Helix (Liseberg)

Helix

Data [1]
Location	Liseberg ( Gothenburg , Sweden )
Type	Steel - seated
model	Launched coaster
category	Launched coaster
Drive type	LSM 100 km / h
Manufacturer	Mack Rides
costs	23 million euros
opening	April 26, 2014
length	1380 m
height	41 m
Max. speed	100 km / h
Max. acceleration	4.3 g
Travel time	about 2:10 min
capacity	1350 people per hour
Trains	3 trains, 5 carriages / train, 2 rows of seats / carriage, 2 seats / row of seats
elements	• 2 × corkscrews • Twisted Airtime Hill • Norwegian Loop • Twisted Airtime Hill • Zero-g-Roll • Helix • Inside- Top-Hat • Heartline-Roll
Inversions	7th
Theming	unknown

Helix is a steel roller coaster of the Launched Coaster type with two electromagnetic acceleration sections from the manufacturer Mack Rides , which opened on April 26, 2014 in the Swedish amusement park Liseberg in Gothenburg . With a length of 1380 meters, Helix is the second longest roller coaster with inversions (rollover) in Europe after the Hyperion roller coaster opened in 2018 in the Polish amusement park Energylandia . Internationally, it ranks fifth. Longer roller coasters are: Incredicoaster (formerly California Screamin ') (1,850.7 m) in Disney California Adventure Park, Steel Vengeance (1,749.6 m) in Cedar Point, Dragon Mountain (1,676.4 m) in Marineland Theme Park, Hakugei ( 1,530.0 m) in Nagashima Spa Land and Hyperion (1,450.0 m) in Energylandia.

prior notice

In early October 2012, Liseberg announced in its advance notice that the Helix roller coaster would have a longer travel distance and a higher speed than the existing roller coasters in the park. In addition, Helix, with 200 million Swedish kronor (23 million euros ), is the largest investment that the park has ever invested in a new attraction.

In April 2013, the park and the manufacturer Mack Rides published the design of the trains.

Driving system

The driving system is the same type of route and trains as the Blue Fire Megacoaster in Europa-Park Rust. The route was designed individually for Liseberg and the roller coaster - like the Lisebergbanan - leads over the mountain, which is located on the western part of the park. The Helix station building is located in the building of the former “Maxxima” 3D cinema, which was closed at the end of the 2012 season.

In addition to the lap bars, passengers have also been secured in the seat with lap belts since 2018. In the 2019 season, the lap belts were replaced by new lap bars with integrated belts.

journey

Play media file

Onride video from Helix

During the almost two-minute journey, the trains drive through seven inversions, four airtime hills, many descents, twists and turns on the 1380 meter long and 52 meter high route. As a special technical feature, the roller coaster has two kills with linear synchronous motors (LSM) and is therefore the second roller coaster with multiple kills (multi-launch coaster) in Europe ^(note) . The engines accelerate the trains with an acceleration force of 4.3 g to a top speed of 100 km / h. Unlike most roller coasters, there is no lift or launch at the beginning of the driveway , but the trains roll straight out of the station on the mountain, into a corkscrew . The two motors are located within the route and accelerate the trains as they pass through. The Cheetah Hunt roller coaster in Busch Gardens Tampa ( Tampa , Florida , USA ) works according to this principle, but with three motors .

^(Note)The launch coaster Juvelen in Djurs Sommerland , which opened on April 5, 2013, has several friction wheels in two places instead of linear synchronous motors (LSM) to accelerate the trains.

Awards

In September 2014, Helix received the European Star Award for the best new ride, given by the trade magazine Kirmes und Park Revue . In 2015, the Friends of Kirmes und Freizeitparks e. V. awarded the novelty prize “FKF-Award 2014” to Liseberg and the manufacturer Mack Rides. In the justification, the excellent integration into the landscape is praised and emphasized that Helix sets new standards as a roller coaster in Europe.