Suspended Looping Coaster

Suspended Looping Coaster (SLC)
Status	In Production
First manufactured	1994
No. of installations	39
Manufacturer	Vekoma
Vehicle type	Roller coaster train
Height restriction	130 cm (4 ft 3 in)
Type	Steel - Inverted
Lift system	Single chain lift hill
Suspended Looping Coaster (SLC) at RCDB

The Suspended Looping Coaster (or SLC) is a model of steel inverted roller coaster built by Vekoma. There are at least 39 different installations across the world. The minimum rider height requirement is 130 centimetres (4 ft 3 in).

History

The first Suspended Looping Coaster installation was El Condor at Walibi Holland in The Netherlands.^[1] It was initially designed to run with ten cars in each train. Trouble with this configuration lead to the trains being shortened to eight cars to a train.^[2] T2 at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom was the second prototype model Suspended Looping Coaster and the first in the United States.^[3] Like El Condor, it was designed to run with ten cars in a train, though T2's trains were shortened to seven cars for similar reasons.^[2]

The roller coaster is considered to still be in production as the latest new installation (i.e. not relocated) was Dragon in Clouds in 2009 at Happy Valley, Shenzhen.^[4][5]

Ride

Layouts

The layout of most Suspended Looping Coasters is the 689m Standard. The additional dotted helix is found only on some extended models.

Hangman at Wild Adventures is of the 689m Standard layout.

There are several different layouts of Suspended Looping Coasters although most feature a similar pattern.^[2] The ride starts by taking riders up a 33.3-metre (109 ft) chain hill.^[6] Once at the top, the train goes down a steep, banked turn to the right where it enters the first inversion element - a roll over. A roll over (also known as a Sea serpent roll) first features a Sidewinder quickly followed by a reverse sidewinder.^[7] Upon exit from this element, the train goes up a hill which features some banking at the top before descending and approaching the ride's next inversion - a sidewinder.^[6] A sidewinder is similar to an Immelmann loop however it features a half loop followed by a half corkscrew (rather than an inline twist).^[8] From the exit of this sidewinder, the train goes into a sharp helix before entering the ride's final two inversions - inline twists. These two twists are followed one after the other. A banked curve to the right turns the train back around to face towards the station. At this point some models feature an additional helix to the left while others simply continue straight into the brake run.^[6] The standard model also has a relatively compact layout, providing for "footchoppers".

Vekoma have also manufactured two custom Suspended Looping Coasters: Fly - The Great Nor'easter at Morey's Piers and Jubilee Odyssey at Fantasy Island.^[9]

Trains

Close up of an SLC wheel assembly

Many Suspended Looping Coasters operate with two trains consisting of ten cars, though some operate with as few as seven cars. Poorly maintained, poor track layout or most likely non-exact track manufacturing can cause SLCs riders to experience painful "head banging", whereby the head hits the Over the Shoulder Restraints. They also use very small plastic seats with little or no room for a person to move. Contrary to popular belief,^{[citation needed]} the wheel spacing on the trains (the 'gaps' between the side friction wheels, up-stop wheels, and the track) adds little to the roughness of these rides.^{[citation needed]} Vekoma is currently manufacturing new trains with convenient hip harnesses. Unlike the first generation of trains, this modification will make the overall ride experience more comfortable.^{[citation needed]}Vekoma also make vest like harnesses that allow to rider to sit more comfortable riding. The only two known places to have these trains is at Morey's Piers,^[10] and at Isla Magica in Spain.

The Suspended Looping Coaster is similar in design to other inverted roller coasters, however unlike the four-across seating found on Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) inverted roller coasters, Vekoma SLC's use two-across seating.

• 

  A Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster train seat riders 2 across.

• 

  A Bolliger & Mabillard Inverted Roller Coaster train seat riders 4 across.

Installations

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

There are at least 39 different installations across the world which have been located at 47 different theme parks.^[11]

Name	Park	Opened	Status	Model	Image
Arkham Asylum – Shock Therapy	Warner Bros. Movie World	1995	Operating	765m Extended w/Helix		[6]
Batman - The Ride	Six Flags Mexico	2000	Operating	689m Standard		[12]
Blue Tornado	Gardaland	1998	Operating	765m Extended w/Helix		[13]
El Condor	Walibi Holland	1994	Operating	662m Prototype		[1]
Ednör – L'Attaque Formerly Serial Thriller	La Ronde Six Flags AstroWorld	2010 1999	Operating Closed 2005	689m Standard		[14][15]
FireWhip	Beto Carrero World	2008	Operating	689m Standard		[16]
Flight Deck	Canada's Wonderland	1995	Operating	689m Standard		[17]
Fly - The Great Nor'easter	Morey's Piers	1995	Operating	Custom		[18]
Twisted Typhoon	Wild Adventures	2003	Operating	689m Standard	-	[19]
Infusion	Blackpool Pleasure Beach	2007	Operating	689m Standard		[20]
Jaguar	Isla Magica	1997	Operating	765m Extended w/Helix		[21]
Jubilee Odyssey	Fantasy Island	2002	Operating	Custom		[22]
Kong Formerly Hangman	Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Opryland USA	1998 1995	Operating Closed 1997	689m Standard		[23][24]
Kumali	Flamingo Land	2006	Operating	Shenlin
MP Xpress	Movie Park Germany	2001	Operating	689m Standard		[25]
T²	Kentucky Kingdom	1995	SBNO since 2009	662m Prototype		[3]
Mind Eraser	Darien Lake, Six Flags America, Elitch Gardens, and Six Flags New England	1995–1997	Operating	689m Standard		[26][27][28][29]
Thunderhawk	Michigan's Adventure Geauga Lake	2008 1998	Operating Closed 2007	689m Standard		[30][31]
Vampire	Walibi Belgium	1999	Operating	689m Standard		[32]
Kumba	Superland	2001	Operating	689m Standard		[33]
Titánide	Terra Mitica	2003	Operating	689m Standard		[34]

Similar roller coasters

Shenzhou Coaster is an inverted roller coaster at Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park in Beijing, China. The train and track are similar to the Suspended Looping Coaster design by Vekoma, but the ride was instead designed and manufactured by Beijing Shibaolai Amusement Equipment. The track layout is unique.^[35]

See also

• Inverted roller coaster
• Vekoma

References

External links

• Official website
• Listing of all Suspended Looping Coasters on the Roller Coaster Database