X (roller coaster)

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X
Location Six Flags Magic Mountain
Type Steel - 4th Dimension
Status Operating
Opened January 12, 2002
Manufacturer Arrow Dynamics
Model 4th Dimension
Lift/launch system Chain lift hill
Height 175 feet (53.3 m)
Drop 215 feet (65.5 m)
Length 3,610 feet (1,100.3 m)
Max speed 76 mile per hour (122.3 km/h)
Inversions 2
Max Vertical Angle 88.5 degrees
Max G force 4
Height Restriction 48 inches (121.9 cm)
X at RCDB
Pictures of X at RCDB

X is the world's first "4th Dimensional Roller Coaster." It was built by roller coaster company Arrow Dynamics and was unique in the fact that the seats can be rotated 360 degrees backwards or forwards. X is located at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California and first opened to the public on January 12, 2002.

Contents

[edit] Description

X is a unique prototype design in which the seats can rotate forward or backward 360 degrees in a controlled spin. This is achieved by having four rails on the track: two of these are running rails while the other two are for spin control. The 2 rails that control the spin of the seats (the "X Rails") move up and down relative to the track and spin the seats using a rack and pinion gear mechanism.

X's lift-hill climbs 175-feet (53 m) into the sky with the ride's tallest point above ground at 190-feet (58 m). The coaster's opening drop of 215 feet (65.5 m) is sloped at 88.5 degrees and reaches a maximum speed of 76 mph (122 km/h). The 3,610-foot (1100 m) long layout features six inversions including a skydive, two "raven turns", one backflip, and a twisting front flip.

Although the ride has received mostly rave reviews from enthusiasts and is a huge hit among the general public, X has had problems. Due to design flaws—particularly with the trains—the ride's opening (originally scheduled for summer of 2001) was delayed until January of 2002. In June, the ride closed for several months in order to modify the trains. In August of 2002, the ride reopened and has been running smoothly ever since, except for a train valleying in the summer of 2005.

The coaster also closed down sometime in mid-August due to a blown gear box part. The coaster reopened on February 3rd 2007.

[edit] New trains

Six Flags Magic Mountain recently hired S&S Power to build new trains for X. The trains will be lighter in weight and are expected to reduce the amount of downtime X has. Whether X will feature a retractable station floor, whether the number of cars per train will be reduced, when X will close for the new train installments and when X will re-open with the new trains is unknown.

[edit] Similar coasters

S&S Arrow has recently reopened the second roller coaster of this type, Eejanaika (meaning 'Ain't it Great?'), at Fuji-Q Highland in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan. This second 4th Dimension coaster is very similar to X, but differs in Height (Eejanaika is over 260 feet tall), and some elements are altered, such as the first 'half-half' element, in which the trains rotate on the track one half turn as the seats also rotate one half turn, has now been replaced with a 'full-full' element, in which the train rotates on the track for one full turn as the seats rotate one full turn. The turn back towards the lift hill on Eejanaika is a true overbanked turn, while on X, this turn was not. While the two coasters are different, they are also very similar.


[edit] External links

Golden Ticket Awards: Best Steel Coaster
Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Ranking
20
15
15
12
20
Roller coasters at Six Flags Magic Mountain

Batman: The Ride - Canyon Blaster - Colossus - Déjà Vu - Flashback - Goldrusher - Goliath - Goliath Jr. - Ninja - Psyclone - Revolution - The Riddler's Revenge - Scream! - Superman: The Escape - Tatsu - Viper - X
Past Roller Coasters at Six Flags Magic Mountain:

Flashback - Psyclone
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