Vertical Velocity is an inverted

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...

 steel

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...

 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 at Six Flags Great America

Six Flags Great America

Six Flags Great America is a Six Flags theme park in the Chicago metropolitan area, located in Gurnee, Illinois. It first opened in 1976 as Marriott's Great America. Six Flags purchased the park from the Marriott Corporation in 1984, making it the seventh park in the chain...

 in Gurnee, Illinois

Gurnee, Illinois

Gurnee is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 28,834 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 30,772 in 2005. The village borders the city of Waukegan and is considered a part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Gurnee is perhaps best known for being the location of...

.

Manufactured by Intamin under the trade name Twisted Impulse Coaster, this launched

Launched roller coaster

The launched roller coaster is a modern form of roller coaster which has increased in use in the last decade. In place of a traditional chain lift, the launched coaster initiates a ride with high amounts of acceleration via one or series of Linear Induction Motors , Linear Synchronous Motors ,...

 shuttle

Shuttle roller coaster

A shuttle roller coaster is any roller coaster that ultimately does not make a complete circuit, but rather reverses at some point throughout its course and traverses the same track backwards...

-style coaster, located in the Yankee Harbor section of the park, has been operating since May 18, 2001.

The coaster's single seven-car (28-passenger) train runs along a 200 m (656 ft) U-shaped track, incorporating two 185 feet (56.4 m) vertical spikes. The forward spike incorporates a twisted spiral, and the rearward spike provides a straight freefall. The 20 m (65 ft) train, propelled by linear induction motors

Linear motor

A linear motor is an electric motor that has had its stator and rotor "unrolled" so that instead of producing a torque it produces a linear force along its length...

(LIMs,) is accelerated in less than four seconds to 70 mph (31.3 m/s) toward the forward tower before dropping back down through the station house and up the rearward tower. A holding brake is incorporated on the rear straight tower and is able to suspend the train momentarily (usually on the final ascent during each ride) before dropping it back down to the station house. For the 2009 operating season, park officials have confirmed that the braking system on the rear spike is broken and will be repaired. Thus, the ride temporarily does not incorporate the suspension phase. As of the 2011 operating season, the brake still has not been repaired. The train passes, at speed, through the station four times per 2700 feet (823 m) ride and is smoothly braked by eddy-current braking before being brought into final position at the station by the LIMs.

Timeline

• 2001 - Construction completed; operation begun
• 2004 - Additional support was added on both towers to increase stability