ohio Operating [3]
1981 Wild Beast Canada's Wonderland Based on PTC Wildcat at Coney Island, Cincinnati, Ohio Operating [3]
1982 Grizzly Kings Dominion Based on PTC Wildcat at Coney Island, Cincinnati, Ohio Operating [3]
1986 The Grizzly California's Great America Based on PTC Wildcat at Coney Island, Cincinnati, Ohio Operating [3]
1986 Wild One Six Flags America Restoration of missing helix Operating [3]
1986 Wildcat Lake Compounce Complete in-place rebuild with profile modification Operating [3]
1988 Wolverine Wildcat Michigan's Adventure First Dinn & Summers coaster Operating [6]
1988 Raging Wolf Bobs Geauga Lake removed Disassembled 2010-2012 [7]
1989 Timber Wolf Worlds of Fun Operating [8]
1989 Hercules Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom Demolished 2003 [9]
1990 Texas Giant Six Flags Over Texas Converted to steel roller coaster in 2011 Operating [10]
1990 Georgia Cyclone Six Flags Over Georgia Operating [11]
1990 Predator Darien Lake Operating [12]
1990 Thunder Run Kentucky Kingdom Summers engineering of John Fetterman design, Dinn Construction. Operating [13]
1991 Psyclone Six Flags Magic Mountain Only wooden coaster to feature Bolliger & Mabillard trains Demolished February 2007 [14]
1991 Mean Streak Cedar Point Tallest Dinn & Summers coaster Operating [15]
1991 Pegassus Efteling Dinn corp left in middle of project — Intamin completed Demolished 2009 [16]
1992 Jupiter Kijima Kogen Intamin project Operating [17]

Miscellaneous Projects

  • Carowinds, design of renovation and additions to park and 8,000 seat amphitheater
  • Canada's Wonderland, complete park design including buildings and ride stations
  • Kentucky Kingdom, Flume foundation design
  • Kings Dominion, complete park design including buildings, ride stations and steel frame mountain
  • Kennywood, foundation design for Shuttle Loop and Pirate Ship
  • Raging Waters Waterpark (Wildwood, NJ), design of speed slide and raft ride
  • Surf Cincinnati, design of speed slide and raft ride
  • Six Flags St. Louis, foundation for Looping Star (Jet Scream) coaster
  • Splashtown, USA, water ride supports and foundation

Sources

Curtis D. Summers, Inc. "Listing of Representative Projects," inserted into a company promotional booklet, likely distributed at the IAAPA trade show circa 1987.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Jenkins, Torrence (1997). "The Legacy of Curtis Summers". RollerCoaster! Magazine. 18 (3): 32–37. ISSN 0896-7261.
  2. ^ "Curtis Summers". Orlando Sentinel. 15 May 1992. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ruben, Paul (1990). "The Coasters of Summers (Curt Summers, that is)". RollerCoaster! Magazine. 11 (1): 18–20. ISSN 0896-7261.
  4. ^ a b c d Seifert, Jeffrey (2008). "Dinn and Summers, A Brief Resurgence in Wooden coasters". RollerCoaster! Magazine. 29 (3): 18–27. ISSN 0896-7261.
  5. ^ "Intamin, Inc. v. Figley-Wright Contractors, Inc". Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  6. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Wolverine Wildcat". Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  7. ^ Marden, Duane. "Cyclone  (Six Flags New England)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  8. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Timber Wolf". Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  9. ^ Marden, Duane. "Hercules  (Dorney Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  10. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: New Texas Giant". Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  11. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Georgia Cyclone". Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  12. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Predator". Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  13. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Thunder Run". Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  14. ^ Marden, Duane. "Psyclone  (Six Flags Magic Mountain)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  15. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Mean Streak". Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  16. ^ Marden, Duane. "Pegasus  (Efteling)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  17. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Jupiter". Retrieved 1 February 2012.
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