Inverted roller coasters

An inverted roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. Riders are seated in open cars, letting their feet swing freely. The inverted coaster was pioneered by Swiss roller coaster manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard in the early 1990s with the development of Batman: The Ride, which opened at Six Flags Great America on May 9, 1992.

Versions of inverted coasters have since been produced by other major coaster manufacturers such as Vekoma and Intamin. Intamin has few designs classified as inverted coasters, although they do install inverted coaster trains on some of their launched designs. Vekoma, however, predominantly mass-produced the same design ( Suspended Looping Coaster) with 41 identical coasters installed around the world, though Vekoma now markets a newer style of inverted coaster, the Suspended Thrill Coaster, which utilises lap-bar restraints instead of the traditional over-the-shoulder restraints. Vekoma was also the first manufacturer to install a family-friendly inverted roller coaster with the opening of Flying Ace Aerial Chase at Kings Island in 2001. Giovanola also has a single inverted coaster operating, which uses the box-track design, also used by Bolliger & Mabillard.

The inverted coaster differs from the older suspended coaster, which runs under the track, but features cars that enclose the rider's legs and lower body and are attached to the track above by a pivoting bar, whereas the trains on inverted coasters are directly attached to the track. This direct attachment facilitates inversions, which aren't possible on suspended coasters. Inversions typically featured on inverted coasters include vertical loops, zero-g rolls, Immelmann loops, cobra rolls, and corkscrews, though Vekoma's suspended loopers typically feature sidewinder and in-line twist elements.

History

The inverted coaster was developed in the early 1990s by engineers Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard of the Swiss roller coaster manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard in cooperation with engineer Robert Mampe and Jim Wintrode, at the time the general manager of Six Flags Great America, who first envisioned a suspended coaster capable of inversions. The result of this partnership, Batman: The Ride, soft opened at Six Flags Great America as the first inverted coaster in the world on May 2, 1992, officially opening on May 9, 1992. With the coaster's success, Time Warner, Six Flags' parent company at the time, moved to construct a series of duplicates of the ride at various Six Flags parks. In 1993, a second installation of Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Great Adventure opened as the second inverted coaster in the world. Six Flags has since gone on to construct five additional duplicates of the ride.

The second unique inverted coaster was Flight Deck which opened in 1993 at California's Great America as Top Gun. Nemesis Reborn was the first inverted coaster constructed outside the United States when it opened at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England in 1994. That same year, Raptor opened at Cedar Point. With a 3,790-foot (1,160 m) track layout, Raptor was far larger and featured a less compact layout than its predecessors. It also featured the first cobra roll on an inverted coaster.

Installations

231 inverted roller coasters have been installed at various theme parks, some of which have been relocated. The following list is not exhaustive and only shows the most notable installations.

Gallery

File:Nemesis Inferno (Thorpe Park) 01.JPG, A Bolliger & Mabillard inverted roller coaster, Nemesis Inferno at Thorpe Park
File:Kumali.jpg, A Vekoma built inverted coaster, Kumali at Flamingo Land Resort
File:NemesisAlton.JPG, A Bolliger & Mabillard inverted coaster, Nemesis Reborn at Alton Towers
File:PCW-Top Gun.jpg, A Bolliger & Mabillard inverted coaster, Afterburn at Carowinds
File:Black mamba first drop.jpg, A Bolliger & Mabillard inverted coaster, Black Mamba at Phantasialand
File:Rollercoaster limit heide park germany.jpg, A Vekoma inverted coaster, Limit at Heide Park
File:DuelingDragonsCS.jpg, The only Bolliger & Mabillard dueling inverted coaster, Dragon Challenge at Islands of Adventure
File:Great Bear Helix.jpg, A Bolliger & Mabillard inverted coaster, Great Bear at Hershey Park
File:Traumatizer.jpg, A former Vekoma inverted coaster, Traumatizer at Pleasureland Southport
File:Cedar point raptor1.jpg, A Bolliger & Mabillard inverted coaster, Raptor at Cedar Point
File:PKI-Rugrat's Runaway Reptar.jpg, A Vekoma family inverted coaster, Flying Ace Aerial Chase at Kings Island
File:The Flash Vertical Velocity SFGAm Front Tower.jpg, An Intamin launched shuttle inverted coaster, The Flash: Vertical Velocity at Six Flags Great America
File:SFA-Two Face.jpg, A former Vekoma shuttle inverted coaster, Two Face: The Flip Side at Six Flags America
File:Thunderhawk06.png, A Vekoma inverted coaster, Thunderhawk while at Geauga Lake
File:Storm the Dragon Legend.jpg, A Gerstlauer infinity inverted coaster, Storm - The Dragon Legend at Tusenfryd

See also

* Wing Coaster
* Suspended roller coaster
* Pipeline roller coaster

References

External links

Bolliger & Mabillard official site

Intamin official site

Vekoma official site

{{Rollercoaster tracks

Types of roller coaster
Roller coasters manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard
Roller coasters manufactured by Vekoma
Roller coasters manufactured by Intamin