Great Gasp, Para tower at Six Flags Over Georgia, US.

Great Gasp was a drop-tower ride at Six Flags Over Georgia that lifted passengers about 225 feet into the air in gondolas. From that height, they experienced a controlled free-fall descent with full safety harnesses and restraints in place.

The ride opened in 1976 and thrilled guests for nearly three decades at the park. It closed permanently in 2005, marking the end of a memorable era for the theme park.

The ride was derived from the Parachute Jump at Coney Island in New York, not from the 1939 World's Fair. Engineers at Intamin in Switzerland developed the design, and Six Flags Over Georgia management ordered it after visiting their headquarters. The park built it for $1.5 million, and similar Parachute Drop rides went up at Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags Over Mid-America.

Each chute held two riders, secured by a seat belt and a restraint bar, and stationary cables kept it aligned while another cable moved it vertically. The control system blocked cycling of empty or overloaded seats, and an anemometer at the top stopped operation when wind gusted above a preset limit. A small elevator inside the tower served the winch and motor housing.

The tower doubled as an antenna mast for the park's in-park radio communications, and an anemometer at its top fed wind readings to the control system, which stopped the ride when gusts passed a preset limit. A small elevator inside served the winch and motor housing.