Flexible Flyers are flexible both in design and usage. Riders may sit upright on the sled or lie on their stomachs, allowing the possibility to descend a snowy slope feet-first or head-first. To steer the sled, riders may either push on the wooden cross piece with their hands or feet, or pull on the rope attached to the wooden cross-piece. Shifting the cross-piece one way or the other causes the flexible rails to bend, turning the sled.[1]
HistoryEdit
Flexible Flyer ad from the early 1900s
Samuel Leeds Allenpatented the Flexible Flyer in 1889[2] in Cinnaminson, New Jersey using local children and adults to test prototypes.[3] Allen's company flourished by selling these speedy and yet controllable sleds at a time when others were still producing toboggans and "gooseneck" sleds.[4]
Allen began producing sleds in his farm equipment factory to keep his workers busy even when it was not the farm season. He developed many prototypes before he created the Flexible Flyer. The sleds did not sell well until he began marketing them to the toy departments of department stores. In 1915, around 120,000 Flexible Fliers were sold, and almost 2,000 Flexible Flyers were sold in one day.
In 1968, Leisure Group of Los Angeles, California bought the S. L. Allen Company. Leisure Group continued to produce Flexible Flyers in Medina, Ohio. In 1973, a group of private investors bought Leisure Group's toy division and started manufacturing the sleds under the name "Blazon Flexible Flyer" in West Point, Mississippi. In 1993, Roadmaster purchased the rights to production and moved production to Olney, Illinois, and in 1998, production was moved to China. As of 2012[update], Flexible Flyers are mostly made in China and some are made in South Paris, Maine[5] by Paricon, Inc.[6]
ExamplesEdit
Flexible Flyer leaning against a tree
Flexible Flyers in the snow
Boy on a Flexible Flyer, 1945
ReferencesEdit
^Samuel Leeds Allen patents the Flexible Flyer - Today in Philadelphia History
^. Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
^Hatala, Greg (January 7, 2014). "Made in Jersey: Flexible Flyer - The sled from south Jersey". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2013-12-22.
^Bernard Mergen (1995). "Past play: relics, memory, and history". In Pellegrini, Anthony D. (ed.). The future of play theory: a multidisciplinary inquiry into the contributions of Brian Sutton-Smith. SUNY Press. p. 260. ISBN978-0-7914-2641-8.
^"Flexible Flyer, king of sleds, slides on". The Boston Globe. 25 December 2011.
^. Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
External linksEdit
About Paricon Sleds
U.S. Patent 408,681
Biographical information about Samuel L. Allen
October 21, 2023
flexible, flyer, album, roswell, rudd, album, recreational, equipment, brand, best, known, sled, same, name, steerable, wooden, sled, with, steel, runners, sled, from, 1936, within, permanent, collection, children, museum, indianapolis, contents, operation, hi. For the album by Roswell Rudd see Flexible Flyer album Flexible Flyer is a toy and recreational equipment brand best known for the sled of the same name a steerable wooden sled with steel runners A Flexible Flyer sled from 1936 within the permanent collection of The Children s Museum of Indianapolis Contents 1 Operation 2 History 3 Examples 4 References 5 External linksOperation EditFlexible Flyers are flexible both in design and usage Riders may sit upright on the sled or lie on their stomachs allowing the possibility to descend a snowy slope feet first or head first To steer the sled riders may either push on the wooden cross piece with their hands or feet or pull on the rope attached to the wooden cross piece Shifting the cross piece one way or the other causes the flexible rails to bend turning the sled 1 History Edit nbsp Flexible Flyer ad from the early 1900sSamuel Leeds Allen patented the Flexible Flyer in 1889 2 in Cinnaminson New Jersey using local children and adults to test prototypes 3 Allen s company flourished by selling these speedy and yet controllable sleds at a time when others were still producing toboggans and gooseneck sleds 4 Allen began producing sleds in his farm equipment factory to keep his workers busy even when it was not the farm season He developed many prototypes before he created the Flexible Flyer The sleds did not sell well until he began marketing them to the toy departments of department stores In 1915 around 120 000 Flexible Fliers were sold and almost 2 000 Flexible Flyers were sold in one day In 1968 Leisure Group of Los Angeles California bought the S L Allen Company Leisure Group continued to produce Flexible Flyers in Medina Ohio In 1973 a group of private investors bought Leisure Group s toy division and started manufacturing the sleds under the name Blazon Flexible Flyer in West Point Mississippi In 1993 Roadmaster purchased the rights to production and moved production to Olney Illinois and in 1998 production was moved to China As of 2012 update Flexible Flyers are mostly made in China and some are made in South Paris Maine 5 by Paricon Inc 6 Examples Edit nbsp Flexible Flyer leaning against a tree nbsp Flexible Flyers in the snow nbsp Boy on a Flexible Flyer 1945References Edit Samuel Leeds Allen patents the Flexible Flyer Today in Philadelphia History Westtown School About Westtown History More History Sledding at Westtown Archived from the original on 2011 07 20 Retrieved 2011 02 23 Hatala Greg January 7 2014 Made in Jersey Flexible Flyer The sled from south Jersey The Star Ledger Retrieved 2013 12 22 Bernard Mergen 1995 Past play relics memory and history In Pellegrini Anthony D ed The future of play theory a multidisciplinary inquiry into the contributions of Brian Sutton Smith SUNY Press p 260 ISBN 978 0 7914 2641 8 Flexible Flyer king of sleds slides on The Boston Globe 25 December 2011 Classic Sleds Archived from the original on 2014 01 12 Retrieved 2014 01 07 External links EditAbout Paricon Sleds U S Patent 408 681 Biographical information about Samuel L Allen Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Flexible Flyer amp oldid 1106103403, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
