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A zip-line (also known as a flying fox, foefie slide, zip wire, aerial runway, aerial ropeslide, death slide or Tyrolean crossing)^[1][2][3] consists of a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on an incline. It is designed to enable a user propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bottom of the inclined cable by holding onto, or attaching to, the freely moving pulley. Zip-lines come in many forms, most often used as a means of entertainment. They may be short and low, intended for child's play and found on some playgrounds. Longer and higher rides are often used as a means of accessing remote areas, such as a rainforest canopy. Zip-line tours are becoming popular vacation activities, found at outdoor adventure camps or upscale resorts, where they may be an element on a larger challenge or ropes course.^[4]

Flying fox[link]

The term "flying fox" is most commonly used in reference to a small-scale zip line typically used as an item of children's play equipment, except in Australia and New Zealand where it also refers to professional forms of zip-line equipment.^{[citation needed]}

In a flying fox the pulley(s), attached to the car, is fixed to the cable. The car itself can consist of anything from a simple hand grip, with the user hanging underneath, or a bucket for transporting small items to a quite elaborate construction, perhaps including a seat or a safety strap. Children's versions are usually not set up with a steep incline, so the speeds are kept relatively low, negating the need for a means of stopping.

In order to be propelled by gravity, the cable needs to be on a fairly steep slope. Even then the car will generally not travel completely to the end (although this will depend on the load), and some means of safely stopping the car at the bottom end is sometimes needed. It can be returned by several means, a line leading from the car to the uphill end being the simplest.

These are usually made with rope instead of steel cable to make it easier and cheaper to install, uninstall and transport.

Professional courses[link]

Professional zip-line in Costa Rica

Zip-line set-up in Costa Rica

Professional versions of a zip-line are most typically used as an outdoor adventure activity. In contrast to "flying foxes" professional courses are usually operated at higher speeds covering much longer distances and sometimes at considerable heights. The users are physically attached to the cable by wearing a harness which attaches to a removable trolley. A helmet is required on almost all courses of any size.

Cables can be very high, starting at a height of over 30 feet (9 m), and travelling well over 1500 feet (457 m). All zip line cables have some degree of sag. The proper tensioning of a cable is important and allows the ability to tune the ride of a zip line.

Users of zip-lines must have means of stopping themselves. Typical mechanisms include:

• Friction created between the pulley against the cable.
• Thick purpose-built leather gloves.
• A mat or netting at the lower end of the incline.
• An arrester system composed of springs, pulleys, counterweights, bungee cord or other devices, which slows then stops the trolley's motion.
• Gravity stop utilizing the inherent nature of the sag in the cable. The belly of the cable is always lower than the termination point. The amount of uphill on a zip line controls the speed at which the user arrives at the termination point.

Also a user can be stopped with a hand brake at the end of the zipline (operated by someone else) in case he fails to do any of the above.

Ziplines are a common way to return participants to the ground at the end of a ropes adventure course.

With proper knowledge and training on the part of the operators and good maintenance Ziplines are safe and easy to use.

Records[link]

As of 2012, the Unreal Zip 2000 is advertised as the longest and fastest in the world. Located in Sun City, South Africa, it is 2000 m long (about 1.25 miles), 280 m high (about 918 feet), with an average speed of 120 km/h (about 75 mph).^[5][6]

History[link]

The zip-wire is not a recent invention. It has been used as a transportation method in some mountainous countries. In some remote areas in China, zip lines serve the purposes of bridges across rivers. Referred to as "an inclined strong",^[7] one appears in The Invisible Man by H.G Wells, published in 1897, as part of a Whit-Monday fair.

In 1739, Robert Cadman, a steeplejack and ropeslider, died when descending from Shrewsbury's St Mary’s Church when his rope snapped.

Alberto Santos-Dumont used a direct ancestor of the zip-line in the spring of 1906 for a method of testing various characteristics of his 14bis pioneer era canard biplane, before it ever flew under its own power later that year.

In past days in the Australian outback, flying foxes were occasionally used for delivering food, cigarettes or tools to people working on the other side of an obstacle such as a gully or river. Australian troops have used them to deliver food, mail and even ammunition to forward positions in several conflicts.

Zip line trolley[link]

The zip line trolley is the frame or assembly together with the pulley(s) aka sheave(s) inside that run along the cable. (The term "trolley" is more often used when this assembly consists of more than a single pulley with simple hanger and bearing.) Often more than one pulley is used to spread the load over more than just one spot on the cable and reduce cable bending stresses that may lead to metal fatigue and cable breakage. This also reduces any tendency of a pulley to twist sideways and run up and off of the cable with obvious disastrous results. In addition, the trolley is usually shaped or has protrusions or parts to hold the cable in the groove(s) of the pulley(s).

A pivoting link, such as a carabiner, is used to secure the load to the trolley so that the trolley does not have a tendency to rock in a manner that it may fall off of the cable if the load should sway. Load carriers ranging from enclosed cabins to gondolas to harnesses are attached to the link. Occasionally the load carrier is just a handhold or handlebar although there is the danger of the rider's losing his grip and falling. Such a simple carrier should only be used on zip lines that are low to the ground or over water.

Some zip lines are used for transportation while others are purely for recreation and amusement.

See also[link]

• Canopy tour
• Aerial adventure park
• Ropes course
• Bosun's chair
• I Should Have Never Gone Ziplining (South Park episode)

Recreational[link]

• ACE Adventure Resort, Thurmond, West Virginia, United States
• Wild Canyon Adventures, Los Cabos, Mexico
• New York ZipLine Adventure Tours
• Big Foot Zipline, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, United States
• Black Mountain Thunder, Harlan County, Kentucky, United States
• Smoky Mountain Ziplines, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, United States
• Zipline USA, Missouri, United States
• Zipline Los Cabos, México
• Vallarta Adventures, Puerto Vallarta, México
• Canopy Ridge Farm, Lake Lure, North Carolina, United States
• Mount Hermon Redwood Canopy Tours, Felton, California, United States
• Navitat Canopy Adventures, Asheville, North Carolina, United States
• Navitat Canopy Adventures, Wrightwood, California, United States
• Aerial Trek Zipline Adventures, Jack-in-the-Box Gully, St. Thomas, Barbados
• Hollybank Treetops Adventure, Tasmania, Australia
• Otway Fly Zip Line Tour, Victoria, Australia
• Margarita Adventures, Santa Margarita, California, United States
• Bootleg Canyon, Boulder City, Nevada, United States
• Challenge Design Innovations Pineola,North Carolina,United States
• Zipzone Adventure Park, Peachland British Columbia, Canada
• Go Ape, USA and UK
• GoZip Hawaii
• Hirschgrund Zipline Area - Germanys longest Ziplines, Black forest, Germany

Transportational[link]

• Yungas, Bolivia, system of zip lines used for transporting harvested crops.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zip-line

Look up flying fox in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• The zip-line as a transportation system
• Smugglers busted over zip wire border racket Reuters 29 May 2008
• Video: Short documentary on riding a zip line
• Zip-line industry has another side to it Vancouver Sun 13 May 2008
• ‘Polarizing' zipline plan aired in Chase Kamloops Daily News 22 February 2011
• Zip-line in Slovakia

How to build

• Zipline.Info has a nice sketch of a basic layout
• Illustrated Guide for building a homemade zip line
• Scoutbase: Advice on rope constructed rides
• Zip line construcction in México and América Latina
• Zip-Line construction in USA