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Air (roller coaster)
Encyclopedia
Air 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 gliding narrowly past objects such as trees and rocks.
It was formerly sponsored by Cadbury Heroes and its slogan is "Assume the position."
at Alton Towers
, which was built at a cost of £12 million. Special crash test dummies
were brought in to aid with testing. The passengers of the first ride were the manufacturers and the designers. After more adjustments, the ride was open to the public in 2002.
Early difficulties with unreliability were reduced towards the end of the first year, and problems are now rare.
When it was launched, ride designers said that the way forward for roller coasters was to go higher and faster. Air's popularity suggested that this was not the case, and that roller coaster enthusiasts seek unique, different ride experiences, not just bigger and taller thrill rides.
The ride has also become a popular attraction at Alton Towers
, most likely due to Air's distinctive 'flying' roller coaster design, which is incomparable with other roller coasters at Alton Towers.
The ride's project name was Secret Weapon 5 (SW5), which followed other similar project names at the park. SW4 was Oblivion, SW3 was Nemesis and SW1 and 2 were ideas not implemented on the site of Nemesis. SW6 was the code name for the park's latest roller coaster, Thirteen, which opened in March 2010.
. Air's first drop dips to the right, rises up to a 180 degree turn, and drops down in to a large drop to ground level. Air's track then twists over so Air's riders are riding on their backs, performing a large upward left turn before twisting back so riders are once again in the prone position, flying underneath a small ravine. Air's track then pitches up in to a tight turn before performing a 360 degree barrel roll
. Air's train hits the brake run and re-enters one of Air's two stations.
Steel roller coaster
A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world...
flying
Flying roller coaster
A flying roller coaster is a variation of roller coaster meant to simulate the sensations of flight by harnessing riders in a prone position during the duration of the ride. The roller coaster cars are suspended below the track, with riders secured such that their backs are parallel to the track...
roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
located in the Forbidden Valley area of Alton Towers
Alton Towers
Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The ride was the first flying roller coaster designed by the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
manufacturers 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...
. Guests ride in a prone position
Prone position
The term means to lie on bed or ground in a position with chest downwards and back upwards.-Etymology :The word "prone," meaning "naturally inclined to something, apt, liable," has been recorded in English since 1382; the meaning "lying face-down" was first recorded in 1578, but is also referred to...
and experience the feeling of flight by 'flying' close to the ground, under footpaths and gliding narrowly past objects such as trees and rocks.
It was formerly sponsored by Cadbury Heroes and its slogan is "Assume the position."
History
The idea for Air came to fruition after many years of planning, and construction started towards the beginning of 2001. Numerous advertisements for the attraction were placed around the park towards the end of the same year. In early 2002, testing began on one of the world's most technologically advanced rides ever made, and the ride opened on March 2002 at a cost of £12million. It holds the title of one of the most expensive rides jointly with OblivionOblivion (roller coaster)
Oblivion is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in England. The ride opened as the world's first vertical drop roller coaster in March 1998 amidst a large publicity campaign. The ride has a height restriction of 1.4 metres...
at Alton Towers
Alton Towers
Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
, which was built at a cost of £12 million. Special crash test dummies
Crash test dummy
Crash test dummies are full-scale anthropomorphic test devices that simulate the dimensions, weight proportions and articulation of the human body, and are usually instrumented to record data about the dynamic behavior of the ATD in simulated vehicle impacts...
were brought in to aid with testing. The passengers of the first ride were the manufacturers and the designers. After more adjustments, the ride was open to the public in 2002.
Early difficulties with unreliability were reduced towards the end of the first year, and problems are now rare.
When it was launched, ride designers said that the way forward for roller coasters was to go higher and faster. Air's popularity suggested that this was not the case, and that roller coaster enthusiasts seek unique, different ride experiences, not just bigger and taller thrill rides.
The ride has also become a popular attraction at Alton Towers
Alton Towers
Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
, most likely due to Air's distinctive 'flying' roller coaster design, which is incomparable with other roller coasters at Alton Towers.
The ride's project name was Secret Weapon 5 (SW5), which followed other similar project names at the park. SW4 was Oblivion, SW3 was Nemesis and SW1 and 2 were ideas not implemented on the site of Nemesis. SW6 was the code name for the park's latest roller coaster, Thirteen, which opened in March 2010.
Statistics
- Construction started: Mid 2001
- Designed by: John Wardley
- Manufacture: Bolliger & Mabillard
- Ride type: B&M flyer
- Constructed by: JJ Cavanagh Construction
- Programmed by: Consign AG
- Ride opened: 16 March 2002
- Total cost: Approx £12million
- Length: Approx. 840 metres
- Highest drop: Approx. 20 metres
- Top speed: Approx. 75 km/h
- Maximum Gs: 3.5 g0
- Number of trains (crafts): 3
- Passengers per craft: 28
- Max throughput per hour: 1500
- Ride duration: Approx. 90 seconds
Ride experience
Air commences with a short passage through a tunnel out of the station, followed by a lift hillLift hill
A lift hill, or chain hill, is often the initial upward-sloping section of track on a typical roller coaster that initially transports the roller coaster train to an elevated point or peak in the roller coaster ride...
. Air's first drop dips to the right, rises up to a 180 degree turn, and drops down in to a large drop to ground level. Air's track then twists over so Air's riders are riding on their backs, performing a large upward left turn before twisting back so riders are once again in the prone position, flying underneath a small ravine. Air's track then pitches up in to a tight turn before performing a 360 degree barrel roll
Barrel roll
A barrel roll is an aerial maneuver in which an airplane makes a complete rotation on its longitudinal axis while following a helical path, approximately maintaining its original direction. It is sometimes described as "a combination of a loop and a roll"...
. Air's train hits the brake run and re-enters one of Air's two stations.