Takabisha
| Takabisha | |
|---|---|
 The second steepest drop in the world, the 121° drop of Takabisha. The only roller coaster that is steeper is TMNT Shellraiser at Nickelodeon Universe in the American Dream Mall. It is only 0.5 degrees steeper, though. | |
| Fuji-Q Highland | |
| Location | Fuji-Q Highland |
| Coordinates | 35°29′07″N 138°46′48″E / 35.485340°N 138.779958°E |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | 16 July 2011 |
| Cost | ¥3 billion (€26 million) ($28.5 million) [1] |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel – Launched – Euro-Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Gerstlauer |
| Model | 1000 |
| Lift/launch system | Linear motor launch, chain lift hill |
| Height | 43 m (141 ft) |
| Drop | 42 m (138 ft) |
| Length | 1,000 m (3,300 ft) |
| Speed | 100 km/h (62 mph) |
| Inversions | 7 |
| Duration | 2:40 |
| Max vertical angle | 121° |
| Acceleration | 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in 2 seconds |
| Height restriction | 130 cm (4 ft 3 in) |
| Takabisha at RCDB | |
Takabisha (高飛車, Takabisha) is a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter steel roller coaster located at the Fuji-Q Highland theme park in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan.[2] It is famous for having a drop angle of 121° – the former steepest coaster in the world before being replaced by the TMNT Coaster at American Dream in New Jersey.[3][4] The Japanese name Takabisha translates to "high-handed" or "domineering" in English.[5] The name is a pun, in that the three kanji in the name literally mean "high fly car".
History
On 11 May 2011, Fuji-Q Highland announced to the world that they would be opening Takabisha – the world's steepest roller coaster.[1][6][7][8] Testing for the ride began around 8 June 2011[9] with media and special invited guests being able to ride Takabisha one month later.[10] The ride officially opened to the public on 16 July 2011.[4]
Ride
Takabisha is a custom Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster. The 1,000-metre (3,300 ft) ride begins with a sudden drop into pitch black darkness before entering a slow heartline roll. In just two seconds, the car is launched by linear motors down a 63-metre (207 ft) long tunnel to a speed of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). It then exits out of the station building and directly into a large inverted top hat. Immediately following the exit of this inversion the car goes into a banana roll, corkscrew and then two airtime hills. The ride is slowed on a set of block brakes and returns into the station building. The track then turns a sharp 180° turn to the right before going back out of the building and onto the vertical chain lift hill. This hill takes riders up to a height of 43 metres (141 ft). Once at the top, the car slowly inches towards the record-breaking 121°, beyond-vertical drop. Once the car is released from the top of the hill, it hurtles back down towards the ground and enters a dive loop, an inline loop and finally the seventh inversion, an immelmann loop.[6][9][11][12] The whole ride is over within 2 minutes.[2]
Records
When Takabisha opened on 16 July 2011 it gained the Guinness World Record for the steepest roller coaster made from steel.[3] It officially took the world record from Fraispertuis City's Timber Drop S&S Worldwide El Loco roller coaster, which had gained the record only two weeks earlier.[13][14] Timber Drop's record was set at 113.1° while Takabisha's drop measures at an angle of 121°.[13] This Guinness World Record is the fourteenth set by Fuji-Q Highland.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Tweedy, Joanna (17 June 2011). "Don't look down! Japanese theme park set to take the title of 'world's steepest rollercoaster' from UK's Flamingoland". Daily Mail. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ a b Marden, Duane. "Takabisha (Fuji-Q Highland)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ a b Steepest roller coaster made from steel Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Guinness World Records. Last accessed July 2011
- ^ a b Schneider, Kate (11 July 2011). "First look at world's steepest roller coaster the Takabisha". The Australian. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ "Denshi Jisho — Online Japanese dictionary". Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ a b Fuji-Q Highland (11 May 2011). "Guinness Record Pending Steepest Drop At 121° – A New Roller Coaster" (PDF). Press Release. Japan National Tourism Organisation. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
- ^ "Takabisha, World's Steepest Rollercoaster, To Open In Japan (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ Midena, Kate (16 June 2011). "Japan builds world's steepest roller coaster, Takabisha". News.com.au. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ a b Qneighbor (11 June 2011). "Takabisha-test-run.mp4". Video. YouTube. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ "World's steepest roller-coaster opens in Japan". The Telegraph. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ purplefinale (8 July 2011). "TAKABISHA onride 1 (front row) 高飛車". Video. YouTube. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ "Takabisha - Gerstlauer Amusement Rides". Gerstlauer. July 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
- ^ a b TechCrunch (12 July 2011). "Takabisha: Japan Gets World's Steepest Roller Coaster (Videos)". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ Marden, Duane. "Timber Drop (Fraispertuis City)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
External links
- Fuji-Q Highland official website
- Euro-Fighter on the Gerstlauer official website
- Takabisha POV on YouTube