Nitro (roller coaster)

Nitro
Nitro From The View
Location Six Flags Great Adventure
Park section Adventure Seaport
Status Operating
Opened April 7, 2001
Cost $20,000,000
Type Steel
Manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard
Model Mega Coaster
Track layout L-shaped Out and Back
Lift/launch system Chain lift hill
Height 230 ft (70 m)
Drop 215 ft (66 m)
Length 5,394 ft (1,644 m)
Max speed 80 mph (130 km/h)
Duration 2:20
Max vertical angle 68°
Max G force 4.2
Height restriction 4 ft 6 in (137 cm)
Flash Pass Available
Nitro at RCDB
Pictures of Nitro at RCDB
Amusement Parks Portal

Nitro is a steel roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. It was opened in the spring of 2001 and at the time was the fastest roller coaster in New Jersey and the tallest on the East Coast of the United States.

Contents

The ride

Although there are no inversions, the ride features six camelbacks, a hammer head turn and a 540-degree helix. After the all-clear signal, Nitro leaves the station and makes a left U-turn dip and up onto the 233 foot (71 m) lift hill. After reaching the 233-foot (71 m) mark, the train crests the top and drops 215 feet (66 m) at 68 degrees, reaching its top speed of 80 mph (130 km/h), then up a second 189-foot (58 m)-tall (58 m) hill and then diving down to the left through a 161 foot (49 m) airtime hill. After the moment of weightlessness, Nitro enters its unique element, the Hammerhead turn, a tight U-turn to the right. Soaring over another camelback hill, Nitro enters its S-curve and into the 540-degree helix. After the trim brakes, Nitro soars over three camelback hills and returns to the station. While the front row of each train is known for an almost unparalleled view and smoothness,the back row is reputed as having the most airtime throughout the ride, especially at the top of the first drop and the dive off the mid-course brake run. The roller coaster track colors are fuchsia and yellow, with blue support beams. As the third B&M megacoaster built, the ride is comparable amongst Diamondback at Kings Island, Goliath at La Ronde, Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America, Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens, Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland, Intimidator at Carowinds, and Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland.

Nitro currently has the second steepest drop of a lifted (as opposed to launched) roller coaster in the park, behind El Toro's 76 degree first drop. The coaster previously featured signs erected on the lift hill stairs which compared points on the hill to other tall structures, such as Niagara Falls; these signs were later removed. The ride continues to be popular, with long wait times, although the line normally moves quickly because of the trains' high capacity and ease of dispatch.

Trains and station

Nitro features open, side-less trains with individual lap bar restraints. There are a total of 3 trains, and each train seats 4 across and has 9 rows for a total of 36 seats.

Nitro's trains can be loaded and checked quickly, resulting in very high capacity with all 3 trains running. There are three main reasons for this:

  1. There is no "backup restraint" that must be checked (Nitro used to have a backup restraint, see further down for more details). Most roller coasters have some sort of seat belt (either on the rider's lap or holding the main restraint down) that serves as a safety device in case the main restraint unlocks.
  2. Nothing needs to move out of the way before the train dispatches and after the train advances into the station. This is not the case on most of B&M's other coaster models. For example, on their flying roller coaster, the floor descends and the seats flip into flying position before the train begins to move. On floorless roller coasters and inverted roller coasters, a sort of gate in front of the trains must swing open in addition to the floor moving.
  3. The trains can be deployed much more successively than most roller coasters. Usually, as soon as one train has crested the lift hill, the train behind it can be dispatched onto the lift.

Nitro's queue area consists of an indoor and outdoor area followed by a long path before climbing the stairs into the station. Views from the line show the backside to Batman the Ride and the Great Adventure mechanical and storage area.

Nitro's station music is the remix of the Mortal Kombat theme, which can be heard during the queue and station.

Other notes

Nitro has a pre-drop in the beginning out of the station. This helps tension on the train/track to prepare for the lift hill. Nitro's on-ride camera was previously located at the bottom of the second drop, but in 2006 it was moved to the bottom of the first drop.

On a clear night, the skyline of Philadelphia (about 55 miles/90 kilometers away) is visible from the lift hill, and also when the coaster turns to the left and goes up and down the large hills.

Nitro previously had a backup safety restraint, which featured a black knob that extended out of the seat. The lap bar latched onto the knob to serve as a safety feature without the need for a safety belt. These were later removed because they were deemed unnecessary, as they easily disconnected and greatly interfered with loading times.

Rankings

Golden Ticket Awards: Top Steel Roller Coasters[1][2]
Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Ranking
16
4
6
6
5
4
3
3
3
3[3]
3[4]
Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll: Best Steel-Tracked Roller Coaster [5]
Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Ranking
4
4
5
5
6
7
9
NAPHA Survey: Favorite Steel Roller Coaster[6]
Year 2005 2006 2007
Ranking
4[7]
5

References

  1. ^ Golden Ticket Awards - Top 25 Steel/Wooden Roller Coasters
  2. ^ Amusement Today
  3. ^ "Amusement Today — Golden Ticket Winners 2010" (PDF). Amusement Today. http://www.goldenticketawards.com/PDF/GTA2010issue.pdf. Retrieved 12 September 2010. 
  4. ^ Amusement Today 2011 Park and Ride Winners
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ Survey - National Amusement Park Historical Association
  7. ^ Tied with Phantom's Revenge

External links

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Former: