Stealth (roller coaster)

Stealth is a launched roller coaster in the Amity area of Thorpe Park located in Surrey, England. Built and designed by Intamin of Switzerland for £12 million, the Accelerator Coaster model opened in 2006, a year after another Accelerator, Rita, opened at sister park Alton Towers. It reaches a height of 62.5 metres (205 ft) and accelerates from 0 to 80 mph (129 km/h) in 1.9 seconds.[1] It is the fastest roller coaster in the UK, and the second tallest after the Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.[2]

This article is about the launched roller coaster at Thorpe Park. For the flying roller coaster formerly at Paramount's Great America, see Nighthawk (roller coaster).

Stealth
Stealth at Thorpe Park
Thorpe Park
LocationThorpe Park
Park sectionAmity
Coordinates51.405°N 0.515278°W / 51.405; -0.515278
StatusOperating
Opening date15 March 2006 (2006-03-15)
Cost£12 Million
General statistics
TypeSteel – Launched
ManufacturerIntamin
DesignerWerner Stengel
ModelAccelerator Coaster
Lift/launch systemHydraulic launch track
Height62.5 m (205 ft)
Length400.0 m (1,312.3 ft)
Speed80 mph (129 km/h)
Inversions0
Max vertical angle90°
Acceleration0 to 80 mph (0 to 129 km/h) in 1.9 seconds
Trains3 (max 2 in operation) trains with 5 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 20 riders per train.
ThemeSpeedway
WebsiteOfficial website
Fastrack available
Wheelchair accessible
Must transfer from wheelchair
Stealth at RCDB
Pictures of Stealth at RCDB

Ride experience

After passengers are securely restrained, the launch sequence begins when the brake fins are retracted as the train attaches to the catch car. Overhead, a series of five red lights illuminate one by one in a horizontal row as a recording states, "Place your heads back, face forwards, hold on tight and brace yourself." Shortly after, a second row of green lights begin to illuminate as the American-accented announcer in the recording enthusiastically shouts "Three, two, one ... Go, go, go!" The train accelerates to 80 mph (130 km/h) in 1.9 seconds into a steep, vertical top hat element. The train then turns 90 degrees to the left as it crests the top hat. It makes another 90-degree left turn as it descends down the other side of the element. After bottoming out, the train enters an airtime hill, which produces a brief sensation of weightlessness before the train enters the magnetic brake run and returns to the station.

Rollbacks

As with many Intamin Launch Coasters, Stealth experiences occasional rollbacks, which occur when a train is unable to complete the course, specifically failing to make it over the top hat element as a result of energy loss. Occurrences are rare, and there is a braking system in place on the launch side of the track to safely bring the roller coaster back to a complete stop. However rollbacks are safe, and all staff/engineers are trained to safely evacuate guests off the train.[3]

gollark: Slowmode makes that a bit harder, but oh well.
gollark: Hmm. Well. I don't think we have much evidence of this.
gollark: You're unlikely to get here without being persistently annoying.
gollark: It was 1 day yesterday at 22:20 or whatever. It will soon be 2 at that time today. On monday it'll become 3.
gollark: Yes, because you are.

References
  1. "Stealth - Thorpe Park (Chertsey, Surrey, England, United Kingdom)". rcdb.com. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  2. "Stealth: Your questions". Stealth.thorpepark.com. August 2005. Archived from the original on 9 July 2006. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  3. "Stealth rollback (Thorpe park)". YouTube.com. 10 April 2006. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
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