Six Flags Great America announces X-Flight
Posted
[Ed. note: The following is an excerpt of a press release. -J]
Get ready to take flight! Six Flags Great America announces plans to add a state-of-the-art roller coaster for the 2012 season. X-Flight is a ground-breaking wing coaster featuring cutting-edge technology. The Gurnee theme park is the first to announce plans for a wing coaster in the U.S.
X-Flight will take riders on a flight that defies gravity, with no track above or below them. Riders sit in pairs, suspended on either side of the track with their feet dangling, as they begin their climb up a 12-story plunge launching them into speeds of 55mph through 3,000 feet of intense drops and five inversions, including a barrel roll and zero-g roll. One of the most adrenaline-pumping moments on the ride is an extreme fly-through where the coaster speeds straight toward a structure, before making a last-minute vertical flip to fit through a keyhole cut-out.
“Six Flags Great America has a long history of introducing legendary rides and first-of-its-kind roller coasters,” said Hank Salemi, Six Flags Great America Park President. “What makes X-Flight so unique is soaring through 3,000 feet of high-speed drops, loops and turns, with nothing above or below you. The coaster’s train actually looks like a plane with seats suspended on either side of the track. It’s like nothing you have ever experienced before. We are thrilled to bring this revolutionary wing coaster to our guests for the 2012 season.”
X-Flight is designed by acclaimed Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard, who also designed Six Flags Great America favorites: Raging Bull, SUPERMAN: Ultimate Flight and BATMAN: The Ride. The wing coaster will make its home in the County Fair section of the park. Construction begins this Fall. X-Flight is scheduled to open Spring of 2012.
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Did the photos get removed? I see nothing.
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Well, it starts banked left, rolls right, and ends banked right, meaning it rotates more than 360 degrees in the course of the roll (sort of like Silver Bullet's left-zero-G-roll+left-turn combo, but on both ends). For comparison, Swarm/Raptor start out banked left and keep rolling left, so the net roll is actually less than a full 360 degree rotation. Hence, X-Flight's roll has to be cover more distance because it rolls ~90 degrees further than the others.
(Speculatively) it might also be that the roll rate will probably to be the same/similar to that of inline rolls on the other wing coasters, but the forward speed of the train might be a little higher higher. To accomplish that, stretch the roll.
Either one of those (or both) would result in that realllyy long looking roll.
Bill
ಠ_ಠ
For those who cannot see the photos, I'm assuming you are on IE 9. Up at the top in between the magnifying glass and the refresh icon, there is "compatibility mode." Click on it, that should fix your problem.
I don't get Microsoft nor anyone who'd ever want to work for them ;)
~Rob
I hung on to IE for a long time. I never 'got' Firefox. Once I tried Chrome, there was no going back.
See, I felt Firefox was far better than IE, and didn't take me but a day or so of using it to realize that. I've used Chrome a couple times here and there, but haven't seen a need to switch yet.
Chrome for me. Never used Firefox, but everything about Chrome is great so far...
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Calvin: "If your numbers go up, it means you're having more fun."
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