- Born on August 22nd, 1936, the 23-year-old Werner Stengel began to hone his skills at the University of Kassel, Germany, where he matriculated as an engineering student from 1959 until 1962. He continued his studies as a "Diploma Engineer" at the University of Munich from 1962 to 1966. It's a testament to his skills that before he'd even finished this program, his professional career had taken flight. In 1965, Stengel's consulting office opened its doors and that same year, the company dove into its first coaster project: Anton Schwarzkopf's compact steel Wild Cat.
By 1983, Stengel had founded a second company with Paul Morsbach. "Amusement Park Safety Consultants" was created exclusively to perform safety inspections at amusement parks in England, France, Belgium and The Netherlands, and operated until 1992.
In 1988, he became a member of the "Strain of Passengers Limit Values for Roller Coasters" research group and in 1992, he received Germany's Appreciation of Engineer Award for the "Quintuple Loop Roller Coaster," known to you and I as the awesome Olympia Looping. And 1995 saw him become a member of yet another safety-related group, the European Committee for Standardization: "Fairground and Amusement Park Machinery and Structures - Safety."
Partnered with various ride manufacturers, Stengel has developed over 130 different types of mini-coasters and "spin 'n spew" attractions, including such favorites as the Bobsled; Calypso; Galaxy; Octopus; Chair-O-Plane; Round-Up; Alpenblitz; Paratrooper; Enterprise; Wave Swinger; Musik Express; Pirate-Boat; Polyp; Spider; Flying Carpet; Matterhorn; Waikiki Wave; and the Super-Flip.
- Stengel's work in the amusement park industry earns him the respect
of being a Great Mind.
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