GeForce expedition

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GeForce expedition
first departure

first departure

Data
Location Holiday Park
( Hassloch )
Type Steel - seated
model Mega coaster
Drive type Cable lift hill
Manufacturer Intamin
Designer Ingenieurbüro Stengel GmbH
opening June 18, 2001
length 1,220 m
height 62 m
Departure 53 m
Max. gradient 82 °
Max. speed 120 km / h
Max. acceleration 4.5 g
Travel time 1:15 min
capacity 1300 people per hour
Trains 2 trains, 7 cars / train, 2 rows of seats / car, 2 seats / row of seats
elements Departures, driveways, curves
Inversions 0
Theming Expedition Camp

Expedition GeForce [ ekspɪˈdɪʃn dʒiːfɔːs ] (EGF for short) in the Holiday Park in Haßloch is one of the largest roller coasters in Europe and, with an initial gradient of 82 degrees and a simultaneous rotation of 74 degrees around the longitudinal axis, was the steepest in Germany for a long time.

Planning and implementation

On the railway sold by the manufacturer under the product name Mega Coaster , the cars accelerate to up to 120 km / h (average speed: 74.6 km / h) on the approximately 1.3 km long route, with accelerations of up to 4.5 g (4.5 times the acceleration due to gravity ) and seven airtimes (phases of weightlessness or acceleration downwards, at least -1.1 g ) act on the body of the passengers. The highest elevation of the system is 62 m at the beginning of the runway, 53 m of which is due to the rail height and 9 m to a flagpole attached to the top.

The track was opened for the 30th anniversary of the amusement park on June 18, 2001. It cost around 10 million euros. The maximum capacity is 1,300 people per hour, which is achieved with two car trains and seven cars each for a total of 28 people. The runway rests on 209 pillars that are up to 20 m deep; 1,600 tons of concrete, 1,300 tons of steel and 38 tons of paint were processed.

The track was manufactured by the Swiss roller coaster manufacturer Intamin in cooperation with the Stengel engineering office . The lift system is identical with the American railway Millennium Force , in which the trains are pulled instead of the usual chain with a patented, also called "Catch Car" steel cable carriage system. Until the opening of Silver Star in Europa-Park in Rust (near Freiburg im Breisgau ), Expedition GeForce was the highest roller coaster on mainland Europe.

Prices

In 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and then again in 2012, the railway won the well-known fan award “Internet Steel Coaster Poll” and in the opening year 2001, 2006 and 2007 already achieved second place in the vote. In 2008 the Mega Coaster reached third place. At the Golden Ticket Awards given by the American trade magazine Amusement Today , Expedition GeForce won eleven times in a row in the category Best Steel Coaster in Europe .

Special

  • The specialty of the roller coaster is the very steep first drop that rotates around the heart line , where weightlessness can be felt on the rear seats of the trains.
  • Since 2008 the roller coaster has been referred to as "bigFM Expedition GeForce" in an advertising cooperation with the radio station bigFM .
  • In 2003, the American Richard Rodriguez set a world record for continuous rollercoaster riding on the track.

Incidents

  • In 2010 a tightrope broke during the GeForce expedition. 28 passengers had to be evacuated.
  • On April 28, 2010 there was an incident in which several people were slightly injured due to a broken axle bolt that stopped a train with 26 people on one of the hills 20 meters above the ground. After a 3 month break and a detailed investigation of the incident by TÜV , the manufacturer and the public prosecutor's office, the railway resumed operations on August 5, 2010.

photos

  • The entrance to the Expedition GeForce waiting area

  • The lift hill with its first drop

  • The first drop

  • The big hill

  • Information about the railway

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b ( page no longer available , search in web archives: The "Expedition GeForce" is back ) in: Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung of August 6, 2010. Accessed on June 24, 2011.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.rnz.de
  2. ↑ http://www.ushsho.com/steelrollercoasterpollresults2012.htm
  3. ↑ Best Roller Coaster Poll Archives
  4. ↑ "Expedition GeForce" writes roller coaster history: Megacoaster of the Holiday Park continuously holds top position in the international roller coaster ranking (PDF; 250 kB). Holiday Park press release. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  5. ↑ http://www.plopsa.be/holiday-park/de/attraktion/bigfm-expedition-geforce
  6. ↑ The fear of death in the roller coaster. Image , May 29, 2010, accessed June 3, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Expedition GeForce: 26 people rescued from 20 meters after a roller coaster defect. April 28, 2010, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 .;

Web links

Commons : Expedition GeForce  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 49 ° 19 '2.7 "  N , 8 ° 17" 52.2 "  E