Viper was a

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 ...

located at Six Flags AstroWorld in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Manufactured by

Anton Schwarzkopf Anton Schwarzkopf (8 July 1924 – 30 July 2001) was a German engineer who founded Schwarzkopf Industries GmbH, a German manufacturer of roller coasters and other amusement rides that were sold to amusement parks and travelling funfairs arou ...

, the ''Looping Star'' model opened in 1989. It consisted of a single loop and was demolished with the closing of Six Flags AstroWorld on October 30, 2005. It had previously operated at

Six Flags St. Louis Six Flags St. Louis, originally known as Six Flags Over Mid-America, is an amusement park in Eureka, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Owned and operated by Six Flags, it has eight themed areas with attractions, dining, and live entertainment, ...

, where it was known as Jet Scream from 1981 to 1988. An identical installation known as

Silver Bullet Silver Bullet(s) or The Silver Bullet may refer to: * Silver bullet, in folklore, a weapon against supernatural creatures; metaphorically, a simple, effective solution to a problem Film and television * The Silver Bullet (1935 film), ''The Silve ...

still operates at

Frontier City Frontier City is a western-themed amusement park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. It is owned by EPR and operated by Six Flags. The park opened in 1958. Prior to the company's merger with Cedar Fair, Frontier City was one of only two Six Flag ...

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

. Its paint scheme is different and the tunnel on the Silver Bullet surrounds the final turn as opposed to the drop hill.

History

On April 4, 1981, Jet Scream officially opened at Six Flags St. Louis. It was the park's first roller coaster to go upside down. Jet Scream was dismantled after the 1988 season. It was sent to Six Flags AstroWorld where it was renamed Viper. The ride opened to the public in the spring of 1989. During its run at Six Flags AstroWorld, it featured a tunnel surrounding the first drop. The exterior had a

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

mural. On September 12, 2005, Six Flags announced the closure of the AstroWorld theme park. Viper would operate for the last time on October 30 along with the park.

References

{{Six Flags St. Louis Former roller coasters in Texas Former roller coasters in Missouri Six Flags St. Louis Six Flags AstroWorld

Viper Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipe ...