Flight of Fear (Kings Dominion)

Roller coaster in the United States
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Flight of Fear
Kings Dominion
Location Doswell, Virginia, USA
Coordinates 37°50′20″N 77°26′23″W / 37.838761°N 77.439827°W / 37.838761; -77.439827
Park section Jungle X-Pedition
Status Operating since June 18, 1996
Cost $11.2 million
Soundtrack Rob Pottorf
Rider height 54 inch minimum
Statistics
Manufacturer Premier Rides
Product Catapult Coaster
Designer / calculations Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH
Type Steel - Launched - Enclosed
Hourly capacity 2,000
Propulsion LIM launch
Height 74.2 feet
Top speed 54 mph
Length 2705 feet
Inversions 4
Duration 2:24
G-Force 4.5
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Flight of Fear (formerly The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear) is a steel enclosed launched roller coaster located at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia, USA. It is a prototype Catapult Coaster built by Premier Rides and one of two roller coasters named Flight of Fear; both rides are identical. The other Flight of Fear is located at Kings Island. Both Flight of Fear coasters opened in 1996 and were the first roller coasters to have a linear induction motor launch (LIM).

The ride originally had The Outer Limits-based theming. However, after the Paramount's licensing to use the show expired, all references to the television show were removed for the start of the 2001 season. The attraction features an original soundtrack composed by Rob Pottorf and theming co-designed by Bob Dennis and David Ferguson of Paramount Parks Design & Entertainment.

The ride has won three awards from the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, including one for Major Theme/Amusement Park Ride/Attraction and two for Technology Applied to Amusements.

History

The entrance

Kings Dominion began teasing a new attraction in the summer of 1995 by cutting a "crop circle" in a nearby field which featured a UFO, the face of an alien and the letter "F" written in binary.[1] In August 1995, the park announced that The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear would be arriving in 1996. The ride would be themed to the TV show of the same name.[2]

Premier Rides and Kings Dominion performed the first successful launch of the ride on April 11, 1996, at 5:33 p.m., proving that linear induction motors could be used to accelerate a roller coaster train using magnetic fields with enough force to complete a full circuit. Each launch required 3 megawatts of electric power, which caused frequent voltage sags to neighboring utility customers. Square D by Schneider Electric was hired to develop a complex solid-state capacitor bank to reduce the load on the electric utility.

The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear opened to the public on June 18, 1996.[3] It was originally set to open in April 1996, but the opening was delayed for two months.[4]

In 2001, The Outer Limits name was dropped after Paramount sold the license. That same year, the shoulder restraints were replaced with lap bars after complaints of roughness.

Sometime in the late 2000s, the hangar queue line was reduced to make room for a Halloween Haunt maze. Guests would now head into the saucer rather than walking around. The pre-show was turned off as a result.[5]

Design

Elements
The saucer in the hangar

Unlike the Kings Island version, the Kings Dominion version has some differences. Some portions of the track are painted gold, while the rest is painted dark gray.

While inside the arena, guests need to wear headphones, due to loud noises from the train.

Ride experience

Flight of Fear begins when an LIM launch fires the train from 0-54 mph in 4 seconds straight into a large arena filled with multi-colored lights and speakers that play music. Riders flip into a cobra roll, which leads directly into a sidewinder. The train makes a right curve, followed by a double left turn. After that, riders hit the block brake. The train slowly dives into a left spiral. After the spiral, riders go through a right turn. The train hits the ground, going through a few turns. Riders head into the last inversion, which is a corkscrew just before hitting the final brake run. An alien can be seen before the train hits the unloading area.

Trains

3 trains with 5 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows, for a total of 20 riders per train.

Images

Queue line

  • The hangar section of the queue

    The hangar section of the queue

  • The hangar queue line prior to the haunted house conversion

    The hangar queue line prior to the haunted house conversion

  • The right side of the hangar

    The right side of the hangar

  • The staircase to the saucer

    The staircase to the saucer

  • Items underneath the saucer

    Items underneath the saucer

  • The hangar balcony

    The hangar balcony

  • The underside of the saucer

    The underside of the saucer

  • The chicken exit

    The chicken exit

Exterior

  • The exterior theming

    The exterior theming

  • The exterior in 2008

    The exterior in 2008

  • The surrounding area in 2022

    The surrounding area in 2022

Interior

  • The loading area

    The loading area

  • The current trains

    The current trains

References

  1. ↑ Part 17: Reaching the Outer Limits
  2. ↑ "Outer limits Flight of Fear at Paramount's Kings Dominion announcement news clips in 1995". YouTube. Coaster Jeff. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Outer Limits Flight of Fear News clip from Paramount's Kings Dominion June 1996". YouTube. Coaster Jeff. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Coaster: Still out in the cold". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. June 29, 1997. p. 63. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Haunt Review: Surviving the Terror Overload at Kings Dominion's Halloween Haunt".

External links


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