Great American Scream Machine (Six Flags Great Adventure)
Click here to watch the on-ride POV |
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The double corkscrew element. | |||||||||||||||
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Manufacturer | Arrow Dynamics | ||||||||||||||
Type | Steel | ||||||||||||||
Product | Custom Looping Coaster | ||||||||||||||
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 inverting 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. Although another roller coaster with the same name exists at Six Flags Over Georgia, that ride is an out and back wooden roller coaster.
Great American Scream Machine was announced in September 1988.[2]
On July 18, 2010, the ride closed permanently. It was replaced the following year by the Green Lantern, a Bolliger & Mabillard stand-up roller coaster formerly located at Kentucky Kingdom.
Design
Elements |
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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.
Modifications
After the first season, the top 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 rides 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.
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 Great American Scream Machine.
Photo Gallery
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 |
References
External links
- Great American Scream Machine on the Roller Coaster DataBase.