Wing Coaster

A Wing Coaster is a type of steel roller coaster manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard where pairs of riders sit on either side of a roller coaster track in which nothing is above or below the riders. Development of the Wing Coaster began between 2007 and 2008 leading to the opening of Raptor at Gardaland, the world's first Wing Coaster, on 1 April 2011. There are currently eight Wing Coasters operating worldwide.

History

Raptor at Gardaland was the world's first Wing Coaster, opening in 2011.

According to Walter Bolliger, development of the Wing Coaster began between 2007 and 2008.^[1] In 2010, Bolliger & Mabillard announced a prototype Wing Coaster design that would be built at Merlin Entertainments' Gardaland.^[2][3][4] It became known as Raptor, which opened on 1 April 2011.^[5] A year later, Merlin Entertainments opened a second Wing Coaster on 15 March 2012, called The Swarm at Thorpe Park.^[6][7]

In the United States, the first Wing Coaster to be announced was X-Flight, which opened at Six Flags Great America on 16 May 2012.^[8][9] Dollywood's Wild Eagle actually opened earlier on 24 March 2012, making it the first Wing Coaster in North America.^[10][11] On 13 August 2012, Cedar Point announced plans to build a new Wing Coaster called GateKeeper, which set new records for a Wing Coaster including longest track length, fastest speed and drop height.^[12] The first Wing Coaster in Asia, Parrot Coaster, opened at Ocean Kingdom on 25 January 2014.^[13] Thorpe Park announced that the last two rows of The Swarm would be turned backwards – a first for a Wing Coaster – for the 2013 season.^[14][15] On 24 July 2014, Holiday World & Splashin' Safari announced Thunderbird, the first launched Wing Coaster.^[16]

Design

A ride operator checking the restraints on X-Flight at Six Flags Great America. Notice how the bars on the restraint system are not what actually hold the rider in place.

The design of a Wing Coaster differs from many traditional steel roller coaster. Unlike many roller coasters, the trains for a Wing Coaster are not located above or below the track but rather on the sides. With the trains in this configuration, there is nothing above or below the riders giving the feeling that they are flying freely. Also, because there is nothing on top of the track and only steel beams holding each ends of the train together, all current Wing Coasters have an object (that relates to the theme) that covers the steel beams and adds to the experience.^[18] The restraints on the trains are also different. Instead of simply having the traditional over-the-shoulder restraint bar as used on many inverted roller coasters, the Wing Coaster uses similar restraints as Bolliger & Mabillard's Flying Coaster which includes a "cover" and a restraint that sits on the rider's waist holding them in place with bars on the side for the rider to hold on to.^[19] The differences are not only within the train but also the layout of the station. This is because the layout of the station for a Wing Coaster requires the queue to split in two halves. This allows riders to board the train where the seats sit level with the track.^[20]

Installations

X-Flight at Six Flags Great America going through the signature keyhole element.

Bolliger & Mabillard has built eight Wing Coasters as of November 2015. The roller coasters are listed in order of opening dates.

Name	Park	Country	Opened	Status
Raptor	Gardaland	Italy	000000002011-04-01-00001 April 2011	Operating	[5]
Swarm, The !The Swarm	Thorpe Park	United Kingdom	000000002012-03-15-000015 March 2012	Operating	[6]
Wild Eagle	Dollywood	United States	000000002012-03-24-000024 March 2012	Operating	[11]
X-Flight	Six Flags Great America	United States	000000002012-05-16-000016 May 2012	Operating	[9][21]
GateKeeper	Cedar Point	United States	000000002013-05-11-000011 May 2013	Operating	[22][23]
Parrot Coaster	Chime-Long Ocean Kingdom	China	000000002014-01-25-000025 January 2014	Operating	[13][24]
Flug der Dämonen	Heide Park	Germany	000000002014-03-29-000029 March 2014	Operating	[25]
Thunderbird	Holiday World & Splashin' Safari	United States	000000002015-04-25-000025 April 2015	Operating	[26]

Similar rides

Prior to the development of the Wing Coaster, in 2007, Intamin debuted a version of their Accelerator Coaster with modified trains similar to those used on 4th Dimension roller coasters and Wing Coasters.^[27] Known as a Wing Rider Coaster, Furius Baco at PortAventura was the first and currently only ride of its type.^[28] It launches riders from 0 to 135 kilometres per hour (84 mph) in 3.5 seconds with trains that seat six rows of four people (two on either side of the track).^[27]

In addition to the Wing Rider Coaster, Intamin has also introduced a model named Wing Coaster. The first installation was Skyrush at Hersheypark in 2012. The trains feature 2 seats are still positioned over the track and have a floor, while 2 hang over the side which are the "wings".

The Wing Coaster is also similar to John F. Mares' 4th Dimension roller coaster concept from the 1990s. However, unlike 4th Dimension roller coasters, cars on a Wing Coaster train do not spin — they are locked in place. Examples of 4th Dimension roller coasters include X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Eejanaika at Fuji-Q Highland.^[29][30]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wing roller coasters.

• Bolliger & Mabillard's Wing Coaster
• Intamin's Wing Coaster
• Intamin's WingRide Coaster