| Flashback | |
| An artist's renderation of Flashback when it was known as Z Force. | |
| Location | Six Flags Magic Mountain |
|---|---|
| Park section | Six Flags Plaza |
| Status | Demolished |
| Opened | April 25, 1992 |
| Closed | 2007 |
| Cost | $14,000,000 |
| Type | Steel |
| Manufacturer | Intamin |
| Designer | Werner Stengel |
| Model | Space Diver |
| Track layout | Bolliger & Mabillard |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 86 ft (26 m) |
| Drop | 34 ft (10 m) |
| Length | 1,900 ft (580 m) |
| Max speed | 35 mph (56 km/h) |
| Duration | 1:30 |
| Max vertical angle | 89° |
| Capacity | 1,100 riders per hour |
| Max G force | 5.77 |
| Flashback at RCDB | |
| Pictures of Flashback at RCDB | |
| Amusement Parks Portal | |
Flashback was a steel roller coaster made by Intamin of Switzerland. The coaster was located in the Six Flags Plaza area of Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California.
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Flashback first opened in 1985 at Six Flags Great America (at Gurnee, Illinois) as Z-Force and was the only "Space Dive" coaster (Six Flags called it a "Z-Coaster"). The site the ride occupied while in Illinois is now occupied by Iron Wolf, a Bolliger and Mabillard stand-up roller coaster. The ride was sent to Six Flags Over Georgia (west of Atlanta) in 1987 and opened in 1988. The ride finally came to Six Flags Magic Mountain in California with its new name in 1992.
Flashback was the world's only hairpin-drop roller coaster, with 6 head-over-heels dives and a 540-degree upward spiral. It was all packed into a relatively small area with 1,900 feet (580 m) of track stacked above each other. The drops were severe, producing a free-fall experience on the plunges; fast steel switchbacks connected the turns just before trains flew into the gravity-defying upward spiral. Trains reached a max of 35 miles per hour (56 km/h), with a 3-g force on the one and a half minute ride.
The ride, especially since opening in California, had suffered from neglect. The track was in poor condition, and riders had complained that the ride was now much rougher. In 2003, the ride closed down due to the noise it made. The noises were so loud that they distracted lifeguards at the nearby Hurricane Harbor waterpark. The entrance was boarded up, and power cut from the ride.
On January 19, 2007, Flashback's page on the park's website disappeared, increasing the possibility of its removal. A few days later, on January 23, 2007, it was announced by the park that Flashback would be removed along with Psyclone. Originally, the park stated that Flashback may be re-built within the park for 2008, however it was dismantled and scrapped in early 2008.
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