Neat project builds a rideable coaster in the guy's back yard.

This isn't breaking news by any means, but it's still pretty awesome if you like roller coasters.

I originally found-out about John Ivers and his personal coaster several years ago when a family member sent a newspaper clipping from their local paper who did a story on the Blue Flash coaster. Obviously, a printed article just doesn't cut it when you want to see it working, so when I found this video, I had to post it.

John, who has a background working on cars, applied his everyday knowledge and a pile of extra steel to build the Blue Flash "from the seat of his pants." There are a few design mistakes in the home-built coaster, such as the circular loop which are generally not used for good reason (most modern loops are a teardrop shape) but it's still impressive that he built a working ride. It goes to show that with a bit of common sense and a lifetime of building things, you can come "pretty close" to what the engineers do.

It looks very rough to ride, which you can see when the children's heads are flailing around, but possibly no rougher than when I rode the Desperado in Vegas this past summer (holy cow that was rough - I got a headache after riding that!)

More info on the Blue Flash home-built rollercoaster.