Great American Scream Machine (Six Flags Great Adventure)

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Great American Scream Machine

The double corkscrew element.
Six Flags Great Adventure Location Jackson, New Jersey, USA Status Defunct Operated April 15, 1989 to July 18, 2010 Cost $6,800,000 Height restriction 54 inches (137 cm) Replaced by Green Lantern
Statistics
Manufacturer	Arrow Dynamics
Product	Custom Looping Coaster
Designer / calculations	Ron Toomer
Type	Steel
Riders per train	28
Hourly capacity	1680
Propulsion	Chain lift hill
Height	173 feet
Drop	155 feet
Top speed	68 mph
Length	3800 feet
Inversions	7
Duration	2:20
G-Force	3.8
HELP

Great American Scream Machine was a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, USA. Built by Arrow Dynamics, it was the fastest looping roller coaster when it opened in 1989. It was built along with two other sister coasters known as ShockWave (dismantled in 2002) at Six Flags Great America, and Viper at Six Flags Magic Mountain, which still operates today. Although another roller coaster with the same name exists at Six Flags Over Georgia, that ride is an out and back wooden roller coaster.

The ride was removed in 2010 and replaced with Green Lantern, a B&M stand-up coaster.

History

After the infamous fire that wiped out the Haunted Castle and claimed the lives of eight teenagers in May 1984, Six Flags Great Adventure suffered from bad publicity, and attendance had dropped significantly. The original plans for the coaster were moved to Six Flags Great America, where the coaster would open in 1988 as ShockWave. Another plan was worked out with Arrow Dynamics to build a looping roller coaster like ShockWave in order to boost attendance.

Originally, the ride was set to be named Ninja, but there were problems with the crowds drawn to the Ninja coasters in other parks. The park would instead name the coaster Great American Scream Machine. On September 29, 1988, the ride was finally announced.

Great American Scream Machine had a media preview on April 14, 1989. It opened to the public a day later on April 15. The Great American Scream Machine was a massive success, and Six Flags Great Adventure's attendance skyrocketed.

After the first season, the tops of the vertical loops were replaced by track with additional strength bracing. This was due to the the amount of stress put on the trains and problems on other Arrow Dynamics coasters, such as ShockWave at Six Flags Great America. The original top of the first loop can be seen in the monkey enclosure at the Wild Safari. Along with this, a trim brake was installed after the first loop. This was not designed to stop the train, it is only used to adjust the speed at temperatures of over 90 degrees.

In 2009, the white train (Liberty) was ad-wrapped as an advert for one of the ride's sponsors, got2b Glued Styling Spiking Glue, a hair gel. This was the first ride in the park to have this, but adverts were later placed on Kingda Ka and El Toro trains for Karate Kid and Stride Gum respectively.

Over time, the ride had become rougher. On July 5, 2010, Six Flags Great Adventure announced that Great American Scream Machine would close on July 18. Final rides were given that day, which drew in quite a lot of people. In 2011, it was replaced by Green Lantern, a Bolliger & Mabillard stand-up roller coaster formerly located at Kentucky Kingdom.

Design

Elements
Chain lift hill 136 foot tall vertical loop 107 foot tall vertical loop 97 foot tall vertical loop Block brake Batwing Double corkscrew

After the lift hill and drop, there are three vertical loops, a brake run, the batwing, a double corkscrew before a turn around into the station.

Trains

3 trains with 7 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows, for a total of 28 riders per train.

The top half of the ride's original vertical loop is now the only remaining part of the coaster, and can only be seen via a VIP tour of the park's safari exhibit.

Theming

All the colors of the ride and the surrounding area resembled the American flag. The track was painted red with white supports. The trains were named Freedom (red), Liberty (white), and Spirit (blue). The ground under the ride had a red and white pattern resembling the stripes on the American flag and the station building was white with blue trim.

Trivia

• Planet Coaster, a build-your-own-theme park game like RollerCoaster Tycoon, has an Arrow-inspired looping coaster called the American Arrow, in honor of Arrow's looping coasters.

Photo Gallery

• 

  One of the three vertical loops.

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  The roller coaster during demolition.

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  The blue train entering the double corkscrew.

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  View of the station.

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  The train dropping.

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  The batwing.

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  Entrance after the ride closed.

External links

• 
  Great American Scream Machine on the Roller Coaster DataBase.

Tallest complete-circuit roller coaster April 1989 - May 1989
Preceded by ShockWave	Tallest complete-circuit roller coaster April 1989 - May 1989	Succeeded by Magnum XL-200

Tallest roller coaster drop tied with ShockWave April 1989 - May 1989
Preceded by American Eagle	Tallest roller coaster drop tied with ShockWave April 1989 - May 1989	Succeeded by Magnum XL-200

Most inversions on a roller coaster (7) tied with Goudurix Kumba ShockWave Viper April 1989 - May 1995
Preceded by Vortex	Most inversions on a roller coaster (7) tied with Goudurix Kumba ShockWave Viper April 1989 - May 1995	Succeeded by Dragon Khan

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