One design fault with the London Eye (and no, Virginia, it is *not* the world's largest Ferris Wheel, because it is *not* a Ferris Wheel) is that when the time comes to demolish it there is now no space available to let it down in the reverse of the process which put it up.

A better design would have been to make it detachable and motile in the first place. The huge wheel and observation cars could then have been used for tours of the British countryside, with the 'Eye' coming and going from its base by rollpuddling down or up the Thames.

<memo to self - sell London Bridges stock>

"Arr'noon Ladies an' Gen'lmen. Welcom aboard the Lundun Eye. We are joost cumin' up to Stratfoord o' Avon. You'll see out the starbooord side in a moment a pile o' old bricks and straw... that were Shakespeare's cottage.. Sorry about that but I spilled a cuppa hot tea in me lap just as we were cummin past here last week and lost contol 'o 'er a little.."

In travel mode, the gondolas of the Eye would be fixed inside the rim. A pilots capsule with stabilising jets would be rim-stationary at the topmost point. Steering is simply done by tilting the Eye to port or starboard.
-- ConsulFlaminicus, Jan 14 2006

Wikipedia: Observation wheel http://en.wikipedia...i/Observation_wheel
And the difference between it and a Ferris wheel. [jutta, Jan 14 2006]

To describe an irony Ian Tindale once exclaimed, "Oh, the ferrousness!". To respond to this idea I think one might be torn to respond, " Oh, the Ferris-ness", or possibly, "Oh, the ferret-ness". There's some sly sleight-of-hand in this idea description that does not adequately describe how the individual passenger pods will be capable of sustaining the entire wheel's weight while careening around the historic southeastern England tour route, nor how pleasant that experience will be for the passengers where the *Observation Wheel* meets the roadway..
-- jurist, Jan 14 2006


although the Eye was originally designed to be temporary and I suppose nothing lasts for ever, there are no plans for it to be demolished. thank goodness, its become rather one of the loveliest icons of our fair city.

sorry to make you blush, jurist but its always a pleasure to read your prose.
-- po, Jan 14 2006


[jurist] ?? //In travel mode, the gondolas of the Eye would be fixed inside the rim//
-- ConsulFlaminicus, Jan 15 2006



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