The Flash: Vertical Velocity
The Flash: Vertical Velocity (formerly known as V2: Vertical Velocity) is a steel Inverted Impulse roller coaster located at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California. It is California's first and only Spiraling Impulse Coaster, built by Intamin and opened in 2001. It stands 150 ft tall (46 m) and reaches speeds of up to 70 mph (110 km/h). The ride is tied with Medusa and Superman: Ultimate Flight in the same park for tallest roller coaster in Northern California.
| The Flash: Vertical Velocity | |
|---|---|
 The Flash: Vertical Velocity as seen at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. | |
| Six Flags Discovery Kingdom | |
| Location | Six Flags Discovery Kingdom |
| Park section | DC Universe |
| Coordinates | 38.138170°N 122.232335°W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | 2001 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel – Launched – Inverted |
| Manufacturer | Intamin |
| Designer | Werner Stengel |
| Model | Shuttle coaster |
| Track layout | Twisted Impulse |
| Lift/launch system | LIM |
| Height | 150 ft (46 m) |
| Drop | 150 ft (46 m) |
| Length | 630 ft (190 m) |
| Speed | 65 mph (105 km/h) |
| Inversions | 1 |
| Duration | 1:10 |
| Max vertical angle | 90° |
| Capacity | 900 riders per hour |
| Acceleration | 0-60 mph in 4.0 seconds |
| Height restriction | 54–75 in (137–191 cm) |
| Trains | Single train with 7 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 28 riders per train. |
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| The Flash: Vertical Velocity at RCDB Pictures of The Flash: Vertical Velocity at RCDB | |
The ride
The roller coaster’s layout is akin to a large vertical U shape, that is loaded at the base and uses a series of LIMs to accelerate the train up each side of the track. One side of the track is twisted track (commonly called an inline twist) that ends in a straight section angled at about 45 degrees, the other side is a perfectly vertical straight track.[1] The train seats 28 riders in a standard overhead suspended design.
When it was installed the ride was 186 ft tall (57 m). Both sides of the track were vertical, the front tower twisted and the rear tower straight with a reverse LIM segment at the top (designed to hold the train momentarily). In 2002, the ride was temporarily closed while the track was modified from 186 feet (57 m) to the city ordinance limit of 150 feet (46 m). To lower the height, the front tower was tilted to a 45-degree angle and the reverse tower lowered to 150 feet (46 m).
For the 2007 season, V2 was repainted red with maroon supports. Before the repainting, it had yellow track with blue supports, which made this ride's paint scheme very similar to Wicked Twister at Cedar Point, which has yellow track and green supports.
Vertical Velocity closed for extensive refurbishment in early 2016, which included the removal and complete disassembly of the train. Sections of track and queue railings were also removed as part of this refurbishment.
On April 3rd, 2019, the park sent a newsletter announcing renovations to rebrand the coaster into The Flash: Vertical Velocity, which would open next to the park's new 4-D coaster, Batman: The Ride. The opening of the two coasters rebranded that area of the park to a DC Comics-themed land, standing along with Superman: Ultimate Flight, The Joker and the previous year's project, Harley Quinn Crazy Coaster. Vertical Velocity's supports were painted yellow for the new theme.