G Force (Drayton Manor Park)

Roller coaster in the United Kingdom
(Redirected from G Force)
Watch the on-ride POV
G Force
G Force in 2014
Drayton Manor
Location Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire, England, UK
Status In storage
Operated 26 July 2005 to 2018
Statistics
Manufacturer Maurer Rides
Product X-Car Vertical
Type Steel
Riders per train 12
Hourly capacity 550
Propulsion Chain lift hill
Area 246 metres × 134.5 metres
Height 25 metres
Top speed 70 km/h
Length 385 metres
Inversions 3
Duration 0:45
HELP
The logo of the ride

G Force was a steel roller coaster located at Drayton Manor in Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire, England, UK.[1] It was the only Maurer Rides X-Car roller coaster in the UK, and was opened on 26 July 2005.[2] The ride was originally going to be called Barnstorm, but this changed to G Force before it opened.[3] G Force replaced the Klondike Gold Mine.

The layout of G Force was unique until Dream Coaster opened at Dream City in Iraq. The layout of Dream Coaster is identical to that of G Force.

G Force is currently in storage and still for sale as of October 2023. It is of note that only one train is being included in the sale.[4]

History

When it was announced, the ride was to be called Barnstorm, but the plans were cancelled. It opened on 26 July 2005.

In August 2014, it was announced that Drayton Manor would donate a penny to the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, up to a maximum of £5,000 a year, for every person who rode G Force. A new sign with the charity's logo was placed outside the ride.[5]

The ride was closed for an extended period of time at the beginning of Drayton Manor's 2018 season due to rumored vehicle modifications. The ride briefly reopened in July 2018, but closed again shortly after and did not reopen.

In October 2018, the park's owners confirmed during a Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain event that the ride would be removed due to high repair costs and low reliability.[6] While the park did not publicly confirmed the removal, G Force was not listed on the 2019 park map. Dismantling the roller coaster began in January 2020, confirming that it would not operate again at Drayton Manor.[7]

On 8 April 2021, the park announced a retheme of the area surrounding the former G Force site into Adventure Cove. As part of this, G Force itself will be replaced by two new rides; what type of rides these will be is yet to be announced.[8]

Design

Elements

This ride used a unique inverted chain lift called a Humpty Bumpty Lift, which is similar to a standard vertical loop. When riders reached the top, they were fully upside-down. The train was then released and travelled over a sharp air-time hill and through a sidewinder, which is immediately followed by an immelmann. The sidewinder and immmelmann combined was labeled as a bent cuban eight.[1]

Trains

The train

2 trains with 2 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows, for a total of 12 riders per train. The ride used Maurer AG's X-Car trains which kept riders in place with special hip restraints, as opposed to a conventional shoulder harness. This design allowed upper body freedom but some riders found them uncomfortable on the lower body. Each train had two "big boy" seats which were more accommodating for larger riders.

Images

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 X-Car Vertical XV 2000 Project Info - Maurer AG
  2. High-flyer! Second X-Car Coaster has been opened - Roller Coaster DataBase
  3. Drayton Manor Theme Park Joins G-Forces With MAAC - Drayton Manor 2005 park map - UK Rides (Wayback archive)
  4. "Used Rides: G-Force". United International Leisure AG.
  5. Drayton Manor Theme Park joins G-Forces with Midlands Air Ambulance Charity - Tamworth Herald
  6. Drayton Manor has confirmed G Force closure - CoasterNerds Facebook page
  7. "ASP Consulting 'Melbourne' Ltd. Facebook post". Facebook. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  8. "New themed area Adventure Cove at Drayton Manor in 2021".

External links

  • G Force on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
Articles on Drayton Manor