Status Discontinued No. of installations 12 Capacity 1300 riders per hour Closed 2010 Height restriction 1.07 m | First manufactured 1977 Height 42 m Max speed 101 km/h Opened 2003 | |
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Similar Beast, Beastie, 4 Man Bob, Around the World in 80 Days, Twirling Toadstool | ||
Intense shuttle loop roller coaster pov sendai highland amusement park japan
A Shuttle Loop is a type of steel launched shuttle roller coaster designed by Reinhold Spieldiener of Intamin and manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf. A total of 12 installations were produced between 1977 and 1982. These 12 installations have been located in a total of 22 different amusement parks.
Contents
- Intense shuttle loop roller coaster pov sendai highland amusement park japan
- Awesome bullet roller coaster pov crazy schwarzkopf shuttle loop selva magica mexico
- History
- Notable installations
- Experience
- Mechanics
- Installations
- Incidents
- References
Awesome bullet roller coaster pov crazy schwarzkopf shuttle loop selva magica mexico
History
The first installation of a Shuttle Loop dates back to 1977 when King Kobra opened at Kings Dominion. Two other rides were also installed that year: White Lightnin' at Carowinds and Tidal Wave at Marriott's Great America (California). Tidal Wave at Marriott's Great America (Illinois) opened in 1978 and was the last to feature the Weight Drop launch system. Also that year, Knott's Berry Farm opened Montezooma's Revenge and Six Flags AstroWorld opened Greezed Lightnin' as the first installations to feature the Flywheel launch system. A number of installations followed across the world.
Twenty-two theme parks have operated Shuttle Loops, with half of the twelve original installations being relocated at some time. As of September 2013, only six installations are operating, with another one in storage. The remaining Shuttle Loops were either demolished or used for replacement parts on other installations.
Notable installations
Experience
The train is launched out of the station at a speed of between 53 and 60 miles per hour (85 and 97 km/h) before passing through a vertical loop and up a 138-foot-tall spike (42 m). Once the momentum of the train run outs on the 70° spike, it begins to traverse the track backwards. Upon reaching the station, it passes through it and goes up another 70° steep spike which stands at 105 feet (32 m) tall until it stalls again and rolls forward back into the brake run and station.
Mechanics
Anton Schwarzkopf designed the Shuttle Loop in the late 1970s. He filed a patent for the concept in 1978 which was approved the following year. The patent describes two launch systems, both of which were implemented in various roller coasters:
Gerstlauer completed an upgrade of Walibi Belgium's installation for the 2013 season. As part of the upgrade Gerstlauer replaced the existing flywheel launch system with a new linear induction motor (LIM) launch system. The company also added a new train. The ride was then completely enclosed and relaunched as Psyké Underground.
Installations
- *Coaster has been in storage near MacKenzie Park (track) and Larson Manufacturing (trains, flywheel and hardware) since 2006.
Incidents
A 20-year-old woman died on September 1, 2001, one day after riding Montezooma's Revenge, the Shuttle Loop at Knott's Berry Farm. She suffered a ruptured middle cerebral artery, and an autopsy revealed a pre-existing condition. The ride was closed for several days while an investigation was conducted. Though state investigators concluded that the ride did not contribute to her death, a wrongful death lawsuit was later filed by her family in 2002. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2006.
In 1997 the sirocco at Walibi Wavre failed to launch at the correct speed, causing the train to get stuck hanging upside-down in the loop part of the ride. The passengers were hanging heads-down for one hour and forty minutes before the train was pulled back further down the track.