The Capital Wheel is a Ferris wheel at National Harbor , Maryland , just outside Washington, D. C. , in the United States. It opened on May 23, 2014.
13-462: The wheel was conceived by National Harbor developer Milton Peterson and inspired by the Roue de Paris . Built by Chance Rides of Wichita, Kansas , it has an overall height of 180 feet (54.9 m) and sits on a 770-foot-long (230 m) pier extending into the adjacent Potomac River , easily visible to passengers on flights to or from National Airport . Landmarks visible from inside the wheel include
26-462: A leading designer of giant Ferris wheels and similar structures for over 25 years. Bussink entered the amusement industry market in 1985 and designed, manufactured, and delivered more than 60 giant observation wheels between 1990 and 2005. The Bussink company was previously known as Nauta Bussink prior to moving its offices from the Netherlands to Appenzell Innerrhoden , Switzerland . It
39-539: A new company, Bussink Landmarks, to concentrate on the supply of giant observation wheels of 100 metres (328 ft) and greater in height. Bussink also founded, and is CEO of, Bussink Design. He designed the R80XL , which is manufactured and sold under licence from Bussink Design GmbH by Maurer German Wheels and Chance American Wheels . The R80XL is available in fixed (SV) and transportable (SP) versions, both approximately 78 metres (256 ft) tall. The R80XL SP
52-567: A spectrum of 16,387,064 colors. The Capital Wheel has 42 climate-controlled gondolas, including one VIP gondola, and can carry 336 passengers at maximum. CWA Construction, a Swiss manufacturer, built the passenger gondolas that Cianbro installed for The Capital Wheel. Each glass-enclosed gondola weighs 1,500 pounds (680 kg), measures approximately 6 feet long by 5 feet wide by 5 feet high (1.8m by 1.5m by 1.5m) and holds eight passengers or up to 1,380 pounds (630 kg). The gondolas have interior lights and two-way, individual communication with
65-582: A stable base. It weighs 365 tonnes. Due to its transportable design, it can be erected in 72 hours and dismantled in 60 hours by a specialist team. Transport requires seven 20-foot (6.1 m) container lorries, ten open trailer lorries, and one closed trailer lorry. The forty-two gondolas can be loaded either three or six at a time, and each can accommodate eight passengers. For other quiescent (incomplete, delayed, stalled, cancelled, failed, or abandoned) proposals, see: Ferris wheel#Quiescent proposals Ronald Bussink Ronald A. Bussink has been
78-569: Is a 60-metre (200 ft) tall transportable Ferris wheel , originally installed on the Place de la Concorde in Paris , France , for the 2000 millennium celebrations . It left Paris in 2002 and has since then seen service at numerous other locations around the world. It is a Ronald Bussink series R60 wheel and needs no permanent foundations, instead 40,000 litres (8,800 imp gal; 11,000 US gal) (40 tonnes) of water ballast provide
91-561: The Wolfgang Puck restaurant chain. The entire structure is 175 (52.6 m) feet tall. The Capital Wheel arrived at National Harbor by two of Cianbro 's barges on February 18, 2014, pushed by a tugboat from Baltimore to National Harbor via the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River . Smith's Shipyard provided the 1,300 horsepower tug, named The Rising Sun and measuring 60 feet long by 22 feet wide (18.3m by 6.7m). Flexifloat made
104-540: The National Harbor, the Washington Monument , the city of Alexandria , and Georgetown University . The 165-foot (50.3 m) diameter wheel carries 42 climate-controlled passenger gondolas, each able to seat eight people, including a VIP gondola that can be rented for weddings or celebrations. The wheel has programmable special-effects lighting and seasonal concessions at the base of the ride from
117-625: The base, which weighs an additional 140 tons (127,006 kg). The structure's eight legs support a 95-foot (29 m) axle, which took a full day to install. Cianbro attached the Swiss-made passenger gondolas four at a time to the wheel structure, followed by a 90-degree wheel rotation, until wheel was fully assembled. Four 50-horsepower variable drive units rotate the Wheel at a speed of 1.5 rotations per minute. Each passenger ride lasts 12–15 minutes. The Capital Wheel has 1.6 million LED lights with
130-503: The following models: In 2008, the Wheels of Excellence range of giant wheels was acquired by Vekoma Rides Manufacturing . Vekoma created a new division, Dutch Wheels BV, to market giant wheels as stand alone attractions. As of 2012, Wheels of Excellence variants listed by Dutch Wheels BV were the R40, R50, and R60 models. Following the sale of the Wheels of Excellence range, Bussink founded
143-710: The operator, and their doors open facing the harbor, for an unobstructed view of the Washington Monument , U.S. Capitol , Alexandria, Virginia , and Prince George's County, Maryland . On its regular schedule as of June 2023, the Capital Wheel is open from 4 P.M. to 10 P.M. Monday through Thursday and 10 A.M. to 10 P.M. Friday through Sunday. Tickets cost $ 17 for adults and $ 13.50 for children. The VIP gondola costs $ 50 per person and can seat 4 people. For other quiescent (incomplete, delayed, stalled, cancelled, failed, or abandoned) proposals, see: Ferris wheel#Quiescent proposals Roue de Paris The Roue de Paris
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#1732800767702156-725: The two barges that Cianbro used to transport The Capital Wheel, one for the materials, measuring 50 feet (15 m) wide by 140 feet (43 m) long by 7 feet (2.1 m) deep, and one for the crane that lifted the components from the barge to the pier, measuring 60 feet (18 m) wide by 120 feet (37 m) long by 7 feet (2.1 m) deep. Cianbro's Manitowoc 4100 Series 2 crane has a maximum lifting capacity of 460,000 pounds. The materials barge carried 280,000 pounds (130,000 kg) of galvanized steel base and tower legs and other miscellaneous components weighing 120,000 pounds (54,000 kg) for The Capital Wheel. The Capital Wheel weighs approximately 320 tons (281,227 kg), exclusive of
169-503: Was then known as Ronald Bussink Professional Rides, a registered trademark of Ronald Bussink Aktiengesellschaft, which was subsequently renamed Professional Rides Aktiengesellschaft, RoBu Privat Equity AG and then RoBu AG. In 2008, following the sale of Bussink's Wheels of Excellence range to Vekoma , Bussink created a new company, Bussink Landmarks, to concentrate on the supply of observation wheels of 100 metres (328 ft) and greater in height. The Wheels of Excellence range included
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