A flying roller coaster is a type of

steel roller coaster A steel roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its steel Railway track, track, which consists of long steel tubes that are run in pairs, supported by larger steel columns or beams. Trains running along the track typically rely ...

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.

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 Granada Studios Tour was an entertainment theme park at the Granada Studios complex in Castlefield, Manchester, England, which operated from 1988 to 1999. The park was in the heart of Manchester city centre adjacent to the Granada House buildin ...

in 1997. 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. The park, and ''Skytrak'' itself, were short-lived; both closed in 1998.

Design

Vekoma

Dutch roller coaster manufacturer

Vekoma Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is an amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is a syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory) which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld. History The company originally manu ...

constructed the first large-scale flying roller coaster, '' Stealth'', for

California's Great America California's Great America is an amusement park located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, it originally opened in 1976 as one of two parks built by the Marriott Corporation. ...

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. Flyingrollercoaster

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 Six Flags America is an amusement park in Woodmore, Maryland, United States,X-Flight'' for

Geauga Lake Geauga Lake was an amusement park in Bainbridge Township, Geauga County, Ohio, Bainbridge Township and Aurora, Ohio, Aurora, Ohio. It was established in 1887, in what had been a local recreation area adjacent to Geauga Lake (lake), a lake of th ...

. Of the three Vekoma Flying Dutchmans, only ''Batwing'' remains operating. ''Stealth'' was relocated to

Carowinds Carowinds is a amusement park primarily located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The park is owned and operated by Six Flags. Carowinds straddles the state line between North and South Carolina, adjacent to Interstate 77, with a portion of the park ...

where it operated as ''BORG Assimilator'' from 2004 to 2007, and later as ''Nighthawk'' until its closure in 2024, while ''X-Flight'' operated at

Kings Island Kings Island is a amusement park northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park was built by Taft Broadcasting and opened in 1972. It was part of a larger effort to move and expand Coney Islan ...

as ''Firehawk'' until its closure on October 28, 2018. In 2009, Vekoma debuted a new, more compact flying roller coaster model nicknamed the 'Stingray' which used the same seating configuration as the original Flying Dutchman, but with Vekoma's new track style as well as a vertical lift hill. Its first installation is at the Suzhou Giant Wheel Park in

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, which opened on August 18, 2009. The ride was removed in 2018. In 2014, Phantasialand in Brühl, Germany contracted

to design and build a new flying roller coaster to be the center piece of a new immersive themed area of the park which would also include the park's third hotel. Noting previous design limitations and issues with other flying coaster models, particularly in regard to capacity as loading procedures were slow and complex. Phantasialand pursued two objectives for the design of their new flying coaster; a simplified and streamlined loading process, and custom layout designed to fit in the limited space (100m by 75m) available as well as height restrictions imposed upon the park. Vekoma spent the next few years designing and testing a prototype system at its factory in Vlodrop, with construction on the new coaster beginning in 2016 and finishing in 2019. In 2019, Phantasialand began a teaser campaign for the new coaster, announcing the name F.L.Y. (Flying Launch Coaster). On September 17, 2020, F.L.Y. officially opened to the public. F.L.Y. features a completely brand new loading procedure never before seen on any flying coaster model. Upon entering the station, the track and trains rotate from a prone position 90 degrees onto the side, while the seats, which are two abreast, rotate at the same time so that the passengers move from a prone "flying" position to an upright position. The passengers load into a standard seated position and pull down the over-the-shoulder vest harness. Once secure, the train is dispatched out of the station and proceeds in the upright position through a short dark ride section before the track, train, and seats rotate into the prone flying position. In addition to the new loading procedure, F.L.Y. is also the first flying roller coaster to utilize a launch system rather than a lift system. F.L.Y. features two separate

LSM LSM may refer to: Science *Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane (Modane Underground Laboratory), a particle physics laboratory in France *Lanthanum strontium manganite, a crystal used as a cathode material *Confocal microscopy, Laser scanning microsc ...

launches that launches trains up to a top speed of 48.5 mph (78.1 km/h) over 4,055.1 feet (1,236.0 m) of track making it the world's longest flying coaster. Since opening, F.L.Y. has been met with overwhelmingly positive reception for its innovative design, riding experience, operations, capacity, and theming that have won the coaster several industry awards. Vekoma's flying roller coasters have a 54-inch minimum-height requirement.

Bolliger & Mabillard

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

manufacturer B&M debuted their flying coaster model

Air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

in 2002, jointly developed with ride designer John Wardley. Riders take a seating position like on a regular inverted coaster with a chest harness and leglocks. They are then tilted 90° so they assume a frontwards lying position

Zamperla

Italy's

Zamperla Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. is an Italian design and manufacturing company founded in 1966. It is best known for creating family rides, thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin-operated rides commonly found in ...

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 two vertical poles connected to it push the cars up the spiral track. The minimum rider height requirement is . The first Volare debuted as a prototype in 2002 as Flying Coaster at Elitch Gardens, where it operated until 2007. It faced numerous technical issues that were corrected on subsequent models produced by Zamperla. After closing, Flying Coaster was returned to Zamperla, where it was refurbished and installed at

Coney Island Coney Island is a neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to ...

as Soarin' Eagle. Notably, the Volare model is often not met with particularly positive reviews. Roller coaster enthusiasts often describe the model as uncomfortable or rough due to the 'claustrophobic' cage-like nature of the restraint system.

Installations

References

{{Vekoma Types of roller coaster