Patriot (California's Great America)

Roller coaster in the United States
Watch the on-ride POV
Patriot
View of the ride after its conversion into Patriot
California's Great America
Location Santa Clara, California, USA
Coordinates 37°23′48″N 121°58′24″W / 37.396672°N 121.973215°W / 37.396672; -121.973215
Park section Hometown Square
Status Operating since March 9, 1991
Rider height
  • Minimum: 54 inch
  • Maximum: 78 inch
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
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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. Previously the ride had 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

References

  1. "Patriot Gets an Opening Date, and more from CA Great America". coaster101.
  2. "Great America Introduces Patriot Floorless Coaster For 2017".
  3. "The Patriot Coming to Life at California's Great America". NewsPlusNotes.
  4. "Patriot opens at Great America with much fanfare".

External links

  • Patriot on the Roller Coaster DataBase.


Articles on California's Great America