by Wiegand Maelzer
The Cannonball, or Water Splash, is the newest product from Wiegand Maelzer of Germany – and it’s quite a head-turner. See video here.
Adventurous riders are fired from the heel of an L-shaped pipe into the lake or pool in front of them. After taking their seat, they press a button to discharge a high pressure jet of water which rockets them up to 2-metres into the air, and 10-metres in distance.
Refilling the pipe takes around 50 seconds, allowing operators to launch around 60 “human cannonballs” an hour. A pool/lake with a minimum length of 12 metres and a depth of 3 metres is required. A sensor and video system are used to monitor the ride.
After trialling a number of prototypes at its premises in Rasdorf, Wiegand-Maelzer unveiled the ride to the German public for the first time this summer at an public open-air pool in Flötenteich, Oldenburg. A second unit was supplied to the operators of a toboggan run in Riedenburg, Bavaria. Enquiries has since followed from all over Europe, the USA and as far away as Australia.
As well as waterslides, Wiegand Maelzer’s product range includes playground slides, stainless steel and transparent tube slides and toboggan runs.
