Suspended Looping Coaster

History

The first Suspended Looping Coaster installation was El Condor at Walibi Holland in the Netherlands. 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. T3 at Kentucky Kingdom was the second prototype model Suspended Looping Coaster and the first in the United States. Like El Condor, it was designed to run with ten cars in a train, though T3's trains were shortened to seven cars for similar reasons.

The roller coaster is considered to still be in production as the latest new installation (i.e. not relocated) was Roller Coaster Mayan in 2015 at Energylandia

Layouts

There are several different layouts of Suspended Looping Coasters although most feature a similar pattern. The ride starts by taking riders up a 33.3-metre (109 ft) chain hill. 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. 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. A sidewinder is similar to an Immelmann loop however it features a half loop followed by a half corkscrew (rather than an inline twist). 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. 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 (which is really just a standard SLC with custom station and supports) and Jubilee Odyssey at Fantasy Island.

Trains

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, 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. 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.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, and at Isla Magica in Spain. In 2012, Lethal Weapon - The Ride at Warner Bros. Movie World reopened as Arkham Asylum - Shock Therapy. The newly opened ride runs with trains manufactured by Kumbak and uses less restrictive harnesses which are similar, but not identical to, the vest-like restraints found on the SLCs at Morey's Piers and Isla Magica.

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.

Installations

There are at least 41 different installations across the world which have been located at 47 different theme parks.

Yet-to-be-named 689m Standards are set to open in Al Zawra'a Dream Park in Iraq and Energylandia in Poland in 2015.

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. There have been several problems with other models with the same layout. These coasters are known for having bad pacing in parts of the ride. For example: The "Hanging Roller Coaster" at Crab Island in China stalled before the rides Sidewinder stranding 12 people for 3 hours. Other SLC's in China are sometimes manufactured by Hebei Zhongye Metallurgical Equipment which are known for being more poor than the BSA models. HZM has tried to smooth out the transitions but have made the rides experience much worse. These new models cannot open when the wind speed is greater than 15 mph.