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One of Riverview's first attractions was the roller coaster named the "White Flyer". Built for Riverview's first season in 1904, it is a type of coaster called a "Figure-8" because the track design looks like a Figure-8 from above. This design was invented and patented in 1894 by E. Joy Morris, and apparently licensed to other builders as Riverview's was built by the L.A. Thompson Company. Installed just inside the front gate, it had its first accident three days after opening, when a 25 year old man stood up and fell out of his car, suffering only a broken leg. The "White Flyer" is thought to have operated until the early 1920's.
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The cars of this ride typically looked more like a traditional carriage than what we now think of as a roller coaster car. The photo below
right shows a car from the last surviving Figure-8 in the world, the "Leap the Dips" at Lakemont Park in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Stop by Lakemont and treat yourself to a ride back into the past!
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