Impulse Coaster
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| Possessed at Dorney Park. In this image, a twisted vertical spike is seen on the left and a straight vertical spike on the right | |
| Status | In production |
| Number built | 8 |
| Statistics | |
| Manufacturer |  |
| Type | Steel - Inverted - Launched - Shuttle |
The Impulse Coaster is a compact inverted roller coaster model produced by Intamin. The model uses LIM technology to launch the train forwards and backwards.
There are four models:
• Spike & Spike • Twist & Spike (56m) • Twist & Twist (66m) • Twist & Twist (70m)
Every Twist & Spike (56m) apart from Screaming Condor was built with a holding brake mounted on the vertical rollback tower; a set of LIMs that, when the train would pass over them the second time, would effectively work to push the train up the tower. Since the tower was vertical, however, the train would mostly stay in the same position until the LIMs would release it, usually after 0.5 to 1 second. Today, only Steel Venom at Valleyfair still has a functional holding brake. The reason most other parks have disabled the holding brake would likely be one of two reasons: either it was putting too much stress on the trains, or it was putting too much stress on the track and supports, as when the holding brake was applied, the top of the tower would usually sway a few inches. Furthermore, every Twist & Spike received additional supports on the two towers to strengthen them after the rides had opened. These appeared as vertical columns welded onto the top of the previous supports, with track connections every few feet. This also happened on Wicked Twister at Cedar Point in 2003, but with smaller pairs of supports that went straight from the original support to the track.
Installations
| Name | Park | Country | Opened | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linear Gale | Tokyo Dome City |  |
1998 | Closed October 31, 2010 |
| Screaming Condor | Leofoo Village Theme Park |  |
2001 | Operating |
| Flash: Vertical Velocity | Six Flags Discovery Kingdom |  |
June 8, 2001 | Operating |
| Flash: Vertical Velocity | Six Flags Great America | |
May 18, 2001 | Operating |
| Wicked Twister | Cedar Point | |
May 5, 2002 | Closed September 6, 2021 |
| Steel Venom | Valleyfair | |
May 17, 2003 | Operating |
| Possessed Formerly Steel Venom |
Dorney Park Geauga Lake |
|
May 2008 May 5, 2000 |
Operating Closed 2006 |
| Legendary Twin Dragon | Chongqing Sunac Land |  |
February 3, 2021 | Operating |
External links
- Impulse Coaster on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
