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Afterburn (Carowinds)
Encyclopedia
Afterburn is a steel inverted roller coaster
at Carowinds. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard
, the roller coaster stands 144 feet (43.9 m) in height and reaches speeds of 62 mi/h. When Afterburn opened in 1999, it was named Top Gun: The Jet Coaster.
. Just as it had done with other inverted and suspended roller coasters at its other parks, Paramount themed the new roller coaster to one of its most popular movies, Top Gun. It was the second Top Gun roller coaster designed by Bolliger & Mabillard—the first being the original Top Gun at Paramount's Great America in California
--and was the longest, tallest and fastest of the four themed attractions.
After the former Paramount parks were acquired by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, Cedar Fair chose to rename the Top Gun roller coasters to Flight Deck. Carowinds, instead, chose to name its roller coaster Afterburn, beginning with its 2008 season. However, on the front of the hangar there is an emblem with the words T-G (Top Gun) written on it.
As Afterburn exits the batwing, it climbs through a camelback hill. The train then returns to the ground hitting 4.8Gs, and enters its final inversion, a corkscrew to the right. After exiting the corkscrew, the train begins a 270-degree climbing helix to the left, after which it reaches the ride's brake run and the return to the station.
Inverted roller coaster
An inverted roller coaster is a roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. This latter attribute is what sets it apart from the older suspended coaster, which runs under the track, but "swings" via a pivoting bar attached to the...
at Carowinds. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard
Bolliger & Mabillard
Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, with Bolliger acting as president and Mabillard as vice-president...
, the roller coaster stands 144 feet (43.9 m) in height and reaches speeds of 62 mi/h. When Afterburn opened in 1999, it was named Top Gun: The Jet Coaster.
History
When Afterburn was built, Carowinds was owned by Paramount ParksParamount Parks
Paramount Parks was an operator of theme parks and attractions, which annually attracted about 13 million patrons. Viacom had assumed control of the company as part of its acquisition of Paramount Pictures in 1994....
. Just as it had done with other inverted and suspended roller coasters at its other parks, Paramount themed the new roller coaster to one of its most popular movies, Top Gun. It was the second Top Gun roller coaster designed by Bolliger & Mabillard—the first being the original Top Gun at Paramount's Great America in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
--and was the longest, tallest and fastest of the four themed attractions.
After the former Paramount parks were acquired by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, Cedar Fair chose to rename the Top Gun roller coasters to Flight Deck. Carowinds, instead, chose to name its roller coaster Afterburn, beginning with its 2008 season. However, on the front of the hangar there is an emblem with the words T-G (Top Gun) written on it.
Ride layout
Afterburn begins as it climbs its lift hill, reaching a peak height of 144 feet (43.9 m). The roller coaster train then drops to the right to enter its first inversion, a vertical loop. It then remains low to the ground as it enters an Immelmann loop, which sends the train in the opposite direction. The train climbs up and then spins through a Zero-G roll before diving back to the ground and entering the two-inversion batwing element, crossing under the park's rear entrance in the process.As Afterburn exits the batwing, it climbs through a camelback hill. The train then returns to the ground hitting 4.8Gs, and enters its final inversion, a corkscrew to the right. After exiting the corkscrew, the train begins a 270-degree climbing helix to the left, after which it reaches the ride's brake run and the return to the station.