X-flight: What do you think about it

I tend to agree with the other comments, in that it's a pretty good ride, not one I run out to ride, and it's not particularly comfortable.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

I also Love this ride. As mentioned by some, it is very Unique & 1 of my Favorite parts is also the turnover. I remember how amazing that was my 1st time riding (it still amazes me now many rides later.)

And like CoastermanMike said, it takes people away from our Favorite Ride at SFWoA: S:UE!!

i was very much pleasantly surprised ... i really did think that it would be very good and it looked rather short. 

jeez... i LOVE going around those turns not holding on to a single thing! ... just let that harness on my chest and stomach (which was much more comfortable then i thought it would be)  hold me in and extend my arms and legs... it may take some guts to totally 'let go' like that, but...  that was one of the biggest coaster 'rushes' i got all year (including millie's drop)!

I was REALLY looking forward to X-Flight on my trip to OHIO last May, but its opening was delayed, and we missed it by a week. I will be back this year to give it a try.

Anyway, on to the theming. Wouldnt it be a FANTASTIC ride if the riders actually "flew" over the lake, close to the water, and not over some dirt near the parking lot??? Too bad.

Also: Notice how B&M takes someone else's popular prototype and perfects it? look at vekoma SLC=B&M invert, togo standup=B&M standup, Vekoma Dutchman=B&M AIR, Arrow Hyper=B&M hyper (although intamin is giving them a some REAL quality competition here). Might we see an even more improved  4-D type from B&M in coming years???

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My other car is a Giovanola!

LoadedG, to be fair, B&M inverts came before Vekoma SLCs.  Despite this, your point still stands. and is a good one. 

I loved it. I'm 6'3, and found it as comfortable as a recliner. I'd been dreaming about riding stealth, and when I rode X-Flight, (aside from that damn slow moving line) it didn't dissapoint me at all. It's just so different from every ride I've ridden. Awesome.

*** This post was edited by scanz on 2/8/2002. ***

Hey Loaded G - B&M's flyer was actually in development long before any of the Dutchmen even opened.  And like already stated, the B&M inverts came first.

Den-- how in the world can you compare X-Flight to Millenium Force...?  anyway, I found this coaster, much like most Vekoma rides to be below average.  Its incredibly short, never was able to run full train operation, and its load/unload times are horrendous.  I definetly would have preferred more "flying" time built into the layout. 

2Hostyl,

I back that comment. The "flying position" doesn't do much for me. It's not even the discomfort or the lack of being "at ease" - it just doesn't thirll me much. Maybe a more exciting layout would add something there, but with the sole exception of the new "pretzel loop", I don't see much on SFOG's new flyer to write home about.

How much could they really improve anyway over Vekoma's design? Maybe loading issues, but I was never "uncomfortable" at any time on the ride. Actually considering the position you're in it was quite comfortable. The ride was smooth, so the coveted "B&M smoothness" isn't a factor here either.  The only place I can see any improvement is the layout and even then there has to be some limitations due to the nature of the ride.

My guess is that the flying design will pan out like the stand-ups did. It was the flavor of the week for a few years and then everyone just walked away for them. We'll see a bunch pop up in the next few years and peak rather quickly due to the limits of the ride (just like the stand-up) and then it'll trickle off.

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www.coasterimage.com

I am gonna get heated responses for this, buuuuut...

I have ridden both X Flight and Batwing.  In June I will (hopefully) ride Stealth.  As for those two I have ridden?

HATED THEM

They are boring, gimmiky (as Ravenguy98 said), rough, uncomfortable, problem prone and uninspirational.  I rode Batwing for the coaster count (after I had ridden and disliked X-Flight) and that's it.

Actually I was excited to ride X-Flight the first time I rode.  But after the flip I just wanted to get off.  I did re-ride later in the summer, in the hopes of changing my opinion) and found the ride already had become terribly rough.  Batwing I did just after it opened and I thought my head would bust open from the pressure and shifting of the train as it went through the final heartline/corkscrews or whatever they are.

Thank God PKI and PKD cancelled theirs.  The rides just stink in my opinion and are only good for a "Been there, done that" checkmark.

Nothing redeeming whatsoever.

Shaggy

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Shaggy
A.K.A. John K.

Well, I was lucky enough to ride X-Flight back in June last year, so I will add my comments

I personally found X-Flight to be a very good coaster in my opinion, I absolutly Loved the Flip at the top of the Lift to go into the Flying Position, It was a incredible feeling, It was also great to spread out your arms and pretend to Fly, A Great Feeling. Also The Loop has some pretty heavy G's going through that Loop, I sat in the back seat, and certaintly loved every minute of it, The Helix at the end of worth waiting for too. However I would say that the restaints still need work doing to them, I was stapled in quite hard into the restraints, and it felt incredibly tight, and I could barely breathe, It was'nt too bad when we got going, But sitting in the station ready to go was quite unbearable.
Also, Reguarding the Staff that work on the Ride, Where on earth Did Six Flags employ them from,

First Day I went to the park, there was a crowd of Hundreds waiting to go in, and of course when they opened the gate, they was a major Crush to get round to the entrance, It got very dangerous when people started to bump into each other, and I really feared people were gonna get crushed in the mad rush, Luckly nothing happened, but it was so dangerous, and the worst thing was, The Staff done absolutly nothing to control the crowd.

The Staff were also Taking their time loading the ride(5 mins dispatch time)
Talking to other Ride Ops when they should be doing their job helping people load and unload etc
Not telling people to use the 2nd station when being used, absolutly everyone kept using the 1st station with the 2nd station unused, I actually came out of the 1st station and sneaked round to the 2nd station for the 2nd ride out of that platform, when I would have probably waited for about 4-5 rides out of the 1st platform.
Also, Things got so bad, that I saw the GP threatening the staff when they were all told the coaster is going down to 1 train operation, Of course it all got a bit ugly, but was calmed down in the end

The only good thing I can say about the staff is what happened on the 2nd day I went to the park, One Member of staff who was in control of things at X-Flight threatened to call security if he caught anyone running round to the entrance and evict them from the park, I admit he was strict, but his threats sure worked when everyone was walking round to the entrance making it safer for everyone.

Overall, X-Flight is worth riding IMO but only if you can handle the bad staff and horrible dispatches though

I know what you mean Shaggy, particularly about the roughness.  The difference on Batwing later in the season compared to early was more than I expected in one season.  I was not encouraged after remembering how the first SLCs weren't that bad their first season, but look now!

In Batwings defense, I felt the coaster be rough then smooth then rough then smooth all within the same month. I just think the wheels need replacement on a far tighter schedule than say, an average Arrow looper.

Plus look where Bat-Flight were...
jeremy
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"Nobody writes about the planes that land." Steve Salerno Washington Times 7-10-01

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2Hostyl said:
Now as for the actual *execution* of the ride, I think Vekoma did a MARVELOUS job. I think the ride was the right length, right speed and right intensity. The only part of the ride that felt *off* were those darn inline rolls.

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I, too, think that X Flight is a decent coaster. After my first ride I thought it was the most bizarre thing I had ever experienced. I like it, but like most people have stated, it's not one that I would run to first thing.

Getting to 2hostyl's remark, I had the opportunity to ride Stealth last June and even though it was a decent ride, the "on your back" corkscrews really didn't do anything for me. I prefer the in-line twists (as I feel they are just a bit more intense than the "screws").

The coolest part of Stealth, though, is that if you ride the park's log flume, Stealth pretty much flies above you in all directions.

X Factor

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I say this to many people who enjoy roller coasters: "Flying on a roller coaster is an aquired taste. You just can't simply sit down and expect to be blown away. The true flyer knows how to ride on a flying roller coaster."
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Jes
Jes's Roller Coasters DJ Jes MCS
"Thank You Jeff Putz" "My Fellow Americans, Lets Roll!"

I think that a lot of being uncomfortable riding a flying dutchman has a lot to do with getting used to a new esperience.  I was a little sore after my first ride on Batwing.  Later I rode it 25 times in a two day period with no soreness at all.  I think that this was because I was accustomed to the experience and relaxed.

OK, after a long day of work training, I'll throw in my three cents' (one for each of the VFDs).  2hostyl, don't get TOO excited about the difference of the corks on Stealth, it's an interesting difference and fun, but I'm certainly happy the previously-mentioned trip to San Fran was for more than JUST the "World's ONLY Flying Coaster" - I've got the shirt, and a mouse pad I'm using right now, that make that claim, which was still valid at the time...as many have noted, it's NOT the most comfortable riding position, I find even the stand-ups considerably more natural.  That being said, I really appreciate the variety of riding positions and orientations that have cropped up in the past 10-15 years, and hope it continues.  Stealth and X-Flight both kinda suffer from a malady I will now coin for the coaster world: "Parking Lot Syndrome" - or PLS for short. 

BatWing gets the nod for scenery and surroundings, although NOT for operations.  Single-training one of these babies with their admittedly tricky loading/unloading is something you may be able to get away with after a couple years, but when they ARE the "Big New Coaster" in the park, that is INSANITY!  Parks, please do ALL you can to run the NEWEST ride to maximum capacity ALL the time, if you honestly believe getting them out of queue lines is the goal you claim it is!!!

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It's a great intense coaster.:)

My only complaint is no on ride pictures,what the heck were they thinking???????????????????

I really like these rides. I think it would be really cool if Vekoma made an all on your back coaster...like a multi-looper BKF style with X-Flight trains...now that would be cool.

It's not the greatest ride in the park...but def. a great add to the coaster collection at SFWoA.

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"Villain-Once You Drop, The Fun Don't Stop!"~SFWoA Rules In 2002~With SFWoA ANYTHING Is Possible!

My opinion of X-flight would be a modest improvement over Stealth.  I loved stealth when I first got to ride in early 00.  It was incredibly smooth, and a completely diffrent experience from what I had been expecting.  Though totally dissapointed by the efficiency of both rides, I wasn't all that dissapointed.  I think that the flying dutchman coasters NEED a real layout.  Not something cloned and compact, but something terrain and more unexpecting.  X-flight definitely could use a headchopper or two, or even grass for that matter.  There is one thing that I did NOT like about X-flight.  When I learned that the corkscrews were going to be in the flying position, I was expecting something similar to a intamin heartline/0g roll, and endedup getting some wierd tumble-dry cycle.  I have to say that was probably the worst part of the ride.  As for the addition with the helix, that is definitely what sets X-flight apart from Stealth.  A good ride, but definitely not something worth sprinting across a park for (unless you REALLY hate waiting in lines).

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Corey
"Have you ever tried backing out of a drive-through bank?" - George Carlin