Just three days after an EF3 tornado touched down in Wichita, Kansas on April 15, Danny Ottaway of Ottaway Amusements, had already trucked the pieces of his twisted Chance Century Wheel across town to the Chance Manufacturing Co.

The storm system that passed through Wichita that day brought with it dozens of tornados as it trekked eastward. The one that toppled his 65-foot wheel was reported to have been one mile wide with winds between 136-165 mph. It stayed on the ground about 20 minutes, long enough to go about 15 miles before lifting off the ground.

Ottaway Amusements, based in Wichita, had set up in a mall parking lot before heading out to play a show in Oklahoma. The single date was only his second date of the 2012 season.

“We had closed the midway at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, because they were predicting the storms,” Ottaway said. “The storm hit at 10:30 or 11 that night. It tipped the wheel straight onto its side. It fell right into the middle of my (Wisdom) Go Gater kiddie roller coaster, totally demolishing that ride.”

Ottaway feels that the twister must have been off the ground at the time it crossed over his show, tipping the highest ride. “I have two Hampton umbrella rides and it didn’t knock those over at all,” he said. “My (Eyerly) Rock O Plane ride is about half the height of the wheel and it didn’t bother that either.

“I live in Wichita, too,” he said. “I also have my winter quarters here. I didn’t have any damage to my home, but I did have a games trailer blow over at the winter quarters.”

Ottaway and his staff spent the days following the tornado totally dismantling and taking the wheel apart. They then put it on flatbeds and trucked it to the Chance Rides facility.

Speaking with Ottaway on April 17, he didn’t know what the estimate would be on fixing the ride. He feels probably 50 percent of it is salvageable.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t have any insurance on it,” Ottaway said. “I know people are going to read this and say, ‘My God, what was he thinking not to have any insurance on it.’ But, you know, it is just the chance you take. I bought that wheel about 20 years ago. At that time, it was going to cost me $18,000 a year to insure that one ride.” So, Ottaway said, he decided to self-insure his equipment and his 17 rides. In other words, instead of paying the insurance company the premium, he put some money back for these times. “Of course, I have all kinds of liability insurance coverage,” he said. The ride cost him about $450,000 20 years ago. The Go Gator, which he purchased about 25 years ago, is gone. He paid between $35,000 and $40,000 for that ride.

“We are going to do alright,” he said. “If it had taken out my whole show, well, that would have been different. We are going to be fine.”

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