Flashback SFMM

^^^ I hope it stays that way, at least until my first visit to MM the first weekend in December. Just to clarify, I'm no masochist, but Z-Force is the only credit I'm missing from SFGAm! Got pre-Demon Turn of the Century, Tidal Wave, Rolling Thunder and if I can get a ride on Flashback, I'm calling the set complete, despite the relo.

Fanatic, I would say those are different situations. Flashback is on a smaller footprint, so the loudness is concentrated in a smaller area for longer periods of time. Also, if Flashback was a more popular "crowd pleaser" of a ride like RB, I'm sure Magic Mountain would leave it opperational during the summer despite the noise.

Just my take on things. If I'm wrong, point out my ignorance. It's welcome.

Edit: Engineer spelling.

*** Edited 11/7/2004 10:50:12 PM UTC by Word***

Imagine if this so called loud Flashback ride was at Alton Towers (lol)

Flashback wasn't open, and wont be open for a long time...theres not even power running to the ride right now...thank you inside sources.

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DWeaver said:
BTW, Flashback is currently open.

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Are you 100% certain? The last time I knew Flashback to operate was March of 2003 when the Quaker was out here. I have not seen or heard of it operaring since. And I see the park (and Flashback) twice a day on my drive back and forth to work!

--Robb
*** Edited 11/8/2004 4:54:33 PM UTC by Robb Alvey***

For those of you who have seen it, but not ridden, yes it looks like a cool ride. The layout is unique, the hairpin drops are wild and the helix is possibly the tightest one in existance.

That is where the good ends and the horrid torture device begins. The restraints are hard and unforgiving, even the slightest knock against them will cause serious pain. The trains are cantankerous too, really clanky, clunky and boxy, I can barely fit in the seats. The transitions ar much like Raptor's final helix to the brake run, real "snappy," which combined with the awuful restraints make for a tough combo. Then there are the wheels, which I SWEAR are hexagonal, I mean how can it be rough rolling slowly in a straight line? Impossible you say? Nope, that's our Flashie!

So if you're seriously lamenting never having ridden this, seroiusly, get over it. It really IS that bad.

BTW: Remember the "Blackout" rumor? ;)

And it ate my hat!

That hat was ugly ;)

Could NOT believe when I saw it cycling in Fall '02 (wow does time fly, LOL). Even though X was running WITH peeps, I ran to get that coveted *Flashback deflowering*....

There was landscaping going on underneath the ride, but the entire *charade* was merley to make sure I didn't head STRAIGHT to X....;)

You'd think Six Flags, Inc., would pay the money to repair the ride, and give fixer uppers to rides at other parks tht are maintenance headaches, instead of letting SFGAdv get #14, a bazillion-dollar record breaker, and a whole new expansion. Flashback should be refurbished, and the park should pay attention to the fact that there is a way to reduce noise. Deuling Dragons got it. Talon got it. Hydra will most likely have it too. How has SFMM missed that? I know that the ride was not built by B&M, rather, Giavanola constructed it, but the track is the same, or close enough, so it should undergo noise reduction. Tear it apart, perform the necessary surgery, and get it back up.

I last rode it in 1990. I don't remember it being bad then, but my memory is fuzzy. Was it bad back then too?

sirloindude - Six Flags gives each park money for maintenence but does not tell them how to use it. Its up to each park to allocate funds how they see fit. I suspect there is more to the Flashback dilemma than meets the eye and that the reason for limited operations is not due to one specific cause [money, staff, noise] but a combination of many.

That's true. I'm just surprised a park could keep a decrepit coaster around so long and somebody, be they park staff or not, say or do something about it.

I don't think Flashie can be quieted, at least not the same way DD and other B&M's have been. If I'm not mistaken, those are quieted by filling the supports with pea gravel, but Flashback has a support structure of steel I-beams, not hollow steel tubes. I'm not sure if the box-spine of the track itself is filled as well on other B&M's.

I miss riding Flashback...when it first opened it was a hot attraction. That was the first SFMM ride I ever saw use those boarding passes (btw do they even still use those?). Remember that huge queuehouse they used to have?

I also liked the flashing lights they used to have all over the structure...that didnt last long.

My personal view is that they should just get rid of it if they cant/wont run it. Its rediculous for it to be sitting in a year round park maybe operating a month out of the year.

Flashback was one of the first rides purcahsed for Six Flag's ride rotation program. I remember it being erected at Great America. I thought it was insane looking then. Needless to say neither the ride or the program were a success ( and Moosh I was not serious about what I said in my previous post).

Flashback does have abrupt changes of direction and hard restraints, but if you prepare yourself you can ride it without being beaten and actually enjoy the ride. I always do.

Best seat to avoid the worst beating is the front seat. In front you only have one really bad slam to be wary of, which is in the S curve recovering from the second drop. The basic keys to survival are to lean forward and look where the train is going, and brace for it. There are a couple of good pops of airtime in the ride otherwise, the hairpin drops are great, and the helix is powerful, and wow the head choppers.

The cage like restraints are necessary because the ride has minimal clearances, and if you could raise your hands you would lose them. Also they can't quiet the ride currently. They switched wheels from when the ride was Z-Force to harder wheels which allow the ride to go faster, and run in colder winter months, but the harder wheels also make it run louder.

So...has the ride opened up finally or not? I'm itching for my one trip a year that I get to ride Flashback.

-Ride_Op

i rode this thing at sfog for the convention for the opening of the georgia cyclone. i rode it for exclusive ride time because all the other coasters had big lines. it was a complete torture chamber, a real headbanger's ball. i rode it 8 times in a row with a group of four, i was laughing uncontrolably through the whole experience as i couldn't believe that a ride could be that painful. of course i was 15 years younger then. the only other coaster that was this torturous was the blue coaster at wildwood (it had some number for a name). it had shoulder restraints that automatically closed on top of you crushing you to the seat. between the two of them there is more headbanging than all other coasters put together.

I didn't know that the supports were filled with gravel. I saw on a show that for Dueling Dragons they filled the spine. They didn't say a word about supports being responsible for noise. After all, if supports did induce noise, Flashback should be quiet. Without gravel, both Dueling Dragons and Flashback would both be loud, but notice that Dueling Dragons is the only one of the two with tube-like supports. I think what induces the noise is the fact that the box-beam spine is so hollow that sound just reverberates from it.