Flying roller coaster

(Redirected from Flying)
Flying
Description Riders are positioned in a face-down position underneath the track.
First Installation Skytrak (1992)
Oldest in Operation Batwing (2001)
Newest Installation Aurora Flying Coaster (2023)
Manufacturers BSAE
Bolliger & Mabillard
Jinma Rides
Select Contracts
SkyRider Thrills
Skytrak International
Vekoma
Wiegand
Zamperla

A flying roller coaster is a type of a roller coaster with cars designed to simulate the sensations of flight. Riders travel in a lying-down position roughly parallel to the track. Flying roller coasters come in a variety of sizes and designs depending on the intended demographic for the ride. Some flying roller coasters are intended for children and, thus, are relatively slow and gentle; others are meant for older children and adults and can be very fast and intense.

History

The world's first flying roller coaster was Skytrak built in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, UK at the Go Kidz Go indoor playground in 1991. Skytrak used a single-passenger car. It uses a single rail system to fly riders around the indoor playground.

Vekoma expanded upon the flying roller coaster concept by developing a higher capacity variant which could deliver a more flexible layout. Six Flags America opened Batwing in 2001, the first of only three installations of Vekoma's Flying Dutchman model. Riders enter one of two loading platforms in the dual station, allowing for three trains to operate at once, with one train completing the layout whilst the other two load and offload riders, increasing capacity. Batwing's trains also feature six cars of four rows, allowing for a maximum of 24 riders per train, further increasing capacity. To bring riders into a flying position, the train is boarded as if a traditional sit-down roller coaster. Once the train is cleared for dispatch, the car pivots backwards from the base of the seats until it is roughly parallel to the track, placing riders on their back. Immediately following the lift hill, riders undergo a lie to fly to achieve the prone position before experiencing a horseshoe, a fly to lie, a vertical loop, another lie to fly, two in-line twists, a helix and a final fly to lie before being halted by the final brake run.

In 2002, Bolliger & Mabillard debuted its flying coaster concept with the introduction of Air at Alton Towers. Unlike Vekoma's product, this flying coaster has the track above the trains akin to an inverted or suspended coaster. Riders board in a seated position. The seats then tilt backward into a flying position before the train leaves the station.

A Vekoma and B&M flying train
Roller coaster types