Stealth is a

launched roller coaster The launched roller coaster is a type of roller coaster that initiates a ride with high amounts of acceleration via one or a series of linear induction motors (LIM), linear synchronous motors (LSM), catapults, tires, chains, or other mechanism ...

in the Amity area of

Thorpe Park Thorpe Park, formerly also known as Thorpe Park Resort, is a theme park located in the village of Thorpe between the towns of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England, southwest of Central London. It is operated by Merlin Entertai ...

located in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England. Built and designed by

Intamin Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein, best-known for designing and constructing Amusement ride, thrill rides and roller coasters at dozens of international theme parks, amusement parks and other e ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

for £12 million, the

Accelerator Coaster An Accelerator Coaster is a hydraulically launched roller coaster model from Intamin. The model usually consists of a long, straight launch track, a ''top hat'' tower element, and magnetic brakes that smoothly stop the train without making con ...

model opened in 2006 as the fastest roller coaster in the UK before being passed by Hyperia in 2024. It is also the third tallest in the UK after Hyperia and the Big One at

Blackpool Pleasure Beach Pleasure Beach Resort, best known by its former name Blackpool Pleasure Beach, is an amusement park situated on Blackpool's South Shore, in the county of Lancashire, North West England. The park was founded in 1896 by A. W. G. Bean and his p ...

. It reaches a height of and accelerates from 0 to . Riders experience a maximum of 4.7 ''g''.

Ride experience

As the train enters the loading platform, a pre-boarding announcement plays with boarding instructions for riders to secure their restraints as the gates open soon after the train parks. In the background plays noises of a car engine revving with sounds of the pit crew performing maintenance on the vehicle. A voice instructs riders to "Place your heads back, face forwards, hold on tight and brace yourselves!" Once boarding is complete the launch sequence is started, the train rolls forward and then backwards to engage onto the Catch-car below while the brake fins on the launch track retract in two stages, the launch countdown plays with the voice instructing riders to place their heads back and to face forwards, 5 sets of red traffic lights above the train start illuminating one by one. The traffic lights then turn green, the voice enthusiastically shouts "Go, Go, Go!" and the train is launched, rapidly accelerating from 0 to 80 mph (130 km/h). The train goes up the 62.5-metre (205 ft) top hat, turning 90 degrees to the left. After cresting the top hat, it turns 90 degrees to the left again, before reaching the bottom of the top hat and the final airtime hill. After cresting the airtime hill, the train enters the brake run, slowing down before entering the unload station with riders being instructed to undo their seatbelts. The ride's layout is similar to

Kingda Ka Kingda Ka was a hydraulically-launched steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, United States. Manufactured by Intamin and designed by Werner Stengel, Kingda Ka opened as the in the world on May 21, 200 ...

, although narrower in scope. During events a different launch announcements are used: * During Carnival, the countdown is done in the style of a Carnival display * During Oktoberfest, the countdown is done in German. * During Fright Nights, a more spooky announcement is used.

Rollbacks

Intamin roller coasters with a top hat element, such as Stealth, may experience an occasional

rollback In political science, rollback is the strategy of forcing a change in the major policies of a state, usually by replacing its ruling regime. It contrasts with containment, which means preventing the expansion of that state; and with détente, ...

. This occurs when a launched train fails to make it over the top hat element, and it is usually caused by the slowing of the train due to unfavorable weather conditions including colder temperatures, strong winds, and precipitation. The launch track is equipped with retractable brake fins that deploy after a train is launched, able to stop the train if it returns due to a rollback. The train will then be launched a second time with enough power to clear the top hat. After a rollback occurs, the capacity of each train may be restricted until conditions improve.

2024 revamp

For the 2024 season, Stealth's station and entrance areas were completely repainted and the theming has been enhanced as part of the Sparkle Project, an ongoing scheme to give the park a facelift. Thorpe_Park_Stealth_2024-03-25

References

External links

Stealth at Thorpe Park
{{Intamin Roller coasters operated by Merlin Entertainments Roller coasters in the United Kingdom Roller coasters introduced in 2006 Thorpe Park roller coasters