American Eagle
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| Manufacturer | Intamin | ||||||||||||||
| Designer / calculations | Curtis D. Summers, Inc, Jim Figley, Leonard Wright | ||||||||||||||
| Type | Wooden - Twin | ||||||||||||||
| Track layout | Out and Back | ||||||||||||||
| Hourly capacity | 1800 | ||||||||||||||
| Propulsion | Chain lift hill | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 127 feet | ||||||||||||||
| Drop | 147 feet | ||||||||||||||
| Top speed | 66 mph | ||||||||||||||
| Length | 4650 feet | ||||||||||||||
| Inversions | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Drop angle | 55° | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2:23 | ||||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | |||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters | ||||||||||||||
| Riders per train | 30 | ||||||||||||||
American Eagle is a twin wooden roller coaster located at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, USA. First opened in 1981, the ride contains a helix and several large drops. It is the second roller coaster from Intamin and the company's first wooden coaster.
History
Ground broke for the ride on June 17, 1980.[1][2] It was designed by Curtis D. Summers, Jim Figley, and Leonard Wright, and supplied by Intamin at a cost of around $10 million.[3][4][5]
American Eagle had its press day on May 13, 1981.[6] It opened to the public on May 23, 1981.[7] Between the press day and public opening, headrests and additional guards were added to the trains, and additional braking was added to the ride.[6]
The ride was originally advertised as the longest roller coaster in the world. However, this is only true if the length is considered to be that of both sides added together.
After the ride's opening, the park discovered design and construction defects and required Intamin to make repairs. Intamin sough compensation from the design and construction companies it contracted, Curtis D. Summers, Inc. and Figley-Wright Contractors, Inc., respectively. Intamin entered a settlement agreement with Summers on July 10, 1984 in which Intamin released all present and future claims against Summers in return for a payment of $203,820.49.[8]
During the 2002 season, one half of the ride operated backwards.[9]
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The tent that housed the original American Eagle queue line from 1981 to 2006 was used as a circus tent from 1976 to 1980. In 2007, it was converted into a children's area named Kidzopolis. The second version of the entrance was located to the right of Kidzopolis, and it utilized part of the entry building for the then adjacent defunct Dare Devil Dive skycoaster.[10] The original bald eagle that was on the roof of the first entrance was used again on the second version of the entrance.
For the ride's 30th anniversary in 2011, the ride operated with backwards trains.[11]
Sometime during the 2016 or 2017 season, the park stopped racing American Eagle. For the 2021 season, only the red side of the ride would operate as the blue side would remain closed for refurbishment and small retracking. In the 2022 season, the blue side would return to operation while the red side would be closed for similar reasons as blue the year prior.
In 2023, the red trains received updated artwork on the front with the logo now in the background of a faded U.S. flag. The blue side did not operate that season as the trains were not on the track.
At No Coaster Con 2024, Six Flags announced that the lift chain would be replaced.[12] During the 2023-2024 off-season, red, white, and blue lights were added next to the ride to project onto the ride without any previous announcement.[13] A new entrance used only for American Eagle was also added in 2024, replacing the old entrance which was previously used for American Eagle and Dare Devil Dive. From the start of the season until mid-August 2024, only the blue side was open. However, in mid-August, the coaster started operating the blue and red sides alternatively throughout the rest of the season.
On June 16, 2025 American Coaster Enthusiasts recognized the ride as an ACE Roller Coaster Landmark.[14]
Design
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| Elements | ||
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American Eagle has an out and back layout. The ride begins with several hills and a turnaround consisting of a large downward helix. More airtime hills follow and it concludes with a helix.
Trains
4 trains with 5 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows, for a total of 30 riders per train.
Incidents
Images
| The category American Eagle contains additional media. |
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The ride's current entrance -
The safety sign -
The lift hill -
A train in the station -
The queue line bridge -
The side selection -
The blue side's switchback section -
The red train -
The helix covered with spiders
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References
- ↑ "Great America". National Amusement Park Historical News. No. Vol. 2 No. 5. September 1980.
- ↑ "A Blast From The Past - Six Flags Great America's American Eagle (Part 1)". NewsPlusNotes.
- ↑ "American Eagle: A rocketful of screams lets good times roll". Chicago Tribune.
- ↑ "Losing his 'cool' on the American Eagle". The Post-Crescent.
- ↑ "Frank Mathie rides American Eagle rollercoaster in 1981".
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "American Eagle". National Amusement Park Historical News. No. Vol. 3 No. 3. May 1981.
- ↑ "Scream like an eagle on Great America's new bird". Daily Herald.
- ↑ "INTAMIN, INC. v. FIGLEY-WRIGHT CONTRACTORS, INC". Leagle. 1985-02-12. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
- ↑ Wooden Coaster To Race Backwards For 2002 Season - Ultimate Rollercoaster
- ↑ "A Blast From The Past - Six Flags Great America's American Eagle (Part 2)". NewsPlusNotes.
- ↑ "Six Flags' American Eagle To Run Backwards For 30th Anniversary".
- ↑ SFGAm No Coaster Con Recap + 5 Year Plan!, retrieved 2024-02-06
- ↑ Leshock, Marcus (April 11, 2024). "Spotted a red, white, and blue lighting package on the American Eagle at @SFGreat_America tonight. Looking sharp!". X. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Leshock, Marcus (2025-06-16). "American Eagle officially named a roller coaster landmark at Six Flags Great America". WGN9. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
- ↑ "3 hurt on ride at Great America". Chicago Tribune. September 9, 1984. p. 25. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- ↑ Roller Coaster Rollback - CoasterBuzz (Wayback Archive)
External links
- American Eagle on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
- Blue track on Coaster-Count.
- Red track on Coaster-Count.
- American Eagle on sixflags.com.
| Tallest wooden roller coaster May 1981 - July 1985 | ||
| Preceded by Colossus |
Tallest wooden roller coaster May 1981 - July 1985 |
Succeeded by Le Monstre |
| Tallest roller coaster drop May 1981 - June 1988 | ||
| Preceded by The Beast |
Tallest roller coaster drop May 1981 - June 1988 |
Succeeded by ShockWave |
| Tallest wooden roller coaster drop May 1981 - May 1989 | ||
| Preceded by The Beast |
Tallest wooden roller coaster drop May 1981 - May 1989 |
Succeeded by Hercules |
| Fastest roller coaster May 1981 - March 1988 | ||
| Preceded by The Beast |
Fastest roller coaster May 1981 - March 1988 |
Succeeded by Bandit |
| Fastest wooden roller coaster May 1981 - April 2000 | ||
| Preceded by The Beast |
Fastest wooden roller coaster May 1981 - April 2000 |
Succeeded by Boss |