Suspended Family Coaster

Suspended Family Coaster

Flying Ace Aerial Chase (formerly Rugrats Runaway Reptar) at Kings Island was one of the first Family Inverted Coaster models.[1]
Status In Production
First manufactured 2001
No. of installations 11
Manufacturer Vekoma
Type Steel - Inverted - Family
Models 294m, 342m and 395m
Lift system Drive tire
Suspended Family Coaster at RCDB

A Suspended Family Coaster is a steel inverted roller coaster built by Vekoma designed for families with no inversions. Just like all inverted roller coasters the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. This latter attribute is what sets it apart from the older suspended swinging coaster, which runs under the track, but "swings" via a pivoting bar attached to the wheel carriage.

History

The Suspended Family Coaster debuted in 2001 with the Rugrats Runaway Reptar opening at Kings Island in Ohio, USA,[1] and Silver Streak at sister park Canada's Wonderland.[2] Several clones and variations have opened since.[3]

The original designs featured trains with a safety system consisting of over-the-shoulder restraints. These restraints would lock into place with a belt-type connector which would be attached the seat base. All of the original track designs were of the 342m model with concrete footers.

In March 2007, Vekoma debuted a new version of the Suspended Family Coaster, the 294m model. The first installation of this was Jimmy Neutron's Atomic Flyer at Movie Park Germany. The ride differs from previous Suspended Family Coasters because it has a portable base-frame beneath the track rather than concrete footers and features a new train style with fully padded seats that utilize lap bar restraints.[4]

One month later in April 2007, the 395m model was launched at Grona Lund in Sweden. The ride, which was named Kvasten, featured the same redesigned trains as Jimmy Neutron's Atomic Flyer. The ride also features a larger layout with a peak height of 20 metres (66 ft) and a length of 395 metres (1,296 ft).[5]

Models

All models have one train, which has 10 cars with 2 seats on each car.[6] This caters for up to 650 riders per hour. All of the models feature lift hills powered by tires and magnetic brake runs.

Installations

Name Amusement Park Location Opening Date Model Notes Ref.
Bat Lagoon Amusement Park Farmington, Utah, United States 16 April 2005 342m [7]
Escape from Madagascar Dreamworld Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia 26 December 2002 342m [6]
Flying Ace Aerial Chase Carowinds Charlotte, North Carolina, United States 22 March 2003 342m [8]
Flying Ace Aerial Chase Kings Island Mason, Ohio, United States 7 April 2001 342m [9]
Flying School
formerly Swamp Thing
Legoland Florida Winter Haven, Florida, United States 9 December 2004 342m Installed by Martin & Vleminckx[10] [11]
Freedom Flyer Fun Spot America Orlando, Florida, United States May 2013 395m [12]
Jimmy Neutron's Atomic Flyer Movie Park Germany Bottrop, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany March 2007 294m [4]
Kvasten Gröna Lund Stockholm, Sweden 28 April 2007 395m [5]
Orkanen Fårup sommerland Jylland, Denmark 5 June 2013 Custom [13]
Silver Streak Canada's Wonderland Vaughan, Ontario, Canada 6 May 2001 342m [14]
Steel Lasso Frontier City Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States 18 July 2008 294m [15]
Swamp Thing Wild Adventures Valdosta, Georgia, United States 10 May 2003 342m [16]

Gallery

References

  1. 1 2 Rugrats Runaway Reptar, Kings Island, Coaster-Net
  2. Wonderland has 4 new thrills, Toronto Star, Jim Fox, May 5, 2001
  3. Marden, Duane. "Suspended Family Coaster". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 Marden, Duane. "Jimmy Neutron's Atomic Flyer  (Movie Park Germany)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 Marden, Duane. "Kvasten  (Grona Lund)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 Marden, Duane. "Escape from Madagascar  (Dreamworld)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  7. Marden, Duane. "Bat  (Lagoon)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  8. Marden, Duane. "Flying Ace Aerial Chase  (Carowinds)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  9. Marden, Duane. "Flying Ace Aerial Chase  (Kings Island)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  10. "Vekoma". Martin & Vleminckx. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  11. Marden, Duane. "Flying School  (Legoland Florida)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  12. Marden, Duane. "Freedom Flyer  (Fun Spot America)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  13. Marden, Duane. "Orkanen  (Fårup Sommerland)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  14. Marden, Duane. "Silver Streak  (Canada's Wonderland)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  15. Marden, Duane. "Steel Lasoo  (Frontier City)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  16. Marden, Duane. "Swamp Thing  (Wild Adventures)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 July 2013.

External links

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