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Giovanola
Giovanola Frères SA was a prominent steel manufacturing company based in Monthey, Switzerland. It was known for building electrical power stations, water storage tanks, pipelines, boilers, highway bridges, submarines, ski lifts and many other steel products. The company started out as a small metal forging shop, founded by Joseph Giovanola in 1888. Joseph Sr. died in 1904, and the company was taken over by his sons, the eldest of which, Joseph Jr., was just 17 years of age. By 1930 the company had grown to the point that it required a new factory which was constructed in Monthey. Giovanola built several submarines: the ''Auguste Piccard'', the ''Ben Franklin'' and the ''F.-A. Forel''. Amusement rides In the 1980s Giovanola entered the ride market serving as a subcontractor to Intamin, providing structural steel and parts for its roller coasters and other rides such as swinging ships. Giovanola also fabricated entire rides such as the FreeFall which was also marketed by Inta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bolliger & Mabillard
Bolliger & Mabillard, officially Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers, Inc. and often abbreviated B&M, is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by engineers Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, both of whom had worked for Giovanola. B&M has pioneered several new ride technologies, most notably the inverted roller coaster and the box-section track. In 2016, the company completed its 100th roller coaster. B&M currently produces ten types of coaster models: stand-up roller coaster, Stand-Up Coaster, Inverted Coaster, Floorless Coaster, flying roller coaster, Flying Coaster, hypercoaster, Hyper Coaster, Dive Coaster, Sitting Coaster, Wing Coaster, Family Coaster, and most recently, the Surf Coaster. Though B&M has not used the term, the company has also manufactured three Roller coaster#Giga coaster, giga coasters. History Roots Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard started working for Giovanola, a manufacturing co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goliath (Magic Mountain)
Goliath is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park in Valencia, California. Manufactured by Giovanola of Switzerland, the hypercoaster is located in the Goliath Plaza section of the park and opened to the public on February 11, 2000. Its sub-tropical theme is characterized by ancient ruins of the Mayan civilization. The ride is nearly identical to Titan at Six Flags Over Texas, but it lacks a 540-degree upward helix prior to the mid-course brake run and features a slightly shorter track layout. For a brief period, Goliath was widely recognized for having the longest drop at and the fastest speed of among all closed-circuit roller coasters in the world. Millennium Force at Cedar Point eclipsed both records several months later when it debuted on May 13, 2000, with a drop of and a maximum speed of . Still, Goliath remains among the tallest roller coasters in the world. History On January 29, 1999, Giovanola roller coaster track arrived at Six Fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goliath (Six Flags Magic Mountain)
Goliath is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park in Valencia, California, Valencia, California. Manufactured by Giovanola of Switzerland, the hypercoaster is located in the Goliath Plaza section of the park and opened to the public on February 11, 2000. Its sub-tropical theme is characterized by ancient ruins of the Mayan civilization. The ride is nearly identical to Titan (Six Flags Over Texas), Titan at Six Flags Over Texas, but it lacks a 540-degree upward helix prior to the mid-course brake run and features a slightly shorter track layout. For a brief period, Goliath was widely recognized for having the longest drop at and the fastest speed of among all closed-circuit roller coasters in the world. Millennium Force at Cedar Point eclipsed both records several months later when it debuted on May 13, 2000, with a drop of and a maximum speed of . Still, Goliath remains among the tallest roller coasters in the world. History On January 29, 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Titan (Six Flags Over Texas)
Titan is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. Built by Giovanola and designed by Werner Stengel, the hypercoaster features an out and back and twister track layout, a drop, and a maximum speed of . Titan opened as the tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster in Texas. History Six Flags Over Texas made plans to add a hypercoaster to the park's lineup with an early proposal from Arrow Dynamics, placing a new roller coaster over the park's reservoir next to the Judge Roy Scream attraction. In August 2000, the park publicly revealed their plans in celebration of the park's 40th anniversary. Although specifications were withheld, they confirmed Giovanola as the manufacturer and that the new coaster would be similar to Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain and constructed in the Texas section of the park. As survey markers began to appear in September, it became clear that the new coaster would extend from the Texas section to the employee c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auguste Piccard (PX-8)
The ''Auguste Piccard'' mesoscaphe, also known simply as the ''Mésoscaphe'', was a crewed underwater submarine designed in 1964 by Jacques Piccard, son of Auguste Piccard. It was the world's first passenger submarine, built for Expo64, the 1964 Swiss national exhibition in Lausanne. It was built at the Giovanola fabrication plant in Monthey and the first immersion took place in Le Bouveret on 27 February 1964. It has a total of 45 Plexiglas portholes, with 20 on each side for the 40 passengers. The ''Auguste Piccard'' achieved 1,100 dives in Lake Geneva with 33,000 visitors in 1964 and 1965, to a depth of approximately 150 metres. The ride cost 40 Swiss francs and was the hit of the national exhibition. From 1969 to 1984, it achieved scientific and industrial observation dives in the Gulf of Mexico. The ship is currently on display at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Six Flags Magic Mountain, formerly known and colloquially referred to as simply Magic Mountain, is a amusement park located in Valencia, California, northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It opened on May 29, 1971, as a development of the Newhall Land and Farming Company and SeaWorld, Sea World Inc. In 1979, Six Flags purchased the park and added "Six Flags" to the park's name. With 19 roller coasters, Six Flags Magic Mountain holds the world record for most roller coasters in an amusement park. It became the first amusement park to offer 20 roller coasters with the opening of Wonder Woman Flight of Courage, Wonder Woman: Flight of Courage in 2022. It previously offered 20 roller coasters before the 2019 removal of Green Lantern: First Flight (roller coaster), Green Lantern: First Flight. Then again it previously offered 20 roller coasters before the 2025 removal of Superman: Escape from Krypton. In 2019, the park had an estimated 3.61 million visitors, ranking it fifteenth in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Franklin (PX-15)
The ''Ben Franklin'' mesoscaphe, also known as the ''Grumman/Piccard PX-15'', is a crewed underwater submersible, built in 1968. It was the brainchild of explorer and inventor Jacques Piccard. The research vessel was designed to house a six-man crew for up to 30 days of oceanographic study in the depths of the Gulf Stream. NASA became involved, seeing this as an opportunity to study the effects of long-term, continuous close confinement, a useful simulation of long space flights. The ship was named after American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. Design and operation The ''Ben Franklin'' was built between 1966 and 1968 at the Giovanola fabrication plant in Monthey, Switzerland by Piccard and the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation headed by Donald B Terrana, then disassembled and shipped to Florida. The vessel is the first submarine to be built to American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) standards. With a design crush depth of , it was designed to drift along at neutral buoyan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freefall (ride)
The Freefall is an amusement ride developed by Giovanola and marketed throughout the world by Swiss company Intamin. It was a common ride at major amusement parks until the late 1990s, when the classic freefall rides began being replaced with larger, higher-capacity Drop Tower alternatives. Since then, Freefalls have been disappearing from midways, to be replaced by the newer-technology rides such as the Intamin Giant Drop (2nd generation), Gyro Drop (3rd generation), and the S&S Power series of compressed-air tower rides. Currently, Demon Drop at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom; ''Hollywood Action Tower'' at Movieland Park, Italy; ''Freefall'' at Rusutsu Resort, Japan;'' Free Fall'' at Central Park, Japan; and ''Free Fall'' at Nagashima Spa Land, Japan; are the only remaining Intamin first-generation Freefall rides in operation. Ride description The ride can accommodate up to four riders, and consists of three main sections: the loading and unloading station, the lift tow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gold Reef City
Gold Reef City is an amusement park in Johannesburg, South Africa. Located on an old gold mine which closed in 1971, the park is themed around the gold rush that started in 1886 on the Witwatersrand, and the buildings in the park are designed to mimic this period. There is a museum dedicated to gold mining on the grounds where it is possible to see a gold-containing ore vein and see how gold is poured into barrels. There are many attractions at Gold Reef City, including water rides, roller coasters, and the famous Gold Reef City Casino. Gold Reef City is located to the south of Johannesburg's Central Business District off the M1. It is also the site of the Apartheid Museum. Rides and attractions Some of the popular rides at the theme park include: * The Anaconda, the world's only Giovanola inverted coaster. * Golden Loop, a Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop coaster. Originally White Lightnin' at Carowinds. * Jozi Express, a high-speed roller coaster built and manufactured b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flashback (Six Flags Magic Mountain)
Flashback was a steel roller coaster made by Intamin of Switzerland. The coaster was located in the Six Flags Plaza area of Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. The model of the ride, a Space Diver coaster, was intended to be mass-produced, however, Flashback was the only installation. History Six Flags Great America (1985–1987) Flashback first opened in 1985 at Six Flags Great America (at Gurnee, Illinois) as Z-Force. It was a prototype Space Diver that was purchased from the Intamin testing facility. In 1987, the ride was closed. The site was later used for a Bolliger & Mabillard stand-up roller coaster named Iron Wolf. Six Flags Over Georgia (1988–1991) Following the ride's closure at Six Flags Great America, it was relocated to Six Flags Over Georgia, west of Atlanta. On July 18, 1989, an 11-year-old boy from Talladega, Alabama, became unconscious while riding Z-Force. Park staff performed CPR, but the victim was pronounced dead after being taken to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monthey
Monthey (; ) is the capital of the district of Monthey in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. History The castle in the town center was built in 950 on a hill, the first houses of Monthey surrounded it. Monthey is first mentioned in 1215 as ''Montez''. At the 13th century, the counts of Savoy owned the village and its area. In 1352, the count Amédée VI gave more freedom to the inhabitants. During the first part of the 14th century, there were several industries including silk production and grinding mills. Geography Monthey has an area, , of . Of this area, or 27.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 45.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 19.1% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.5% is either rivers or lakes and or 6.7% is unproductive land. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roller Coaster
A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usually designed to produce a thrilling experience, though some roller coasters aim to provide a more gentle experience. Trains consist of open cars connected in a single line, and the rides are often found in theme parks around the world. Roller coasters originate from "Russian Mountains" which first appeared in the 17th century. Invented and mostly found in Russia, these were slides made of ice that upper-class Russians would slide down. LaMarcus Adna Thompson obtained one of the first known patents for a roller coaster design in 1885, based on the Switchback Railway which opened a year earlier at Coney Island. Tracks are typically built and designed as a complete circuit in which trains depart from and return to the same Station (roller coa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
