Flying Coasters....For them or against them?

the only flyer i'v been on was air- and all i can say about that was that it was great, not thrilling but really fun.

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Colossus [1]
Nemesis: Inferno [6]

I'm actually going to say that even though I'd take airtime over anything a flyer can offer, I think they're going to be around for a while. Inverts aren't much more than a gimmick (in that it's just a different rider position) and look at how they've taken off. Sure, stand-ups and dive coasters have gone the way of the dodo, but I don't think you can just say flying is a gimmick and so will go away (launches are gimmicks, floorlesses, inverts...)

I think if CP (or anyone else for that matter, but I'm just thinking CP would probably be the one to do it) builds a mondo B&M flyer (150', a couple more new and interesting and good elements -> immelman?, dive loop?, speed throughout the ride,) I think it would be just as popular as Raptor.

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Be polite and ignore the idiots. - rollergator
"It's not a Toomer" - Arnold Schwartzenkoph

I have only been on Air so I can only really offer my view on this ride. It is a good addition to the other coasters at Alton Towers and at least they had the guts to buy it. The coaster doesn't look the quickest and isn't, though you go at a speed which makes the ride enjoyable. The ride was built for most of the family to be able to ride and you can tell this when on it. The ride looks good though and will get better once the area is cleaned up a bit, hopefully with the addition of some trees.

I would encourage parks that can afford flying coasters to build them because I think they will be good rides future once a bit of experimenting has been done on them. Not all ride types like the Inverted model can be an instant success as I think is the case here.

Interesting rumours:

People seem to think Cedar Point will build a B&M Flying coaster next season which is a great possibility. I have heard some people say that the riders will not be elevated from a vertical sitting position to a horizontal flying position, instead they will only go half way so that it reduces stress on the body (especially the neck as you try to look where you are going) and lets you see whats in front of you, which I think is a good idea. I also hope that the ride is quite high, with a unique layout, and will feature a few new inversions as this is what seems to be missing from the others.

Also

Fantasy Island has pulled out of building a Vekoma Hammerhead Stall coaster possibly with the intention of building something different next year. Early rumours suggest that the new ride might be a Vekoma Flying Coaster similar to Stealth.

PLEASE HELP GET THE MEGA WOODIE BUILT AT ALTON TOWERS. ADD YOUR VOTE AT: http://www.petitiononline.com/cjw4sw5/petition.html

Flying coasters are not bad. I do like X Flight but wasn't too thrilled with Stealth. I think they will be around for awhile but eventually will go the way of the stand-up.

X Factor

Having been on "The Flying Coaster", Batwing, and S:UF at SFOG, I would say that the most intense one would be Batwing. The layout of the vekoma's is the best, but I didn't like how rough it was, and the operations were pretty slow.

The B&M version on the other hand, is my favorite of the flyers, but the only part that really amazed me was the pretzel. The rest of the ride was fun and smooth, but not really thrilling as people before me have said.

"The Flying Coaster" was horrible. Painful and not fun, not a good combination. Maybe it's better this year with the pads, but I don't know.

I think flying coasters have a bright future if somebody can make a longer, more intense layout. But right now I would take a hyper over a flyer any day.

I've been on X-Flight, Batwing, Superman at SFoG, and Air. The Vekoma rides have the intensity, but I much prefer the B&M trains. I actually felt Air is the most successful of them for actually capturing the "flying" effect.

Regardless, I think it's a neat gimmick. Maybe a bit more complicated than it needs to be (especially the Vekoma design), but it's an interesting twist. I'll still take a good woodie or more traditional steel most days, though.

I'll be getting on "The Flying Coaster" later this year. I'm actually looking forward to it in a sick sort of way.

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--Greg, aka Oat Boy
My page
"I can't believe I just left a nuclear weapon in an elevator." -- Farscape

A lot of folks have mentioned a *preference* for a more traditional caster....but if your park already has two or three woodies, a couple inverteds, a stand-up, and a traditional steelie or two...rounding out the line-up with something *different* is going to be a MUCH easier sell than introducing a NEW coaster "just like the other one they already have"...;)
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"Like most problems in life, it's nothing that can't be solved with a little bending"...Bender, Futurama

I have ridden Stealth and X-Flight and I thought that they were both very exciting rides. But flying coasters bring so much baggage to the table that I think they won't be building many more of them. First of all, they are far more expensive than a typical inverted coaster. Secondly, their capacity presents a big problem which often leaves these types of rides with horrifically long lines. And lastly, there is simply too much that can go wrong with them. With all the extra sensors and safety restraints it makes the ride a lot more likely to malfunction. I have witnessed this first hand at WOA with the X-Flight.

CKevin....yes, the Vekomas have horrendous capacity issues...the load/unload is a *very* time-consuming process. B&M seems to have resolved that problem...the seats load/unload pretty much identically to the inverteds....it takes *slightly* more time that a B:TR due to the shin bars, but not much at all.

Now, when GAm or GAdv has to take one of their TWO trains down for some reason, THEN capacity will *suffer*....as will the *guests*....do yourselves a favor in NJ and Chi....buy another train!
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"Like most problems in life, it's nothing that can't be solved with a little bending"...Bender, Futurama

Flyers now are like the Arrow suspended. We need more like the B&M or Intamin Suspended. Imagine a flyer whos first drop is verticle and spirals down to the ground, only to come out of it and do a diving loop. That would be hot.

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Love,
The Mole

I think a really cool idea would be to build a flyer indoors and totally theme it, kind of like a roller coaster meets Spiderman: the ride sort of thing. One unique part of the flyers that gets overlooked is everybody has a non-obstructed view. Couple that with special effects and what not and you could have for a pretty impressive experience (not to mention expensive).
*** This post was edited by onceler 5/7/2003 2:21:37 PM ***

The ones that I've been on (X-Flight + Batwing) were fun, and I would ride them agian. Neither, however, are rides that I would rank in my top twenty steel.

I'd rather be flying out of my seat! ;)

I rode Stealth and did not like it. Capacity was bad, restraints were shoddy looking, the ride spent all of its time in inversions. Big letdown there.

I'll be riding GAm's S:UF in a few weeks, so I am definately looking forward to that.

My question is: do you think we have seen the best that B&M can do yet? Superman is only the second design of the B&M flyer. I'm going to wait until we see a few more new designs until I decide if the flyer concept is good or not.

Look at Batman: The Ride. The first invert, and still one of the best- however there are several better B&M inverts out there. I hope that in a few years, this is how we will feel about S:UF.

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The Trip: CP, SFWoA, PKI, KW, HW, IB, SFGAm, MiA and LeSourdsville too.
8 Days- 10 parks. May 2003

Also to add, I think like Nemisis, the flyer has to find it's appropreate theme. Imagine a huge flyer over a lake or going though valleys rather than just grass and supports.

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Love,
The Mole

I agree that, while the flyer isn't the best coaster out there, it has a lot of potential. I think the flyer is the next B&M invert: almost every park having one. Once parks get a little braver and start building bigger and more intresting layouts, and more elemnts, the coaster will become the next B&M invert: at almost every park.

Since I haven't gone on a Vekoma flyer I can't say anything about that, but I love the B&M flyer, especially in the back. All's they need are some new elements.

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Mike T.
RCT2 Wizards-Medusa99
I support our troops!
*** This post was edited by RCT_MASTER 5/7/2003 3:06:00 PM ***

I've only ridden Batwing, and for the record, the first time I rode it I was blown away. The second time, and every time since, I enjoy it, but the novelty has already worn off. My take is, the flyer is the latest trend, like the suspended coaster or the stand-up coaster. Give it a few years--I guarantee you won't be seeing any new installations then.

Riding a coaster in a prone position is a unique experience, just like standing up on a coaster, but frankly, give me any type of sitdown any time.

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-Vater
Have you ridden a Toboggan?

Flyers are fun. Isn't it just a dream to be able to fly like Peter Pan? Well now these unique coasters give you the ability to experience something wonderful and enchanting! X-Flight may be a stressful, I admit. Sometimes I had a hard time breathing because all of my weight was on my chest, and I was screaming the air out of my lungs. It hurt. But still, its everyones dream to fly so high, high up into the sky!

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A.K.A. Batman Bastard

I've ridden Batwing, SFGAd's S:UF, and AIR. Although they're good rides, they're not something I could or would want to ride many times in a row. With the lines I've heard S:UF has had already this year, I'd say it's a hit with the public. I certainly don't mind having everyone run in the opposite direction of Nitro when the park opens. :-)

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Sue Barry
CoasterSue@aol.com

Superman: Ultimate Escape said:
Isn't it just a dream to be able to fly like Peter Pan?

Here's my idea: A flyer-type coaster in an 'immersively themed' setting like Disney's Peter Pan. Now *that* would be cool.

S:UF doesn't establish an identity. Is it a family coaster or a g-machine? That pretzel loop seems so out of place in that layout. I did enjoy the ride, but I don't see thes lasting a long time unless B&M start making more intense layouts.

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All who think Mean Streak needs a match taken to it say I.