Flying roller coaster

A flying roller coaster is a type of roller coaster meant to simulate the sensations of flight by harnessing riders in a prone position during the duration of the ride. The roller coaster cars are suspended below the track, with riders secured such that their backs are parallel to the track.

Flying roller coaster
Manta, a flying coaster at SeaWorld Orlando.
Status	In Production
First manufactured	1997
No. of installations	26
Manufacturers	Bolliger & Mabillard (2002-), Vekoma (2000-), Zamperla (2002-)
Restraint Style	Over-the-shoulder (most common style)

History

The flying roller coaster is a relatively new concept. The world's first flying roller coaster was Skytrak, built in Manchester, United Kingdom at the Granada Studios Tour in 1997.[1] The Skytrak used a single-passenger car. Riders would climb into the car in much the same fashion as climbing a ladder, then the car would be raised up to the track before being dispatched. The single-passenger design kept the ride's capacity low, at only 240 riders per hour.[1] The park, and Skytrak itself, were short-lived; both closed in 1998.

Design

Vekoma

Coaster train on Firehawk at Kings Island in reclined position prior to leaving station. The train's direction of travel is to the right

Dutch roller coaster manufacturer Vekoma constructed the first large-scale flying roller coaster, Stealth, for California's Great America in 2000. Nicknamed the 'Flying Dutchman' by Vekoma, Stealth featured a higher-capacity train with four-across seating. Riders load the trains in an upright sitting position, facing the rear of the train. After the train is fully loaded, a mechanism in the station lower the seats to the track, with the riders on their backs facing the ceiling. After cresting the lift hill, the track twists 180 degrees to flip the riders into the flying position for the rest of the ride. Just prior to reaching the roller coaster's final brake run, the track twists again, such that riders are lying on their backs facing upward. After reaching the station, the seats are raised back to loading position.

Diagram showing the difference between a Vekoma Flying Dutchman and Bolliger & Mabillard Flying roller coaster

The harness system for the Vekoma flying roller coaster consists of two main elements: the lap bar and the chest harness. After being seated, the operator pulls down the lap bar, which is hinged on the floor of the train. The bar locks into slots in the sides of the seat and secures the waist. Halfway up the bar is a pair of leg restraints, which hold the legs in place during the ride. The rider then fastens the buckles to close the chest harness and secure the upper body. Hand grips are placed at the ends of the arm rests of each seat. Vekoma would expand upon the 'Flying Dutchman' prototype with two other installations in 2001, Batwing for Six Flags America and X-Flight for Geauga Lake. Of the three Vekoma Flying Dutchmans, only Batwing still operates at its original location: Stealth was relocated to Carowinds and renamed BORG Assimilator from 2004 to 2007, and now operates as Nighthawk, while X-Flight operated at Kings Island as Firehawk until October 28, 2018.

Vekoma has also designed a new, more compact flying roller coaster model nicknamed the 'Stingray'. Its first installation is at theSuzhou Giant Wheel Park in Suzhou, China, which opened on August 18, 2009. The ride was removed in 2018.[2]

Vekoma's flying roller coasters have a 54-inch height restriction.

Bolliger & Mabillard

Galactica at Alton Towers, Bolliger & Mabillard's first flying coaster

Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) unveiled its Flying Coaster model in 2002 with Air at Alton Towers (renamed Galactica in 2016), followed later in the year by Superman: Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Over Georgia. In this version, the rider takes a sitting position with their legs dangling in a similar fashion to B&M's inverted roller coaster. Mechanisms in the station lift the car up to the track, placing passengers in a flying position for the duration of the ride.

Flying roller coasters from B&M use a combination chest/waist harness that is hinged above the riders' heads. Once seated, the rider pulls down the harness, which (like the Vekoma model) locks into slots in the sides of the armrests. This single mechanism locks the rider's waist in place with a large padded cushion and provides a rubberized padded vest to secure the chest. The vest includes seat-belt-style tensioners above the shoulders to support a wider range of body types. At the ankles, two flaps hold the legs in position, and close as the harness is locked in place. Tatsu at Six Flags Magic Mountain was the world's longest flying coaster until The Flying Dinosaur at Universal Studios Japan surpassed it in March 2016.

Bolliger & Mabillard currently holds the record for the longest, tallest and fastest flying roller coaster in the world, Flying Dinosaur, at Universal Studios Japan.

Zamperla

A Zamperla flying coaster, Soarin' Eagle, when it operated as Flying Coaster at Elitch Gardens.

Italy's Zamperla produces a flying roller coaster model dubbed 'Volare' (Italian for "to fly"). Riders lie down in the cars, which hang from an upper rail at a 45 degree angle. The car is then lifted up into a flying position while holding the riders inside. This model is very compact and affordable (estimated to be US$6 million) and comes with a unique spiral lift hill in which a tall spinning column with 2 vertical poles connected to it which push the cars up the spiral track. The minimum rider height requirement is 50 inches tall.

Installations

A former Vekoma flying roller coaster, X-Flight formerly at Geauga Lake.

A Bolliger & Mabillard roller coaster, Superman: Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Over Georgia.

Name	Park	Manufacturer	Opened	Status	Ref(s)
Skytrak	Granada Studios	Skytrak International	1997	Demolished	[3]
Komet	Encounter Zone	Select Contracts	1998	Demolished	[4]
Batwing	Six Flags America	Vekoma	2001	Operating	[5]
Galactica Formerly Air	Alton Towers	Bolliger & Mabillard	2002	Operating	[6]
Superman: Ultimate Flight	Six Flags Over Georgia	Bolliger & Mabillard	2002	Operating	[7]
Superman: Ultimate Flight	Six Flags Great Adventure	Bolliger & Mabillard	2003	Operating	[8]
Superman: Ultimate Flight	Six Flags Great America	Bolliger & Mabillard	2003	Operating	[9]
Hexenbesen	Erlebniswelt Seilbahnen Thale	Wiegand	2003	Operating	[10]
Nighthawk Formerly Stealth	Carowinds California's Great America	Vekoma	2004 2000	Operating Closed 2003	[11][12]
Super Flight	Playland	Zamperla	2004	Operating	[13]
Time Warp	Canada's Wonderland	Zamperla	2004	Operating	[14]
Volare	Wiener Prater	Zamperla	2004	Operating	[15]
Trombi	Särkänniemi	Zamperla	2005	Operating	[16]
Tatsu	Six Flags Magic Mountain	Bolliger & Mabillard	2006	Operating	[17]
Crystal Wing	Happy Valley Beijing	Bolliger & Mabillard	2006	Operating	[18]
Firehawk Formerly X-Flight	Kings Island Geauga Lake	Vekoma	2007 2001	Demolished Closed 2006	[19][20][21]
Manta	Sea World Orlando	Bolliger & Mabillard	2009	Operating	[22]
Stingray	Suzhou Giant Wheel Park	Vekoma	2009	Demolished	[23]
Inertia Airplane Car	Kaeson Youth Park	Zamperla	2010	Operating	[24]
Sky Scrapper	World Joyland	Bolliger & Mabillard	2011	Operating	[25]
Soarin' Eagle Formerly Flying Coaster	Luna Park, Coney Island Elitch Gardens	Zamperla	2011 2002	Operating Closed 2003	[26][27]
Hero	Flamingo Land Resort	Zamperla	2013	Operating	[28]
Acrobat	Nagashima Spa Land	Bolliger & Mabillard	2015	Operating	[29]
Harpy	Xishuangbanna Theme Park	Bolliger & Mabillard	2015	Operating	[30]
The Flying Dinosaur	Universal Studios Japan	Bolliger & Mabillard	2016	Operating	[31]
Super Glider Formerly Flying Coaster	Skytropolis Funland Genting Theme Park	Zamperla	2019 2004	Under Construction Closed 2013	[32]
Volare	Wonderland Eurasia	Zamperla	2019	Operating
F.L.Y.	Phantasialand	Vekoma	2020	Under Construction

References

1. "Skytrak". www.rcdb.com. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
2. Marden, Duane. "Stingray  (Giant Wheel Park of Suzhou)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
3. Marden, Duane. "Skytrak  (Granada Studios)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
4. Marden, Duane. "Komet  (Encounter Zone)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
5. Marden, Duane. "Batwing  (Six Flags America)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
6. Marden, Duane. "Galactica  (Alton Towers)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
7. Marden, Duane. "Superman: Ultimate Flight  (Six Flags Over Georgia)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
8. Marden, Duane. "Superman: Ultimate Flight  (Six Flags Great Adventure)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
9. Marden, Duane. "Superman: Ultimate Flight  (Six Flags Great America)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
10. Marden, Duane. "Hexenbesen  (Erlebniswelt Seilbahnen Thale)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
11. Marden, Duane. "Nighthawk  (Carowinds)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
12. Marden, Duane. "Stealth  (California's Great America)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
13. Marden, Duane. "Super Flight  (Playland)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
14. Marden, Duane. "Time Warp  (Canada's Wonderland)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
15. Marden, Duane. "Volare  (Wiener Prater)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
16. Marden, Duane. "Trombi  (Särkänniemi)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
17. Marden, Duane. "Tatsu  (Six Flags Magic Mountain)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
18. Marden, Duane. "Crystal Wing  (Happy Valley)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
19. Marden, Duane. "Firehawk  (Kings Island)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
20. Marden, Duane. "X-Flight  (Geauga Lake)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
21. "Lv.35 Boss on Instagram: "#firehawk #kingsisland #ripfirehawk #itsbigitsgone #demolition #rip #rollercoaster"". Instagram. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
22. Marden, Duane. "Manta  (Sea World Orlando)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
23. Marden, Duane. "Stingray  (Suzhou Giant Wheel Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
24. Marden, Duane. "Inertia Airplane Car  (Kaeson Youth Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
25. Marden, Duane. "Sky Scrapper  (World Joyland)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
26. Marden, Duane. "Soarin' Eagle  (Scream Zone)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
27. Marden, Duane. "Flying Coaster  (Elitch Gardens)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
28. Marden, Duane. "Hero  (Flamingo Land Resort)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
29. Marden, Duane. "Acrobat  (Nagashima Spa Land)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
30. Marden, Duane. "Harpy  (Xishuangbanna Theme Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
31. Marden, Duane. "The Flying Dinosaur  (Universal Studios Japan)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
32. Marden, Duane. "Flying Coaster  (Genting Theme Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 March 2015.