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galactica (roller coaster)

Coordinates: 52°59′09″N 1°52′55″W / 52.9859°N 1.88205°W / 52.9859; -1.88205
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air
Alton Towers
LocationAlton Towers
Park sectionForbidden Valley
Coordinates52°59′09″N 1°52′55″W / 52.9859°N 1.88205°W / 52.9859; -1.88205
StatusOperating
Opening date16 March 2002 (2002-03-16)
Cost£12 million
General statistics
TypeSteel – Flying
ManufacturerBolliger & Mabillard
DesignerJohn Wardley
ModelFlying Coaster
Track layoutCustom
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Height20 m (66 ft)
Length840 m (2,760 ft)
Speed75 km/h (47 mph)
Inversions2
Duration1:40
Capacity1500 riders per hour
G-force3.5
Height restriction140 cm (4 ft 7 in)
Trains3 trains with 7 cars. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 28 riders per train.
Fastrack available
Single rider line available
air at RCDB

'air' or Aerial Inversion Ride is a steel flying roller coaster located in the Forbidden Valley area of Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. The ride was the first flying roller coaster designed by the Swiss manufacturers Bolliger & Mabillard. Guests ride in a prone position and experience the feeling of flight by "flying" close to the ground, under footpaths, and narrowly past trees and rocks.

History

The concept of a flying roller coaster was first conceived in 1990 but due to technological limitations at the time, its realisation was delayed.[1] Flying roller coasters are characterised by passengers riding parallel with the track.[2] Skytrak Total, the first flying roller coaster, opened in 1997 at Granada Studios Tour in Manchester.[3] Shortly afterward, Bolliger & Mabillard began designing their own flying roller coaster. Alton Towers began construction of Bolliger & Mabillard' prototype flying coaster in mid 2001. Later that year, Alton Towers officially announced the ride as being an unnamed "Aerial Inversion Ride" which would open in March 2002.[4] Alton Towers later revealed that the ride's name would actually be "AIR", the abbreviation of "Aerial Inversion Ride"; it was subsequently altered to lowercase.[5][6]

In early 2002, testing of air began with special crash test dummies. Costing £12 million to complete, air was tied with Oblivion as the most expensive ride at Alton Towers. Before air opened to the public, the manufacturers and the designers experienced the first cycles of the ride. After some slight adjustments, the ride officially opened to the public on 16 March 2002.[7]

Early difficulties with unreliability were reduced towards the end of the first year, and problems have become rare.[8]

Characteristics

Design

air was the first flying coaster installation by Swiss roller coaster manufacturer, Bolliger & Mabillard.[9] The ride was designed by John Wardley, the designer of many rides at Alton Towers and other Merlin Entertainments Group amusement parks.[10][11] The £12 million ride[10] was built by JJ Cavanagh Construction and programmed by Consign AG.

Statistics

At the time of opening, air was the tallest ride at Alton Towers, standing 20 metres (66 feet) tall. The 840-metre-long (2,760-foot) ride reaches a top speed of 75 kilometres per hour (47 miles per hour). Riders can experience up to three-and-a-half times the force of gravity whilst on the ride. One cycle of the ride lasts approximately one minute and forty seconds.[7]

Trains

air features a dual-platform loading station, permitting three trains to operate simultaneously. Each train has seven cars, with each car carrying four riders side-by-side in a single row. This configuration allows for up to 1500 riders per hour.[7]

Experience

A train in the loading position
A train ready to depart
A train in the loading position (left) and flying position (right)

Station and loading

Once in the station, riders of air board a train sitting down, in a similar style to inverted roller coasters.[12] Riders are restrained through a padded over-the-shoulder harness and a lap bar. At the ankles, two flaps hold the legs in position and close as the harness locks into place. After a train is fully locked and checked, riders are raised into the flying position and the train departs the station.[12]

Ride layout

A train navigating the fly-to-lie
A train navigating the inline twist
Trains navigating the fly-to-lie (left) and inline twist (right) elements.

air commences with a short passage through a tunnel departing the station, followed by a chain lift hill. The ride's first drop dips to the right, rises up to a 180° turn, and continues down a large drop to ground level. air's track then twists so the riders are on their backs.[13] This maneuver is known as a fly-to-lie.[7] The coaster then performs a large upward left turn before twisting again, returning riders to the prone position.[13] This maneuver is known as a lie-to-fly.[7] After exiting from the lie-to-fly element, air passes underneath a small ravine before pitching up, into a tight turn.[13] A 360° inline twist[7] is followed by a series of straight flying, and several turns and dips in the track. The train then slows in the brake run before returning to one of the station's two platforms.[13]

Marketing

Preceding the ride's launch prior, and to it receiving a name, Alton Towers marketed the ride as Secret Weapon 5 (SW5).[14] This followed other similar project names at the park including SW3 and SW4 for the Nemesis and Oblivion coasters.[15][16] The pre-launch naming trend continued with SW6 and SW7 for Thirteen and The Smiler coasters, respectively.[17]

In 2002, Alton Towers entered into a five-year agreement with Cadbury Heroes, to become the ride's sponsor. This was part of a wider marketing campaign costing £4.5 million. The campaign featured the slogan "Assume the position" and consisted of a series of cinema and television commercials. air was not marketed as a thrill ride, but rather a ride to simulate flight.[18][19]

Reception

The Tussauds Group, owners of Alton Towers in the early 2000s, claimed that air contributed to the park's strong performance in 2002 and 2003.[20]

In Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards, air was ranked in the top 50 steel roller coasters numerous times following its opening. It peaked at position 24 in 2003,[21] before dropping to position 34 in 2004 and 36 in 2005.[22][23] In 2006, it tied for position 49 with another Bolliger & Mabillard flying coaster, Superman: Ultimate Flight.[24] It has not appeared in the top 50 since.[25]

In Mitch Hawker's worldwide Best Roller Coaster Poll, air peaked at position 36 in its debut year.[26] The ride's ranking in subsequent polls is shown in the table below.

Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll: Best Steel-Tracked Roller Coaster[26]
Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Ranking
36
64
61
54
75
94
107
96
106
[nb 1]
130

Notes

  1. ^ No steel roller coaster poll was held in 2011.

References

  1. ^ "The World's First Flying Rollercoaster Opening At Alton Towers" (Press release). Alton Towers. 10 March 2002. Archived from the original on 28 May 2005. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  2. ^ Marden, Duane. "Glossary  (Flying)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  3. ^ Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Search Results  (Design = Flying)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  4. ^ Koranteng, Juliana (15 October 2001). "Coaster shoots for all ages". Amusement Business. 113 (41).
  5. ^ Koranteng, Juliana (14 January 2002). "Alton Towers debuts coaster". Amusement Business. 114 (2): 9.
  6. ^ "Air Rollercoaster". Alton Towers. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Marden, Duane. "Air  (Alton Towers)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  8. ^ Bennett, Chris. "ATA › Park Guide › Forbidden Valley › Air". Alton Towers Almanac. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  9. ^ Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Search Results  (Flying Coasters)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  10. ^ a b Gogarty, Paul (6 July 2002). "Tight buckles, white knuckles and screeeams!". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  11. ^ Ralph, Owen (9 August 2010). "John Wardley". Park World Magazine. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  12. ^ a b Bevil, Dewayne (17 November 2008). "Manta on demand: more details about SeaWorld coaster under construction". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  13. ^ a b c d Bell, Ian (13 October 2006). "Air, Alton Towers POV". Coaster Force. YouTube. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  14. ^ "All Time Greats - Air". Alton Towers. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  15. ^ "All Time Greats - Nemesis". Alton Towers. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  16. ^ "All Time Greats - Oblivion". Alton Towers. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  17. ^ MacDonald, Brady (29 November 2011). "Top 13 for 2013: Best new rides at theme parks around the world". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  18. ^ Koranteng, Juliana (1 July 2002). "TiLE Group Looks At New Trends, Ideas". Amusement Business. 114 (26): 1, 9.
  19. ^ Koranteng, Juliana (22 December 2003). "Despite Economic Woes, Attendance Stable In Europe". Amusement Business. 115 (51): 11, 15.
  20. ^ "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 2003. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  21. ^ "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 April 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2013. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  22. ^ "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 2005. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  23. ^ "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 2006. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  24. ^ "Issue Archive". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  25. ^ a b Hawker, Mitch. "Steel Roller Coaster Poll 12 Year Results Table (1999 - 2012)". Best Roller Coaster Poll. Retrieved 27 April 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Air (roller coaster).
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