Psyclone (roller coaster)
| Psyclone | |
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| Location | Six Flags Magic Mountain |
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| Coordinates | 34°25′16″N 118°36′01″W / 34.420985°N 118.600252°WCoordinates: 34°25′16″N 118°36′01″W / 34.420985°N 118.600252°W |
| Status | Demolished |
| Opened | March 23, 1991 |
| Closed | January 2007 |
| Cost | $5,000,000 |
| Type | Wood - Cyclone |
| Manufacturer | Dinn Corporation |
| Designer | Curtis D. Summers |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 95 ft (29 m) |
| Drop | 77 ft (23 m) |
| Length | 2,970 ft (910 m) |
| Max speed | 50 mph (80 km/h) |
| Duration | 1:50 |
| Max vertical angle | 53° |
| Capacity | 1200 riders per hour |
| Max G force | 3 |
| Height restriction | 4 ft 0 in (122 cm) |
| Psyclone at RCDB | |
| Pictures of Psyclone at RCDB | |
 Amusement Parks Portal |
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Psyclone was a wooden roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Opened in 1991, it was patterned after the legendary Coney Island Cyclone. The Psyclone featured 11 hills, 5 high-speed banked turns, and a 183-foot (56 m) long pitch black tunnel. It also had the only wooden roller coaster trains ever built by Bolliger & Mabillard.
The ride sustained structural damage after the Northridge earthquake in 1994 and though repaired to operate safely again, the ride dynamics suffered greatly in regards to vehicle tracking. Major modifications happened, including adding trim brakes that slowed the trains down to the point of making the trains crawl through each turn. The heavy trains took their toll on the track structure, and the coaster became very rough. Because of this, ridership at the attraction had drastically declined, due in part to having earned a poor reputation among park visitors. A 2006 poll of roller coaster enthusiasts ranked Psyclone 178th out of 179 wooden roller coasters worldwide. [1]
Ride operators at Psyclone were required to load a minimum of 17 passengers in one train prior to dispatch. This policy was enforced to reduce the chances of the vehicles from stalling mid-ride due to lack of momentum.
On January 23, 2007, the park announced that Psyclone would be demolished for future expansion. The coaster closed at the end of the month. That spring, Psyclone was torn down and the location was blocked from guests' view with a sign stating that the land would be reserved for future attractions.
[2] Psyclone was dismantled and scrapped during the last week of February 2007. The area of the park where Psyclone once stood is now occupied by Apocalypse.
[edit] Trivia
Psyclone is one of the two final coasters made by the Dinn Corporation, with the other being Mean Streak at Cedar Point.
[edit] External links
- Psyclone Photos at Ultimate Rollercoaster.com
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