| Watch the on-ride POV |
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| One of the two vertical loops | |||||||||||||
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| Statistics | |||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Schwarzkopf | ||||||||||||
| Designer / calculations | Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH | ||||||||||||
| Type | Steel | ||||||||||||
| Riders per train | 28 | ||||||||||||
| Propulsion | Chain lift hill | ||||||||||||
| Height | 116 feet | ||||||||||||
| Drop | 105 feet | ||||||||||||
| Top speed | 60 mph | ||||||||||||
| Length | 3600 feet | ||||||||||||
| Inversions | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 2:00 | ||||||||||||
| G-Force | 5.9 | ||||||||||||
| HELP | |||||||||||||
Shock Wave is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas, USA. Opened in 1978, the ride is located at the very back edge of the park and can be easily seen from the Interstate Highway 30.
History
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When Shock Wave opened on April 22, 1978, it was the tallest complete-circuit roller coaster in the world, at 116 feet tall. It was overtaken only weeks later by the Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
While not the fastest, scariest, or most technically advanced ride today, it still is ideal for younger riders looking to go on their first "upside down" roller coaster as well as nostalgics and coaster enthusiasts.
The ride is built on Johnson Creek real estate, and had to temporarily close in the 2004 season because of a flood.[1] Shock Wave was temporarily closed again in early 2008 for an extensive remodeling.
Shock Wave was closed for much of the 2013 season due to an unknown maintenance problem.
In 2016, the ride received virtual reality headgear showing a New Revolution film that many other Six Flags parks received.[2] The virtual reality was discontiued a year later.
Design
| Elements |
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Ride experience
After the 116 foot lift hill, a 180-degree right-hand turn with a slight dip follows. The train then goes down the first drop into the back-to-back loops, with peak forces at 5.9 G. The train then travels up a hill into the block brake. The ride then turns right and dives down and back up. The ride then turns left and drops down again. The final element is a hill with a left turn that goes into a 270-degree helix to the right before returning to the station.
Color scheme
Upon opening in 1978, the track and supports were all-white. It was later repainted blue with red supports. Currently, the ride is painted green with blue supports. The ride received a new coat of paint in 2012 from Baynum Solutions.[3]
Trains
2 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.
Trivia
Contrary to popular belief, it was not the first roller coaster to feature back to back vertical loops. That distinction goes to Double Loop at Geauga Lake, which opened in 1977, a year before Shock Wave.
References
External links
- Shock Wave on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
- Shock Wave on Coaster-Count.
- Shock Wave on the park's website
