Copperhead Strike

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Copperhead Strike

Carowinds Location Charlotte, North Carolina, USA Park section Blue Ridge Junction Status Operating since March 23, 2019 Cost $26,000,000 Height restriction 52 inches (132 cm) Replaced Thunder Road Whitewater Falls
Statistics
Manufacturer	Mack Rides
Product	Launch Coaster (Custom)
Type	Steel - Launched
Riders per train	16
Hourly capacity	1200
Propulsion	2 LSM launches
Height	82 feet
Drop	80 feet
Top speed	50 mph
Length	3255 feet
Inversions	5
Duration	2:24
HELP

Copperhead Strike is a steel launched roller coaster located at Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. It was manufactured by Mack Rides and opened on March 23, 2019. The ride is located in the frontier-themed Blue Ridge Junction area.

History

View of the ride

Carowinds codenamed the ride Project Alpha: Digital during its construction phase.

On April 27, 2018, a potential layout for the ride surfaced on Screamscape that implied that the ride would be a double launched roller coaster, however, Carowinds had not confirmed anything at this point.

In late May 2018, Mack Rides crates arrived at Carowinds, confirming that Mack would be manufacturing the ride.

In late June 2018, concrete began being poured for the ride. Carowinds also started their marketing campaign for the ride, citing it as part of an expansion to a fictitious farm named Byrd Farm. The Miami River Lumber Company were also mentioned, indicating that the ride's storyline would possibly relate to that of Mystic Timbers at Kings Island in some way.

In early August 2018, brown supports began to arrive at the park. Carowinds also announced that they would reveal the ride on August 30, 2018.

On August 30, 2018, Carowinds officially unveiled Copperhead Strike. They announced that the ride would be the first double launch coaster in the Carolinas and that it would launch from 0-42 mph in 2.5 seconds, being a primary part of Carowinds' biggest investment yet. The ride's second launch, launching from 35 mph-50 mph in 2 seconds, will be located on an airtime hill.

In September 2018, the first pieces of track for the ride arrived. This was followed by the beginning of vertical construction in October 2018.

On December 7, 2018, the ride's track was finished with the completion of the top hat.

In February 2019, the coaster completed its first full test run.

Copperhead Strike opened on March 23, 2019.

Design

Elements
Heartline roll Dark/Show section LSM launch from 0-42 mph in 2.5 seconds Vertical loop Hill Corkscrew Helix LSM boost from 35 mph-50 mph in 2.0 seconds Cutback Vertical loop Stengel dive Helix

Copperhead Strike is a double launch coaster from Mack Rides. Right out of the station, the train enters its first inversion; a heartline roll, which is nicknamed the "jojo roll" by roller coaster enthusiasts due to its placement in the layout. A turn into a shed stops the train before the first of two launches. The first launch accelerates riders from 0–42 miles per hour and into the first vertical loop, followed by a small airtime hill and a turn to the right. An overbanked turn leads riders into the second launch, which is shaped as a bunny hill — very unique on a roller coaster — and enters what is assumed to be the 82-foot peak of Copperhead Strike; the cutback. The train dives down into an overbanked turn followed by the second vertical loop, which is threaded by the second launch and heads into a stengel dive, preceding a twister section of tight turns, bunny hills and overbanked turns before the final brake run.

Trains

3 trains with 4 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows, for a total of 16 riders per train.

Theme

Copperhead Strike is themed to a fictitious farm named Byrd Farm and a character within this farm named Granny who makes jam. During the ride, riders discover her "secret ingredient". This is in a preshow prior to the first launch.

Facts

• Like Steel Vengeance before it, Cedar Fair, Carowinds' owner, paired up with Frontier Developments to release a copy of Copperhead Strike onto Planet Coaster, their sim game. It was available as a free update shortly before the real coaster opened.

Images

Queue line

• 

  The tool shed

• 

  The doghouse

• 

  Clothing in the queue

Exterior

• 

  The viewing area of the first launch

• 

  The second launch

External links

• 
  Copperhead Strike on the Roller Coaster DataBase.

Articles on Carowinds
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