Dinn Corporation

(Redirected from Charlie Dinn)
Dinn Corporation
Mean Streak at Cedar Point
Status Defunct
In business 1983 to 1991
Key people Charles Dinn, Curtis D. Summers
Coasters built 12

Dinn Corporation, or Dinn Corp., was a wooden roller coaster manufacturer based in West Chester, Ohio, USA. They were in business from 1983 to 1992 and built 12 roller coasters of which five are still operating today. Three of the seven defunct coasters were given steel I-Box track by Rocky Mountain Construction. The other 4 defunct coasters were scrapped and not relocated.

History

Charles J. Dinn was the director of construction, maintenance, and engineering at Kings Island and oversaw construction of The Beast, which opened in 1979.[1] Dinn went on to form his own company in the early 1980s.[2] The company managed the construction of wooden roller coasters in partnership with Curtis D. Summers' company.

Dinn Corporation also built select rides for other manufacturers, including Zoomflume at Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut, USA.[3]

Construction began on Pegasus at Efteling in late 1990, but Dinn abandoned the project following disagreements with Efteling and ultimately retired in 1991.[4] His daughter, Denise Dinn formed a new company, Custom Coasters International that year. Summers died the following year of a heart attack at the age of 62.[5]

Roller coasters

Name Park Country Opened Status
Georgia Cyclone Six Flags Over Georgia
USA
March 1990 Closed 2017; converted by Rocky Mountain Construction into Twisted Cyclone
Hercules Dorney Park
USA
May 6, 1989 Closed September 1, 2003
Mean Streak Cedar Point
USA
May 11, 1991 Closed September 16, 2016; converted by Rocky Mountain Construction into Steel Vengeance
Pegasus Efteling
Netherlands
July 1, 1991 Closed June 19, 2009
Predator Six Flags Darien Lake
USA
May 1990 Operating
Psyclone Six Flags Magic Mountain
USA
March 23, 1991 Closed 2006
Texas Giant Six Flags Over Texas
USA
March 17, 1990 Closed November 1, 2009; converted by Rocky Mountain Construction into New Texas Giant
Thunder Run Kentucky Kingdom
USA
August 1990 Operating
Timber Wolf Worlds of Fun
USA
April 1, 1989 Operating
Raging Wolf Bobs Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom
USA
May 28, 1988 Closed June 16, 2007
Wild One Six Flags America
USA
1986 Operating
Wolverine Wildcat Michigan's Adventure
USA
May 14, 1988 Operating

Images

References

  1. "Kings Island Unveils Plans For Faster, Higher Roller Coaster". The Circleville Herald.
  2. Curtis D. Summers / Charles Dinn - Southwest Ohio Amusement Park Historical Society (Wayback archive)
  3. "Zooming in". Record-Journal. 1987-03-04. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
  4. "Curis D. Summers". Eftepedia.
  5. "Curtis Summers, amusement park ride designer". The Palm Beach Post.

External links