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| Manufacturer | Intamin | ||||||||||||
| Product | Mega Coaster | ||||||||||||
| Designer / calculations | Ing. - Buro Stengel GmbH | ||||||||||||
| Type | Steel - Hyper | ||||||||||||
| Riders per train | 32 | ||||||||||||
| Hourly capacity | 1,100 | ||||||||||||
| Propulsion | Chain lift hill | ||||||||||||
| Height | 208 feet | ||||||||||||
| Drop | 205 feet | ||||||||||||
| Top speed | 73 mph | ||||||||||||
| Length | 5400 feet | ||||||||||||
| Inversions | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Drop angle | 68° | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 2:02 | ||||||||||||
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Ride of Steel is a steel hyper roller coaster located at Six Flags Darien Lake in Darien Center, New York, USA. It is a Mega Coaster installation from Intamin. It opened on May 15, 1999 as Superman: Ride of Steel. A mirrored clone of this ride, Superman: Ride of Steel, opened at Six Flags America in 2000. For the 2007 season, coinciding with the sale of Darien Lake by Six Flags, the Superman branding was dropped.
History
The ride first opened as Superman: Ride of Steel on May 15, 1999.
In 2004, Superman: Ride of Steel was closed indefinitely when a 55-year-old Connecticut man fell to his death from Superman The Ride at Six Flags New England.[1]
The Superman theming was removed for the 2007 season when Darien Lake was sold. It was renamed to just Ride of Steel.
In 2018, Six Flags re-acquired operation of Darien Lake, however, the Superman branding has not returned.[2]
Design
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Trains
2 trains with 8 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows, for a total of 32 riders per train.
Records
Ride of Steel was built as and remains the tallest roller coaster in New York State as of 2021.
Incidents
2011
On July 8, 2011, a 29-year-old United States Army veteran was thrown from his seat when the double-amputee raised his arms to retrieve a hat that had come loose at the crest of the third and final hill (one of the highest speed zones of the ride). This resulted in the man striking the front of the train and falling roughly 150 feet from the ride causing his death. According to New York State investigations, it was determined that Hackemer was not wearing his prosthetic limbs at the time of the incident. In addition, ride operators did not proficiently understand the safety guidelines and operating procedures and failed to abide by the ride's safety measures (also posted on signage at the ride's entrance) including a requirement that riders have both legs.[3][4][5]
Images
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The entrance to Ride of Steel -
The queue line
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References
- ↑ McLendon, Gary (May 22, 2004). "Superman coasters suspended". Democrat and Chronicle. p. 15. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- ↑ "Six Flags Adds Five More Parks to US Portfolio". Business Wire.
- ↑ Kelly, Keegan (8/11/2013). "4 Amusement Park Accidents in Recent Memory". Democrat & Chronicle (Rochester, NY).
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ↑ Owens, Howard B. (8/25/2011). "Final Sheriff's Office Report on Death at Darien's Ride of Steel Contains New Details". The Batavian.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ↑ "Darien Lake settles lawsuit stemming from death of Iraq veteran killed by falling out of a roller coaster". Syracuse.com / Associated Press. 01/08/2013.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
- Ride of Steel on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
- Intamin Superman Ride of Steel product page
