Flight Deck (California's Great America)

Flight Deck
Previously known as Top Gun and Afterburn
California's Great America
Coordinates	37°23′53.10″N 121°58′18.63″W / 37.3980833°N 121.9718417°WCoordinates: 37°23′53.10″N 121°58′18.63″W / 37.3980833°N 121.9718417°W
Status	Operating
Opening date	March 19, 1993
General statistics
Type	Steel – Inverted
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Designer	Werner Stengel
Model	Custom
Height	102 ft (31 m)
Drop	91 ft (28 m)
Length	2,260 ft (690 m)
Speed	50 mph (80 km/h)
Inversions	3
Duration	2:26
Capacity	1330 riders per hour
G-force	4.5
Height restriction	54 in (137 cm)
Trains	2 trains with 7 cars. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 28 riders per train.
Fast Lane available
Flight Deck at RCDB Pictures of Flight Deck at RCDB

Flight Deck is a steel inverted roller coaster located at California's Great America in Northern California. Built by Bolliger & Mabillard, Flight Deck made its debut March 19, 1993 as Top Gun.^[1] This was Bolliger & Mabillard's second inverted coaster behind Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Great America. The third inverted coaster from Bolliger & Mabillard opened a little under two months later at Six Flags Great Adventure. Flight Deck at California's Great America isn't quite as tall, nor as fast or long (in length) as its partner, Afterburn at Carowinds.

Flight Deck was also featured in a commercial for Excedrin in 2007.

History

The Park opened the ride in 1993 as the first custom B&M Invert. The roller coaster opened as Top Gun. The color scheme when it opened was all black. Over the years the name has changed to Flight Deck and in 2014, the color scheme changed to red track and white supports, possibly to support Levi's Stadium.

Ride experience

The ride begins with a small right-hand turn followed by the lift hill. The drop at the top of the hill begins with a sharp left turn. After the drop, there is a vertical loop. The ride then performs a 3/4 turn to the right followed by a Heartline Spin. There are a couple mild turns. After this, there is a small drop immediately followed by a corkscrew loop and a Flat Spin over a nearby pond . The ride features another 3/4 turn, this time to the left. Finally, the train turns right into the loading station.

Ride elements

• Vertical Loop
• Heartline Spin
• Flat Spin/Wing Over

References

1. Marden, Duane. "Flight Deck (California's Great America)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster Database. Retrieved 5 April 2012.

External links

• Official page