Air (roller coaster)
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| Air | |
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| Location | Alton Towers |
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| Park section | Forbidden Valley |
| Type | Steel - Flying |
| Status | Operating |
| Opened | March 16, 2002 |
| Manufacturer | Bolliger & Mabillard |
| Designer | John Wardley |
| Model | Next Generation Flying Coaster |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 66 ft (20 m) |
| Drop | 53 ft (16 m) |
| Length | 2,756 ft (840 m) |
| Max speed | 46.6 mph (75.0 km/h) |
| Inversions | 2 |
| Duration | 1:30 |
| Max vertical angle | 42° |
| Capacity | 1,500 riders per hour |
| Cost | £12,000,000 |
| Max g-force | 3.5 |
| Height restriction | 4 ft 6 in (140 cm) |
| Air at RCDB Pictures of Air at RCDB |
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Air is a steel flying roller coaster located in the Forbidden Valley area of Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. The ride was the first flying roller coaster to be made by Swiss manufacturers Bolliger & Mabillard. Guests ride in a prone position and experience the feeling of flight by 'flying' close to the ground and under footpaths.
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[edit] History
Air currently sits on the site of the Beast roller coaster. The beast went out of operation at the end of 1997. Construction on air started towards the beginning of 2001 and a lot of advertising was shown around the park towards the end of the same year. In early 2002, testing started on one of the world's most technologically advanced rides ever made. Special test dummies were brought in to aid with testing. The ride then took its first passengers being mainly the ride manufactures and the designers. After a little more tweaking, the ride was ready to be released to the world. In its first year it attracted people from all around the world to experience this unique ride. During its first year it had a lot of bad press due to its unreliability, but progressively got better towards the end of the year. Since then it has thrilled its passengers day in, day out with its unique flying sensation. When it was released, ride designers were saying that the way forward for roller coasters was to go higher and faster. Air proved that this was not the case. In fact it proved that riders seek unique "experiences" as well as the bigger, taller thrill rides.
[edit] Statistics
- Construction started: Mid 2001
- Designed by: John Wardley
- Manufacture: Bolliger & Mabillard
- Ride type: B&M flyer
- Constructed by: JJ Cavanagh Construction
- Programmed by: Consign AG
- Ride opened: 16th March 2002
- Total cost: Approx £12million
- Length: Approx. 840metres
- Highest drop: Approx. 20metres
- Top speed: Approx. 75kph
- Maximum Gs: 3.5Gs
- Number of trains (crafts): 3
- Passengers per craft: 28
- Max throughput per hour: 1500
- Ride duration: Approx. 90seconds
[edit] Ride experience
Air is located at the end of Forbidden Valley, near to Nemesis. The ride has two loading bays in the station, allowing one train to be loaded while another is unloaded. After taking a seat and lowering the restraints, a retractable floor lowers and the seats then rotate 90° backward leaving the passengers facing the ground. As with the Corkscrew, Air has a lift hill painted dark green to camouflage it within the trees.[citation needed]
The ride commences with a short passage through a tunnel out of the station, followed by a lift hill. The first drop dips to the right, rises up to a 180 degree turn, and drops down in to a large drop to ground level. The track then twists over so the riders are riding on their backs, performing a large upward left turn before twisting back so riders are once again in the prone position, flying underneath a small ravine. The track then pitches up in to a tight turn before performing a 360 degree barrel roll, banking over the service garage and dropping in to a swooping anti-clockwise turnaround. The train hits the brake run and re-enters one of the two stations.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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