User:Martin451/Sandbox
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Copy of Observation wheel before redirect added.
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An observation wheel is a type of Ferris wheel, a large slowly rotating and vertically oriented nonbuilding structure carrying passengers in capsules, cars, or gondolas around its circumference, named after its inventor George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr.
Some operators prefer the term observation wheel to Ferris wheel, and large Ferris wheels are sometimes marketed as observation wheels to differentiate them from smaller Ferris wheels, however the two are actually the same, and any distinction between the two names is at the discretion of the wheel operator. Indeed, many of the wheels whose owners reject the term Ferris wheel actually have more in common with the original Chicago Ferris wheel of 1893, particularly in terms of being an iconic landmark for a city or event.
The 165 metres (541 ft) Singapore Flyer, completed in 2008, is described as an observation wheel by its operators[1], and is the world's tallest.
The 135 metres (443 ft) London Eye is also described as an observation wheel by its operators[2], and was the world's tallest wheel from 1999 to 2006. Its great popularity led to a number of other cities (including Belfast, Birmingham, Kuala Lumpur, Las Vegas, Manchester, Melbourne, Moscow, Nanchang, Shanghai, Singapore, and York) installing, or proposing to install, large (50 m or higher) wheels. The proposed Birmingham wheel would perhaps be the most unusual, as it would be fixed in place while the pods would move around the circumference along a rail track.
The 160 metres (525 ft) Star of Nanchang (in China) was the world's tallest wheel from 2006 until 2008, but is usually referred to as a Ferris wheel, and less commonly as an observation wheel.
