Antique Flexible Flyer Wood Snow Sled with steelnon-safety runners Flexible Flyer. Made in the USA In performance, the Racer was the top of the Flexible Flyer line.S L Allen & Co introduced the Racer in 1908 when it introduced the patented grooved runner and "gooseneck" bend at the runner's front tip. Racers did not sport fancy scrollwork, as did the standard models. Instead, they bore the swift red arrow that was to adorn all Flexible Flyers by the end of the 1930s. The Racer weighed less than two-thirds of an equivalently sized standard model, but it had inches more runner forward of the supports giving it superior steering.