| Click here to watch the on-ride POV |
|---|
_2017_01.jpg)
| |||||||||||||
| View of the ride after its conversion into Patriot. | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Statistics | |||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Bolliger & Mabillard | ||||||||||||
| Product | Stand-Up Coaster | ||||||||||||
| Designer / calculations | Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH | ||||||||||||
| Type | Steel - Floorless | ||||||||||||
| Hourly capacity | 1,200 | ||||||||||||
| Propulsion | Chain lift hill | ||||||||||||
| Height | 91 feet | ||||||||||||
| Top speed | 40 mph | ||||||||||||
| Length | 1920 feet | ||||||||||||
| Inversions | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 2:14 | ||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | |||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Bolliger & Mabillard (replaced 2017) | ||||||||||||
| Riders per train | 29 | ||||||||||||
| HELP | |||||||||||||
Patriot is a steel floorless roller coaster located at California's Great America in Santa Clara, California, USA. The ride was built by Bolliger & Mabillard and opened on March 9, 1991 as Vortex. It is the second roller coaster built by the company, with the first one being Iron Wolf at Six Flags Great America. It is slightly shorter than Bolliger & Mabillard's third roller coaster, Vortex at Carowinds.
History
Vortex opened on March 9, 1991.
The ride became rough and uncomfortable over the years, and a floorless conversion was the ideal investment, as it wasn't too expensive and didn't require expansion.[1]
On August 18, 2016, the park announced that Vortex would be renamed Patriot and receive a floorless conversion. This conversion saw the track repainted blue and the supports repainted white. Vortex's last day as a stand-up coaster was September 5, 2016.[2] The transformation began in September 2016 shortly after Vortex closed.[3] The ride reopened as Patriot on April 1, 2017.[4]
Design
| Elements |
|---|
Color scheme
Blue track and white supports. Used to feature purple and yellow track with light gray supports.
Trains
2 trains with 7 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 4 across in a single row, for a total of 28 riders per train.
Images
Entrance to Patriot.
Entrance to Vortex.
One of Patriot's trains.
The restraint system on Patriot.
The restraint system on Vortex.
One of the two trains on Vortex.
_entrance.jpg)
_sign.jpg)
_2018_01.jpg)
_2010_01.jpg)
_2007_01.jpg)
_2014_01.jpg)
_2014_02.jpg)
_restraint_system.jpg)
_2014_03.jpg)
References
- ↑ "Patriot Gets an Opening Date, and more from CA Great America". coaster101. https://www.coaster101.com/2017/03/22/patriot-gets-and-opening-date-and-more-from-ca-great-america/.
- ↑ "Great America Introduces Patriot Floorless Coaster For 2017". https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/great-america-introduces-patriot-floorless-coaster-for-2017-300315428.html.
- ↑ "The Patriot Coming to Life at California's Great America". NewsPlusNotes. http://newsplusnotes.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-patriot-coming-to-life-at.html.
- ↑ "Patriot opens at Great America with much fanfare". https://acenorcal.org/2017/04/01/patriot-opens-at-great-america-with-much-fanfare/.
External links
- Patriot on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
