Air (roller coaster)

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Air

Location	Alton Towers
Park Section	Forbidden Valley
Type	Steel - Flying
Status	Open
Opened	March 16, 2002
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Designer	John Wardley
Model	Flying Coaster
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	66 ft (20.1 m)
Length	2756 ft (840 m)
Max speed	46.6 mph (75 km/h)
Inversions	2
Duration	1:40
Capacity	1,500 riders per hour
Cost	£12,000,000
Max G force	3.5
Air at RCDB
Pictures of Air at RCDB

Air (originally from Aerial Inversion Ride) is a steel flying coaster made by Bolliger & Mabillard of Switzerland. The coaster is located in the Forbidden Valley area of Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. Riders are placed in a horizontal position and gain the feeling of flight by "flying" close to the ground and under footpaths, which makes for a thrilling and fun experience.

[edit] The Ride

Air is located in the calm end of the Forbidden Valley, away from the destruction that Nemesis causes. The ride itself is very calm and makes a change from the other rides in the park. The queue leads to a section which is split, allowing you to go on the left or right track, it makes no difference but with two stations operating at once, Air can go through more riders per hour. Once seated, you pull down the overhead restraints, which are comfortably padded using a rubber vest which instantly recognises the shape of your chest creating maximum comfort. When everyone is secured in their seats, the lights turn a dim blue and the floor retracts. A voice whispers "Prepare for Air" before the seats retract back 90°, so you are now facing the floor. The voice then says "Assume the position... now fly!" before the train slowly moves out the station and the ride starts with the train being pulled up the chain lift hill. After cresting the lift hill, Air makes a pre-drop section to the right, before going down it's first main drop where the on-ride photo section is. Immediately after this it enters a half zero-g roll, where riders are flipped to face the sky and take part in a blind curve sweeping left where it is flipped back. After going through an upward helix, the train then enters a barrel roll, before the train makes it's final drops and turns, before the train then ventures out away from the view of the "public" and sweeps onto a long braking run, smoothly of course. The train is brought into the opposite station to the one it was loaded in but thanks to double sided cupboards, riders can still retrieve the loose articles they left before riding.

[edit] Trivia

Aswell as Corkscrew, Air features a black lift hill, to camouflage it within the trees, due to nearby residents visibilty of it.
Air is the only flying coaster to feature a half zero-g roll.
Air is the first B&M flying coaster, but only by less than a month, when Superman Ultimate Flight opened at Six Flags Over Georgia on April 3rd.