Steel Force

Steel Force
Steel Force lift hill and return
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Coordinates	40°34′44″N 75°32′17″W / 40.57889°N 75.53806°WCoordinates: 40°34′44″N 75°32′17″W / 40.57889°N 75.53806°W
Status	Operating
Opening date	May 30, 1997
Cost	US$10,000,000
General statistics
Type	Steel – Hypercoaster
Manufacturer	D. H. Morgan Manufacturing
Designer	Steve Okamoto
Model	Hyper Coaster
Track layout	Out and Back
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	200 ft (61 m)
Drop	205 ft (62 m)
Length	5,600 ft (1,700 m)
Speed	75 mph (121 km/h)
Duration	3:00
Max vertical angle	61°
Capacity	1,700 riders per hour
G-force	3.4
Height restriction	48 in (122 cm)
Trains	3 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows for a total of 36 riders per train.
Fast Lane available
Steel Force at RCDB Pictures of Steel Force at RCDB

Steel Force is a roller coaster at Dorney Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Built by D. H. Morgan Manufacturing and designed by Steve Okamoto, it opened in 1997. It is 5,600 feet (1,700 m) in length (over 1-mile (1.6 km)), making it the longest coaster on the East Coast. It has a 205-foot (62 m) first drop, with a top speed of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h). Riders experience over 2.5 G's at the bottom of the first hill.

Steel Force is the ninth longest steel roller coaster in the world and the longest such rollercoaster on the East Coast of the United States.

History

When Steel Force opened, it laid claim to being the longest, fastest and tallest roller coaster on the East Coast. The title of longest coaster on the East Coast still stands. It has been ranked among the top 10 steel coasters in the world.^[1][2]

Steel Force’s logo was originally intended for the stand-up coaster Mantis, which had opened at Cedar Point a year earlier. Mantis initially was to be named “Banshee,” but had its name changed for sensitivity reasons.^[3] The logo was no longer appropriate after the name change, so Dorney Park adopted it for its Steel Force coaster a year later.^[4]

Golden Ticket Awards: Top steel Roller Coasters
Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Ranking	4[5]	4[6]	6[7]	16[8]	11[9]	14[10]	15[11]	20[12]	18[13]	23[14]	27[15]	26[16]	39[17]	37[18]	37[19]	45[20]

Construction data

The following materials are included:

• 2,000 tons of steel
• 12,150,000 pounds (5,510,000 kg) of concrete footers
• 2,742 anchor bolts

Ride elements

• Two 120-foot-long (37 m) tunnels
• 510-degree downward helix
• Double-up
• On-ride photo camera (between the last two airtime hills)

Gallery

• 

  Steel Force's first drop

• 

  Steel Force's first drop

• 

  Steel Force's first airtime hill

• 

  Steel Force's final airtime hills

References

1. http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/resources/tv/topten/topten_list.shtml
2. "Top 10 Coasters". Ultimate Rollercoaster. 1999. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
3. Marden, Duane. "Mantis  (Cedar Point)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
4. Marden, Duane. "Steel Force  (Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
5. "Top 25 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. August 2000. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
6. "Top 25 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 7B. August 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
7. "Top 25 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 7B. September 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
8. "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 14–15B. September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
9. "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 18–19B. September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2007. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
10. "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 26–27B. September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
11. "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 26–27B. September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
12. "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today 11 (6.2): 36–37. September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
13. "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today 12 (6.2): 36–37. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
14. "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today 13 (6.2): 32–33. September 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
15. "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today 14 (6.2): 34–35. September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
16. "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today 15 (6.2): 38–39. September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
17. "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today 16 (6.2): 36–37. September 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
18. "2013 Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today 17 (6.2): 34–35. September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
19. "2014 Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today 18 (6.2): 46–47. September 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
20. "2015 Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today 19 (6.2): 49–50. September 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2015.

External links

• Official page