Bright Spot: Pilot dad builds backyard roller coaster for kids

BRIGHTON, CO (WFSB) – A longtime pilot is proving he’s very creative on the ground, while setting parenting expectations sky high.

At the Brazelton home outside Brighton, the idea of fun is reaching new heights each and every day.

No matter how many twists and turns, three-year-old West can’t get enough.

His dad, Scott on the other hand, has his limits. “We basically go until I get tired because he never gets tired of it.”

A wood and PVC pipe rollercoaster is the culmination of months of hard work and ingenuity.

At 9.5 feet high and 200 feet long, it was a true father-son project from the start. “When they’re three years old, they don’t help that much but they’ll help paint or they’ll hand you some tools, and it’s just a neat way to bond.”

It’s also a labor of love he’s done before, building his first coaster five years ago for his other son, Wyatt.

“I’d carry it over there and my dad would put it on, so that was a fun part of it.”

“It’s just so much more fun than a treehouse for a kid,” Scott said, “because they don’t have to use their imagination, they’re just having fun the whole time.”

While Wyatt had a propeller plane, West chose something much more familiar. The tricolor stripes and Southwest heart, an ode to the planes his dad flies every day.

“It’s just a barrel that I cut the top off of, this is a planter, this is a smaller planter...”

Now West can’t get enough, taking to the skies even more than his dad.

“When they like it and the lightbulb goes on for them, that they have this in their yard, it’s a really rewarding feeling, said Scott. “You only live once, and you might as well do some crazy projects. My motto is, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing. No regrets.”

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