Euro-Fighter

Product
This article is about the product by Gerstlauer. For the roller coaster at Zoosafari Fasanolandia, see Eurofighter.
Euro-Fighter
Status In production
Number built 24
First built Vild Svinet (2003)
Latest built Vertika (2020)
Statistics
Manufacturer
 Gerstlauer, Germany
Type Steel

The Euro-Fighter is a popular steel roller coaster design built by Gerstlauer. The first installation was Vild-Svinet at BonBon-Land in Denmark, and since then another 22 have been built. The majority of Euro-Fighters are custom designed for the park, but there are also pre-designed models.

The longest and steepest Euro-Fighter to date is TMNT Shellraiser at Nickelodeon Universe in New Jersey, USA, which is also the steepest roller coaster in the world, with a 121.5 degree drop.

Design

The main characteristic of the model line is its 'beyond vertical' drop, which reaches angles of over 90 degrees. Also, the lift hill is vertical and precedes the drop, forming a tower (pictured right) which is easily recognizable.

Riders sit in single cars, seating 8 riders in two rows of four. Two exceptions are Huracan at Belantis and Dare Devil Dive at Six Flags Over Georgia, which use cars similar to Gerstlauer's launched roller coasters, searing 6 riders in three rows of two. The cars use over-the-shoulder restraints, and may be themed (to an extent) to a customer's needs. Dare Devil Dive is the first Euro-Fighter to use the new lap-bar restraints.

The Euro-Fighter can feature a wide variety of inversions, such as the vertical loop, cobra roll, immelman and heartline roll. Some recent Euro-Fighters also feature LSM launches. Gerstlauer have also introduced new inversions with the Euro-Fighter, such as the banana roll. This model was superseded by the Infinity Coaster in 2013, but Gerstlauer still sells some stock models, like the 320+ and the 1000. They even designed a new stock model named the 320, the first of which (Hydrus at Casino Pier) opened in 2017.

Variants

Installations

Name Amusement park Country Model Steepest drop Opened Status
Abyss Adventure World
Australia
Custom 100° November 1, 2013 Operating
Adrenaline Peak Oaks Amusement Park
USA
320 97° March 24, 2018 Operating
Dare Devil Dive Six Flags Over Georgia
USA
Custom 95° May 28, 2011 Operating
Eurofighter Zoosafari Fasanolandia
Italy
Custom 97° August 6, 2011 Operating
Falcon Duinrell
Netherlands
320+ 97° May 14, 2009 Operating
Flucht von Novgorod Hansa-Park
Germany
Custom 97° April 9, 2009 Operating
Huracan Belantis
Germany
Custom 97° June 26, 2010 Operating
Hydrus Casino Pier
USA
320 97° May 6, 2017 Operating
Iron Shark Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier
USA
380 95° June 1, 2012 Operating
Krater Parque del Café
Colombia
380 97° December 19, 2014 Operating
Mystery Mine Dollywood
USA
Custom 95° April 13, 2007 Operating
Predator IMG Worlds of Adventure
United Arab Emirates
320+ 97° August 31, 2016 Operating
Rage Adventure Island
UK
320+ 97° February 10, 2007 Operating
Saw - The Ride Thorpe Park
UK
Custom 100° March 14, 2009 Operating
Serpent Sindibad
Morocco
320+ 97° 2015 Operating
Speed Oakwood Theme Park
UK
600 97° April 13, 2006 Operating
SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge Nickelodeon Universe (Minnesota)
USA
Custom 97° March 15, 2008 Operating
Takabisha Fuji-Q Highland
Japan
1000 121° July 16, 2011 Operating
Tantrum Six Flags Darien Lake
USA
380 95° May 25, 2018 Operating
TMNT Shellraiser Nickelodeon Universe (New Jersey)
USA
1000 121.5° 2019 Operating
Typhoon Bobbejaanland
Belgium
670/8 97° April 10, 2004 Operating
Untamed Canobie Lake Park
USA
320+ 97° June 11, 2011 Operating
Vertika La Recre de 3 Cures
France
Custom 91° June 6, 2020 Operating
Vild-Svinet BonBon-Land
Denmark
500/8 97° May 16, 2003 Operating


Gerstlauer