4th Dimension roller coaster

A 4th Dimension roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster whereby riders are rotated independently of the orientation of the track, generally about a horizontal axis that is perpendicular to the track.[1] The cars do not necessarily need to be fixed to an angle.

Contents

History

John F. Mares, a corporate attorney, invented the 4th Dimension roller coaster concept in 1995 and holds six US patents related to the technology of their spinning seat systems: US Patent #'s 5,791,254, 6,098,549, 6,227,121, 6,386,115, 6,477,961 & 6,606,953. As of July 30, 2011, three 4th dimension roller coasters: X2, Eejanaika and Green Lantern: First Flight, which were either built or installed in the United States, have been licensed by Mr. Mares' company (Meteoro Amusement Corporation) to Six Flags Inc., S&S Arrow LLC and IntaRide LLC, respectively. The first 4th Dimension roller coaster to be built, X, which opened at Six Flags Magic Mountain, United States in 2002, was designed and patented by Alan Schilke.[2][3] 4th Dimension roller coasters are somewhat of a cross between roller coasters and the popular carnival ride known as the Zipper.

Design

S&S Arrow (formerly Arrow Dynamics)

Arrow Dynamics was the first company to produce a 4th dimension roller coaster, lending its name to the ride style. The trains feature seats capable of rotating forward or backward, 360 degrees in a controlled spin. This is achieved by having four rails on the track; two acting as per normal, and two to control the spin of the seats. The two rails that control the spin of the seats, known as "X Rails", vary in height relative to the track, and spin the train using a rack and pinion gear mechanism.

The first installation, X²,[2][3] was a prototype and cost Arrow Dynamics and Six Flags itself a lot of money due to technical difficulties and design flaws. In 2002, the park sued Arrow Dynamics, which went into bankruptcy. Since then Arrow was bought out by S&S Power and became the company's steel coaster division, S&S Arrow. In 2006, a second installation opened at Fuji-Q Highland in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Japan under the name Eejanaika.[4] A third installation was opened in 2011 at China Dinosaur Park.

Intamin AG

The Intamin AG ZacSpin was developed in response to the Arrow Dynamics 4th dimension roller coaster. Some of the main differences between the Intamin AG and Arrow Dynamics/S&S Power versions are the uncontrolled rotation of the seats, which produces a different ride each time, and single cars. Another notable difference is the absence of any lateral movements, causing some enthusiasts to not consider the rides 4th dimension roller coasters due to the fact that all movement is restricted to a 2 dimensional plane.

Kirnu at Linnanmäki in Helsinki, Finland, opened for the 2007 season and was the first of its kind. Later that year Inferno opened at Terra Mitica in Spain with an identical compact layout. In 2009, Insane opened at Gröna Lund with a different track layout. In 2011, the first ZacSpin in the United States opened at Six Flags Magic Mountain as Green Lantern: First Flight, and is themed to the DC Comics superhero of the same name. It features the same layout as Insane.

Inversion ambiguity

There is considerable debate within the roller coaster community as to whether or not the spinning of these coasters qualifies as an inversion for the purpose of records. Guinness World Records gave Eejanaika the record with 14 inversions. However, other more coaster-specific record bodies such as the Roller Coaster Database do not recognize this claim and instead count only track inversions, which gives the record of 10 to Colossus and Tenth Ring Roller Coaster.[5]

Installations

Name Park Opened Manufacturer Status Image
X²
Formerly X		 Six Flags Magic Mountain 2002 Arrow Dynamics Operating [3]
Eejanaika Fuji-Q Highland 2006 S&S Arrow Operating [4]
Kirnu Linnanmäki 2007 Intamin AG Operating [6]
Inferno Terra Mitica 2007 Intamin AG Operating [7]
Insane Gröna Lund 2009 Intamin AG Operating [8]
Green Lantern: First Flight Six Flags Magic Mountain 2011 Intamin AG Operating [9]
Unknown China Dinosaur Park 2011 S&S Worldwide Under Construction [10] Under construction

External links

References

  1. ^ Marden, Duane. "Glossary - 4th Dimension". RCDB. http://www.rcdb.com/g.htm?id=67. Retrieved 18 November 2010. 
  2. ^ a b Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Search Results - 4th Dimension". Database. RCDB. http://www.rcdb.com/r.htm?ot=2&de=67&page=1&order=10. Retrieved 20 October 2010. 
  3. ^ a b c Marden, Duane. "X2  (Six Flags Magic Mountain)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/750.htm. Retrieved 18 November 2010. 
  4. ^ a b Marden, Duane. "Eejanaika  (Fuji-Q Highland)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/3254.htm. Retrieved 18 November 2010. 
  5. ^ Marden, Duane. "Record Holders - Inversions". RCDB. http://www.rcdb.com/rhr.htm?m=4. Retrieved 18 November 2010. 
  6. ^ Marden, Duane. "Kirnu  (Linnanmäki)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/3613.htm. Retrieved 18 November 2010. 
  7. ^ Marden, Duane. "Inferno  (Terra Mítica)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/3676.htm. Retrieved 18 November 2010. 
  8. ^ Marden, Duane. "Insane  (Gröna Lund)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/4309.htm. Retrieved 18 November 2010. 
  9. ^ Marden, Duane. "Green Lantern  (Six Flags Magic Mountain)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/9519.htm. Retrieved 18 November 2010. 
  10. ^ Marden, Duane. "unknown  (China Dinosaurs Park)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/9040.htm. Retrieved 18 November 2010. 
Construction material
Train configuration
4th Dimension · Bobsled · Dive · Floorless · Flying · Inverted · Mine Train · Motorbike · Pipeline · Side friction · Spinning · Stand-up · Suspended · Virginia Reel  · Wing Rider
Track layout