The History Of The First Flying Roller Coasters - Firehawk & Nighthawk | Expedition Theme Park

the sensation of flight is fascinated human since we first saw birds or insects or through the air planes helicopters and other such aircrafts of long been a reality but personal flight lasts specks of someone flying into their solo with the wind blow and posture still remains a fascination for many Superman can fly through the air without the need for technology while Ironman could use technology to achieve the same fate flying cars feature in all forms of media from a young age to adulthood and jetpacks have become a staple in popular culture to achieve this sensation it would be this sensation that roller coaster designers were once a build is the latest thrill for writers to experience there are many different types of flying roller coasters around the world and this week we'll looking at just a few of them the Kama is also now providing some of the most innovative ride experiences here are just a few of the kamas latest developments [Music] it's not an easy job but bakoma is ready to evolve beyond your imagination [Music] there's was a story that spanned generations and it all happened one day in Manchester and Barnardo's Studios tour and now you can share the experience behind the scenes are beyond you won't believe till you see it the first flying roller coaster wasn't built by the coma or bnm but in fact a small company called skytrak international an offshoot of Farpoint engineering formed in 1982 their engineering company will become a lead in bulk materials handling and processing company based in the small village of Adlington Lancashire not only would it be the first flying roller coaster you would also take the flight solo plan to open on June 25th 1997 the ride would be located at Granada studios in Manchester on the studio's tour the headquarters of Granada television or later ITV Granada the studio's became a tourist attraction where people could visit see the sets from Coronation Street University Challenge and much more it was even the location of the Beatles first television performance in 1962 Studios tour would operate from 1989 to 1999 but was hugely popular in its early years Granada studios history though is the topic of an expedition extinct for itself the park would add a truly unique ride where riders were bored flight pods to travel along the 1282 feet of track at speeds of 28 miles per hour cost him 1 million pound to create with five cars the rai could only reach a capacity of 240 riders per hour [Applause] named after an event on the popular gladiators ITV show the park had high hopes for the new attraction not all went to plan though due to the unreliable nature of creating a brand new experience it suffered multiple delays and malfunctions during construction and tested the well bogeys had to be completely redesigned and replaced prior to the rides opening the ride opened in October 1997 but it was so unreliable it would only often open for a maximum of one hour but day it was uncomfortable and short-lived the world's first solo coaster were closed less than two years later along with the whole Granada studios complex skytrak was scrapped while it was considered a huge failure the concept was revolutionary it will be Dutch roller coaster manufacturer for kuma who would construct the first large-scale version the company witcher began as an agricultural equipment manufacturer would eventually turn to creating roller coasters using arrows patterns in the late 70s the first flying coaster to feature inversions and more than one rider per train would open at Paramount Great America now California's Great America in the year 2000 just a year after the first concept in England had already closed [Music] the park opened in 1976 built by Hotel and Restaurant operator Mario before it was sold to Kings entertainment in 1989 before once again being acquired by paramount parks announced in June 1999 as the world's first true flying coaster Great America unveiled its new roller coaster today they're billing it as the world's first and only flying roller coaster that is because to the rider the Lucky Rider it appears like there's no track at all riders are held in a horizontal position ace first Santa Clara amusement park calls its new 17 million dollar attraction stealth looks scary to me of course that's the idea it would be known as a flying dutchman coaster named after the famous dutch go ship costing seventy million dollars to create and dub projects valve it would only be at the park for three years stuck the world's first flying roller coaster lasting through the air at Paramount Great America in Santa Clara California just 44 miles from San Francisco on stealth passengers lie face down flying through the air with arms extended rocketing through a coaster lovers idea of heaven the 843 meter or 2766 footlong prototype would fit for riders across each train who would load in an upright sitting position facing towards the rear of the Train many riders think they are at the front of the ride but they are actually at the back of the Train a mechanism in the station lowers the seat to the track leave him riders facing the ceiling it can be pretty uncomfortable to be sat laying on your back with your legs up in the air especially when the ride is delayed the rides restraint system is an interesting mix of lap bar and chest harness the lap bar pulls down and the bar locks into place halfway up the bar is leg restraints which secure the lower legs the rider then has to fasten and tighten the buckles of the chest harness into the lap bar to secure the upper body it really is not a simple process to get in and out off and the loading times were quite long once the ride reaches the top of the 150 foot lift hill riders still facing towards the sky moved into a comfy position from here onwards the track twists 180 degrees to flip riders into the flying position for the majority of the right give him riders that sensation of flight the red and white track with grace Apollo's offered the first unique flying experience on a major coaster stealth sets a new standard in ensuring its passengers one of the safest rides possible you're on stealth we have a lot more electronics on the train itself and there's a lot of conditions that have to be met electronically before that train will leave the station the engineering on these it's definitely high-tech stealth is so wired that it sometimes seems more like a NASA spaceship than a coaster after leaving the station backwards and facing the sky it enters the light a fly element to put riders into that flying position before the first drop reached speeds of 51 miles per hour riders go through over banked turns before being turned back onto their back and into a 66 foot tall vertical loop where riders can reach 4.3 G's millenium poster is surely pushing the envelope when it comes to technology and innovation for coaster fanatics of all ages stealth delivers pure joy and an illusion more impressive than any magicians trick one issue the Wright had was that seven employees received minor injuries when the seats change position during a test run of the ride an inspection discovered that right operator accidentally pushed a button during operation that caused it to switch it was later modified so it could only be used when the ride was not in motion at the end of the 2003 season Paramount's Great America announced the removal of stealth to be replaced by a water park called crocodile Dundee's boomerang Bay as the first water park to be included within an amusement park there are still a few remnants left of the ride station in the park even to this day not coincidentally though Carowinds another paramount park announced a construction of their nouveau coma flying roller coaster for 2004 this time the relocated staff would have a theme the first Star Trek themed roller coaster in the world borge a simulator mothership of all rollercoasters Carowinds Borg had crash-landed in the middle of Carowinds and their ship a giant gray and black sphere had come to rest near the roller coaster underneath the ride will be that crashed ship the track was repainted to black and green and in the queue a voice was played saying Bork quotes located on the former Smurf Island land which have been added in 1984 as a children's playground surrounded by the Carolinas sternwheeler the Star Trek themed relocation of the ride open on March 20th 2004 when Cedar Fair purchased Carowinds in 2006 and did not own any of the rights to multiple licenses within the park the Star Trek FEMEN was removed and it was renamed to Nighthawk three years later in 2009 it was repainted with blue supports and yellow track by the time air had been relocated just three years after it opened staff was not the only bakhoum of Lian Dutchman to exist two others have been constructed both in the u.s. in 2001 and both have quite an interest in story to go with them the second and third versions will be slightly longer than the prototype at 1020 meters with an extra helix added but essentially they are very similar for centuries man has longed to fly now only here take flight over Gotham City [Music] my dearest racing the loan a flight at Six Flags America bat-winged would open in June 2001 at Six Flags America themed to Batman it has a yellow and purple color scheme batwing is the only one to still operate today in the same location and with its original name introducing the Midwest's first flying roller coaster get horizontal on X flight the first coaster in the Midwest that actually lets you fly the last of the three would have perhaps the most interesting story of them all and that is X right at Geauga Lake in Ohio then known as Six Flags worlds of adventure I'm you fly over 3,000 feet of track reached heights of 115 feet and speeds of 51 miles an hour and again it's our tenth coaster and we're just so excited about it well you can ride X flight in May when the park opens for a old as the Midwest first and only flying coaster the rides layout was identical to batwing while the park was known as Six Flags Ohio they are planned for the new coaster which was revealed on January 4th 2001 just six days later Six Flags purchased the neighbor and SeaWorld Ohio with the intent submerged them into one mega park don't miss the spectacular over of Six Flags world Six Flags Ohio with the former SeaWorld alive America's newest six flags now experience three thrilling with one ticket [Music] it's the only theme park of its kind in the come celebrate the opening of America's new energy Six Flags World like wild ride as the parks temp coaster it was built on the former bus parking lot and a road had to be relocated around the ride while slightly delayed are open on May 26 2001 just three years later the park was purchased by Cedar Fair for one hundred and forty five million dollars and they announced their intentions are returning the park to its family orientated routes two years after that in an effort to downsize the park x-rite was removed and sent to another Cedar Fair property that green track was eventually spotted somewhere else in Ohio and that was Kings Island on February 5 2007 Kings Island officially announced Firehawk will be coming to the park Firehawk roller coaster debuted at Kings Island this year the new star ride actually came from the guava Lake Park in Ohio and a new paintjob the coaster is the renamed X flight from a park just three hours north of it the neon green track and blue supports were repainted red and grey and inputs into an area next to flights of fear creating a new zone called xbase it officially opened on May 26 2007 just a few months later er Gallade park would be closed forever that though deserves its own expedition Firehawk the first coaster added to the park since Cedar Fair and purchased it the year before would operate here until the 2018 season when it was demolished [Music] Wow now that's what we call turning the coaster concept on its head that was unreal again again again you asked for it strap yourself in lie back and enjoy the flight [Music] the ride experience was unique when the first flying dutchman opened but over the years the ride received very mixed reviews so awkward restraints and start position offered a unique experience even if it was somewhat weird the concept though was groundbreaking and pushed coaster manufacturers to build newer more advanced rides while Firehawk Nighthawk and batwing were the only ones ever made two of these remain in opening today it remains to be seen how much longer they will operate faux-fur comer they will continue to develop the flying coaster in 2009 they created another unique flying coaster with stingray out in China this version features a vertical lift before entering the flying position they would also create a brand new prototype with a first flying coaster with a launch along with the longest for Fantasyland expected to open in 2020 Firehawk will be replaced by a brand new roller coaster built by bnm a Giga coaster which fans of the park have been hoping to come for years named Orion it would also be B&M though who would perfect the flying roller coaster essentially making the flying Dutchman's much less desirable the first of which will be at Alton Towers before we get to that though there is one more type to take an expedition to to now escape the bounds of earth and join the heroes those few who can fly hero the new extreme ride of flamingo land resort culture experience the sensation of zero gravity flight hero is proof that man new at flamingo land resort Yorkshire heroes no cape required thank you so much for watching this episode of expedition theme park if you enjoyed it make sure you subscribe to join the expedition have you been on a flying coaster let me know in the comments below which one's your favorite follow us on Twitter and Instagram for updates on upcoming episodes and we will see you next time [Music]

Channel: Expedition Theme Park

Views: 120,673

Keywords: expedition theme park, flying coaster, air, alton towers, flying dutchman, firehawk, nighthawk, batwing, geauga lake, king's island, stealth, roller coaster, theme park, history, borg, star trek ride, borg assimilator, x flight, granada studios, skytrek, abandoned, scrapped, world's first, b&m, flyer, california's america, carrowinds, six flags america, rollercoaster history, expedition theme park alton towers

Id: EKubwPaG-hg

Length: 17min 55sec (1075 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 31 2019