Roller coaster elements

In the roller coaster construction many today are driving elements possible. Since no adequate German-language terms have been coined for many export projects, English expressions are mostly used.

The terms of aerobatics are often used, as the cars in some elements perform figures similar to those of an aerobatic pilot .

Lift hill

Chain lift of the Silver Star in Europa-Park

The Lifthill [ lɪfthɪl ] (literally translated: elevator hill) is an element of the route structure of most roller coasters, it is the ascent to the first descent . When the wagon or train is carried up the lift hill, it receives the positional energy that is required to drive through the route. A lift hill can be operated with a chain hoist , friction wheel drive , rope hoist or as a drum lift.

Chain hoist: The chain hoist transports the trains up the lift hill with a conveyor chain loop. A driver on the wagon or train, the so-called chain dog , hooks into the chain and is pulled along with it. The chain lift is the most common form of drive on roller coasters. With a few exceptions (e.g. Jetline ), chain lifts are designed as straight ramps.
Friction wheels

Collision protection

In addition to pulling the trains up to the highest point of the roller coaster, the lift hills of all roller coasters where there is more than one train have another task that contributes to safety: when a train is pulled up the lift hill and the train in front applies the first block brake has not yet completely left the lift hill, then the PLC switches off the drive of the lift hill before the pulled train can reach the highest point of the lift hill. This is a safety function prescribed by the TÜV , which is intended to prevent dangerous rear-end collisions, as a block section is always completely cleared before the next train passes through it.

Lifthill the Alpina train with Kardan -Reibradantrieb
Friction wheels of the Alpina Bahn in detail
Lifthill with cable of Goliath in the Dutch Walibi Holland

First departure

Lift hill and Steel Dragon 2000's first descent at Nagashima Spa Land

Lift and first departure of the Eurofighter Typhoon in Bobbejaanland, Belgium

Dive drop of the wing coaster The Swarm in Thorpe Park

The first descent of a roller coaster ( English first drop [ fɜst drɒp ]) is classically behind the lift hill . For railways with only one lift hill, it is usually the highest descent, at the end of which the train reaches the maximum speed of the roller coaster. There are exceptional cases , especially with railways from the manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard , in which the first drop follows a smaller, predrop -called descent. This route element makes it possible to drive through a curve between the predrop and first drop at a higher speed.

Before the construction of the first Eurofighter Vild-Svinet with its 97 ° descent, it was disputed whether it was possible to make a descent with an incline of over 90 °. The steepest descent that ends in a normal horizontal is currently owned by TMNT Shellraiser in the Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park with 121.5 °.
The highest first exit has the roller coaster Kingda Ka in the amusement park Six Flags Great Adventure , United States. The descent is a total of almost 127 m high. Kingda Ka does not have a lift hill, however, but belongs to the category of launched coaster .
The Fury 325 roller coaster in the American Amusement Park Carowinds has the highest first descent after a classic lift hill with a descent of a total of 98 m.

Dive drop

A dive drop is an element in which the train first runs a half inline twist and then goes through a dive loop as a descent. With wing coasters from Bolliger & Mabillard , this element is often used as the first descent under the name Wing Over Drop.

Tilt drop

The tilt drop is a special feature of the manufacturer Vekoma in which the train is pulled onto a horizontal platform with a lift hill . There the train is locked. Then the platform and the pull slowly tilt until it has a slope of 90 °. The train is then released from the anchorage. This type of first descent has only been available once worldwide, Gravity Max in Discovery World in Taichung ( Taiwan ).

Curves

Helix on The hot ride in the Klotten wildlife and leisure park
Immelmann turn at Dragon's Fury in Chessington World of Adventures
Horseshoe at Blue Fire in Europa-Park

Classic roller coaster tracks are inclined for cornering in order to reduce lateral g- forces to a tolerable level. Today the rails are designed according to the heart line principle introduced by Werner Stengel in such a way that the axis of rotation is not on the track axis, as was previously the case, but roughly at the height of the passengers' hearts in order to further reduce the stress.

Helix: Helices are curves that lead up or down with a constant radius and gradient. The route therefore corresponds to the helix in the geometric sense .
Mouse curve

Bay knot

The bay knot in the Novgorod curse . Entrance above, exit below in the picture

The bay knot is an element that only occurs in Germany in the Fluch von Novgorod roller coaster . According to the Hansa-Park , the model for this element was a sailor's knot, the anchor stitch . Even if there are many roller coasters in the world that have such a construction or a similar one, Fluch von Novgorod is the only roller coaster in the world where the name Buchtknoten was used.

First you drive up a small curve inclined to the right or left on an already elevated track, with strong forces acting on the body. This is followed by a larger, downwardly inclined curve, as a result of which the train has made a 270 ° turn and now passes under the track where the element started. Now this element is repeated symmetrically, so that you experience a total of 540 ° rotation. The carriage then moves in the opposite direction of travel at the beginning of the element. In principle, a bay knot can best be described as a batwing lying on its side without any inversions (rollover).

A construction almost identical to the bay knot, for example, has existed since 1989 in the Magnum XL-200 roller coaster at Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio, USA). Here, however, the middle part of the construction leads over the entrance and exit and not under it, as with the Curse of Novgorod .

In 1996, Warner Bros. Movie World Germany - now Movie Park Germany - opened a double roller coaster called Lethal Weapon Pursuit , which was renamed Cop Car Chase in 2005 . Both roller coasters possessed immediately after lifthill a movement sequence which is identical to a bay node. Both elements were also intertwined ( interlocking ). In October 2006, both roller coasters were demolished.

Airtime hill

Airtime Hill and Outside Top Hat at Kingda Ka in Six Flags Great Adventure
A train in one of the twisted airtime hills of the Goliath roller coaster in Walibi Holland

Airtime hills create weightlessness or a lift out of your seat when you pass them. For even airtime the hill must describe a trajectory parabola . In the case of high airtime hills, one often speaks of camelbacks (English for "camel back"), in the case of small, flat ones of bunny hops (English for "rabbit jumps").

Twisted airtime hill

If the direction of travel changes while crossing an airtime hill, i.e. if the train changes between left, right and straight ahead, this is called a twisted airtime hill .

Stem dive

A stem dive is a special form of an airtime hill in which the train is inclined to the side by significantly more than 90 °, which leads to a lateral overhang. The first roller coaster to use a stem dive is the Goliath roller coaster in Walibi Holland . Here the train leans 121 ° to the side. The name Stengel-Dive goes back to its inventor, the German engineer Werner Stengel .

Top hat

Inside-top hat from Mr. Freeze in Six Flags over Texas

Hills with a vertical rise and fall are called top hats . The rise and fall are often associated with a rotation around the track axis, so that a change of direction takes place. Depending on whether the train is on the outside or inside and thus on the head, one speaks of an outside or inside top hat.

tunnel

On some roller coasters, the route briefly leads through one or more tunnels . These can run above ground as well as underground and be filled with fog, so that the further route remains hidden from the passengers.

The tunnels can also be further upgraded with light effects. The Winja's Fear & Winja's Force roller coaster has a start-stop rail in one of the tunnels.

Keyhole element from X-Flight in Six Flags Great America

Headchopper and footchopper

As Head Chopper (Engl. For "Kopfabhacker") refers to elements on the track, which are as close to the heads of the passengers, giving the impression of a collision. The clearance profile ensures that the head chopper cannot even be touched with an outstretched hand. The element is often found in the supporting structure of wooden coasters .

Analogous to the Head choppers are bodies in Inverted Coastern the feet of the passengers are very close, Foot Chopper (Engl. For "Fußabhacker") called.

There are also so-called keyhole elements on wing coasters from Bolliger & Mabillard . These elements combine a headchopper with a footchoper, since the train on which the passengers are sitting on the outside passes through an object. This creates the feeling that something can be hit all around.

Splash track

Scoop Splashtrack at Griffon in Busch Gardens Williamsburg

With the Splashtrack , the pull comes so close to a water surface that water splashes on it. The spraying is called splashdown . The element can be used as a visual element for spectators, to brake the train and to wet the passengers. In order to create a splash without the train itself being immersed in the water, the manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard attaches components, sometimes called scoops , to the end of the train, which are immersed in the water and specifically called Lead the fountain into the air.

Lie-to-Fly and Fly-to-Lie

As Lie-to-Fly or Fly-to-Lie be special driving elements in roller-coasters type Flying Coaster called, in which the track rotates through 180 °, whereby the passenger between the lying position and flying change position.

Non-inverting loop

Non-inverting loop at Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit in Universal Studios Florida

A non-inverting loop is a driving element that has the shape of a classic loop , but the passengers are never upside down. It is therefore not one of the inversions. The train drives into the element like a loop. On the ascent, however, the track twists outwards, so that the train runs at the apex on the top. On the descent, the track twists again.

Inversions

Roller coaster with the most inversions: The Smiler in Alton Towers

In addition to classic loopings , all other rollover or overhead elements are called inversion .

history

Loop-the-Loop - one of the first looping roller coasters
Wooden roller coaster with looping: Son of Beast

The first roller coasters with inversions appeared at the end of the 19th century, especially on Coney Island . The problem with the first rollovers was usually that the design engineers had little experience with the resulting loads , which occur particularly when changing direction quickly. So there were repeated injuries, especially in the neck area and back.

Inversions on roller coasters only experienced a rebirth in the 1970s, when the first roller coaster with a corkscrew was built in 1975 and the first post-war loop the following year. In particular, the German engineer Werner Stengel achieved much-noticed advances in the construction of roller coasters with the heart line , which also encouraged the development of ever new and harmless inversion types.

In 2000, Son of Beast was the first and only contemporary wooden roller coaster with inversion, but the looping was made of steel. However, it was removed in the winter break of 2006/2007 in order to allow improved travel with lighter trains. There is currently no wooden roller coaster with looping in the world.

Records

The record for the most inversions on a roller coaster is currently 14 and is held by the Gerstlauer Bahn The Smiler, which opened in 2013 in Alton Towers , England . In second place four tracks landed at the same time with ten inversions each, including Colossus in Thorpe Park .

At the 4th Dimension Coaster Eejanaika (Japanese ええじゃないか) opened in 2006 in Fuji-Q High Land in Japan, the drivers roll over 14 times, but the track only has two inversions, the rest is generated by rotating the seats.

On July 13, 2019, the Steel Curtain roller coaster from the manufacturer S&S opened in Kennywood, USA and has since held the record with the highest inversion (60.1 m). The railway replaced Maxx Force in the American Six Flags Great America (53.3 m).

Looping

Inclined Loop at Chang in Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom
Interlocking loops at Loch Ness Monster in Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Looping (German = rollover , from English: loop = loop, loop) is the name of the driving figure in which one drives a vertical circle upwards and is upside down at the top. One of the first roller coasters with a loop was opened as a flip-flap on Coney Island in 1895 . The circular looping used on this runway had the disadvantage that the spontaneous changes in direction of cars and trains when entering the area caused heavy loads. For this reason, Flip-Flap was closed again in 1903. The Loop-the-Loop with an elliptical loop, also opened in Coney Island in 1901, caused fewer problems.

Werner Stengel made use of the clothoid principle, also used in road construction, in the 1970s . As a result, the Revolution roller coaster, built by the German Schwarzkopf GmbH , was opened in 1976 as the first looping roller coaster of the post-war period in the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park ( Valencia , USA). The first transportable loop roller coaster, the Looping Star , was also a co-production by Stengel and Anton Schwarzkopf . Some systems, such as the thriller , which is legendary among fans , still have (almost) circular loops. In many countries, however, new buildings are no longer permitted with circular loops due to the forces involved. The Olympia loop with five loops has the most loops on a transportable roller coaster in Germany and also the most loops in a roller coaster worldwide .

A vertical loop is a vertical loop with no slope. These loops are the most commonly used. Examples of these roller coasters: Black Mamba and Big Loop

Inclined loop

corkscrew

Interlocking Corkscrews at Superman: Krypton Coaster in Six Flags Fiesta Texas

The corkscrew (English: corkscrew ), also known as screw known is often described as exploded looping because the entry and exit diverge there much stronger than the normal loop. Here the route is wrapped around an imaginary cylinder . The name is derived from the appearance of the inversion, which describes a turn like a corkscrew. Originally the name was chosen for an element with two consecutive overlaps of this type. However, it has become common practice to call the original corkscrew element a double corkscrew and the actually half corkscrew simply a corkscrew.

The corkscrew, designed by Karl Bacon in 1968, was first used by Arrow Dynamics in 1975 for a track at Knott's Berry Farm , which is still in operation in Silverwood today. This made the corkscrew - even before the loop - the first inversion of the post-war period.

Twisted Horseshoe Roll at Maverick in Cedar Point

Interlocking corkscrews or DNA twist: Two or more intertwined corkscrews are called interlocking corkscrews or DNA twist , as they look like the double helix of a DNA strand.
Wraparound corkscrew: A corkscrew that ends in a descent. So far, the element has only been installed in the now disused Drachen Fire in Busch Gardens Europe .
Cutback or tongue: If the second half of a corkscrew is mirrored to the first, a cutback or tongue results . This enables a quick 180 ° turn with overhead travel.
Twisted Horseshoe Roll: The twisted horseshoe roll consists of two corkscrew-like inversions that are connected by a 180 ° curve. The entrance and exit from the twisted horseshoe roll are therefore parallel to each other. The element was first installed on Maverick in Cedar Point .

roll

Heartline roll at Typhoon in Bobbejaanland
Zero-g-roll at Black Mamba in Phantasialand

Rolls are rotations around an imaginary axis that is horizontal and in the direction of travel. They exist in different versions, which in most cases can be assigned to one of the following three groups.

Inline twist: The inline twist is a rotation around the travel path. It is only used on roller coasters where the seats are under ( inverted and flying coaster ) or next to ( Furius Baco and Raptor ) the driveway, as strong negative g -forces would arise in a normal sitting position .
Heartline roll

Roll over

Roll-over on a suspended looping coaster

The roll-over corresponds to a looping, in which a complete roll is inserted at the tip and thus has a heart shape . Sometimes the sea serpent roll is also referred to as a roll-over.

Immelmann and Dive-Loop

Dive loop at Dragon Khan in PortAventura
Norwegian Loop at the Speed Monster in TusenFryd

With the Immelmann based on the aerobatic figure of the same name (also called Immelmannkehre or Immelmann-Loop ), the train runs half a loop upwards and immediately afterwards half a zero-g-roll. The Dive-Loop [ ˈdaɪv lu: p ] is a reverse Immelmann, in which first half a zero-g-roll and then half a loop downwards is passed.

Dive-Loop and Immelmann are also available in laterally "tilted" versions, the inclined Dive-Loop and the inclined Immelmann . Both are only available once worldwide: Hydra the Revenge in the theme park Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom ( USA ) and Black Mamba in Park Phantasialand ( Germany ). However, the inclined Immelmann of the Black Mamba does not count among the inversions because its bank is so great that it does not come to a rollover.

Norwegian Loop: An upside down loop with entry and exit at the top. The element can be understood as a consequence of Dive-Loop and Immelmann.
Demonic Knot: A Norwegian loop that is slightly inclined to one side. The element can be understood as a sequence of inclined dive-loop and inclined Immelmann and was previously only installed in flight of the demons .

Sidewinder and reverse sidewinder

Cobra roll at a boomerang

With the Sidewinder , a half loop is first run through. At its apex, i.e. when the train is in the overhead position, there is a half screw. The exit of the Sidewinder is therefore 90 ° to the left or right of the entrance, the train runs again in its normal position. The reverse sidewinder element describes a sidewinder that is passed through in the opposite direction, i.e. half a corkscrew followed by half a loop. Sidewinders can be found, for example, on the SLC roller coaster model (689 m standard) from the Dutch manufacturer Vekoma .

Cobra roll: With the Cobra-Roll [ ˈkəʊbrə rəʊl ] the train goes overhead twice. From the side, the element looks like the head of the eponymous cobra . The Cobra-Roll consists of a sidewinder (half loop, half corkscrew) followed by a reverse sidewinder (half corkscrew, half loop). The reverse sidewinder is mirrored in relation to the sidewinder, so that a 180 ° change of direction takes place. The element is particularly widespread through the Vekoma Shuttle Coaster Boomerang (roller coaster) .
Sea-Serpent-Roll / Butterfly: The Sea-Serpent-Roll is similar in its course to the Cobra-Roll with the difference that the reverse Sidewinder is not mirrored compared to the Sidewinder, but is driven through in reverse. Therefore, in contrast to the Cobra-Roll, there is no change of direction, that is, the train leaves the element in the same direction in which it entered. The sea serpent roll is sometimes also referred to as a roll-over . A related element, where the entry and exit are closer together, is - as in the case of the Goudurix roller coaster - also known under the name Butterfly .
Batwing: The batwing (English for "bat wing") consists of two inversions, namely a reverse sidewinder (half corkscrew, half loop) followed by a sidewinder (half loop, half corkscrew). The sidewinder is mirrored in relation to the reverse sidewinder, so that a 180 ° change of direction takes place.

Pretzel loop

Pretzel loop at Tatsu in Six Flags Magic Mountain

The Pretzel-Loop is an inversion used in flying coasters , in which the entry and exit takes place lying on the stomach at the top and the riders lie on their backs at the lowest point. The name is derived from the pretzel-like appearance. The peculiarity of this element is that there is a rollover forwards during the passage, which, with the exception of the 4th dimension coaster , cannot be achieved with any other type of roller coaster.

Raven turn

The Raven-Turn (Engl. For "Rabe turn") is half an inversion. It looks like half a loop followed by a descent that merges into the horizontal at the same height as the inversion began. The Raven-Turn can only be used on flying coaster or 4D coaster .

The general term raven turn refers to any inversion that conforms to the above design, but there are two types of raven turn. Assuming the train goes through half the loop first, the element is called an inside raven turn when the rails are under the train when the train starts to pass the element, while an outside raven turn when the rails are above the train at the beginning of the element.

Sky loop

Sky-Loop at the Sky Wheel in the Allgäu Skyline Park

Sky-Loop is an unofficial name for the combination of a Humpty Bump Lift followed by a Heartline Roll and a half loop. The element was used for the first time at Sky Wheel and is the only element in the X-Car-Coaster roller coaster model from the manufacturer Maurer SE .

Deviating manufacturer names

Often times, different manufacturers use different names for the same item. Sometimes even the same manufacturer uses several names depending on the model.

element	Type	Arrow Dynamics	Bolliger & Mabillard	Giovanola	Intamin	Pinfari	Premier Rides	Togo	Vekoma	Zamperla
Batwing	sitting	boomerang							Double sidewinder
Cobra roll	inverted								boomerang
Cobra roll	sitting	Batwing							boomerang
Dive loop	sitting							Twist and Dive
double inline twist	inverted								Double spin
double corkscrew	inverted			Double spiral turn
double corkscrew	sitting		Double wing over
triple heartline roll	sitting				Triple Zero-G-Heart Roll
Fly-to-lie	4th dimension	Turnover
Fly-to-lie	flying		Flip						180 ° roll
Heartline roll	flying									Spiral
	inverted				Zero-G-Heart Roll
	pipeline				Spiral
	sitting				Zero-G-Heart Roll
Immelman	sitting				Cobra Loop
Inline twist	flying		360 ° in-line roll						Corkscrew
Inside top hat	sitting						180 ° inversion
Interlocking corkscrews	inverted		Interlocking wing overs
Interlocking corkscrews	sitting		Interlocking flat spins
corkscrew	flying		Flat spin
	inverted		Wing over		Spiral
	sitting		Flat spin		Screw
	standing		Flat spin
Lie-to-Fly	4th dimension	Turnover
Lie-to-Fly	flying		Flip						180 ° roll
Roll over	inverted					Corkscrew
quadruple heartline roll	sitting				Quad Zero-G-Heart Roll
Zero-g-roll	inverted		Heartline Spin	Looping revolution
	sitting		Camelback
	standing				revolution

Block brake

Block brakes are installed on roller coasters to ensure multi-train operation. If necessary, the block brake stops the train completely if the following section of the route (see also train sequence section ) has not yet been released, e.g. B. because there is another roller coaster train on this one. The block brake can also be used to reduce the speed of the train if it is too fast.

Restraint systems

Usually, roller coasters with inversions have more extensive restraints than models that do not go overhead to protect the passenger from falling out. In most cases, these are shoulder bars, which are also intended to prevent unhealthy twisting of the body, but are unpopular with many passengers because of the lack of freedom of movement and because the head hits the shoulder bar on somewhat more rough roller coasters.

The degree of security required also depends on the type of inversion. The classic vertical looping is generally done safely with a pure pelvic bow because the passenger is held in the seat by the centrifugal force . This is especially the case with older Schwarzkopf lifts like Nessie in Hansa-Park . In the case of more unusual inversions, however, newly developed restraint systems are used, which were first used by Maurer Söhne in their X-Cars such as the Sky Wheel . As a result, other manufacturers developed such restraint systems, such as SunKid Amusement Technologie GmbH for the Boomerang in Vienna's Prater and Mack Rides for the Blue Fire Megacoaster .

Switches

Switch to the roller coaster Kingda Ka

Turnouts are mostly used on roller coasters before and after a double charging station in order to divide the route onto two tracks or to merge them again into one. Usually, they are switched over after each car or train has passed so that every track is used equally. Because of the additional guide wheels that press against the track from the side or from below, switches on roller coasters are only possible in the form of drag switches or comparable constructions. Since the interruption of the rails represents a particular safety risk and high loads act on the parts concerned, switches are usually passed through at very low speed and under the control of many proximity switches .

Shifting track

The shifting track is mostly used on roller coasters to move the trains from the track to the siding. A piece of rail the length of a train is moved just like the switches, but the circuit of the railway is interrupted. Trains can be added or removed by driving them onto the shifting track and moving them to the desired position with the track. There are also railways that use the shifting track as part of the normal course of travel, such as Shuttle Coaster , which use more than one train (e.g. Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast in Six Flags St. Louis and Six Flags Over Texas ) , or railways with multiple launches (e.g. Star Trek: Operation Enterprise in Movie Park Germany ).

Individual evidence

↑ Dive Drop . Database entry, accessed October 11, 2018

^ Gatekeeper ( Memento from August 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive ). Cedar Point, accessed August 28, 2012

↑ Photo of the bay knot

↑ Curse of Novgorod Bay Node April 20, 2009 on YouTube , accessed September 27, 2018.

↑ Photo of the Magnum XL-200 roller coaster

↑ Photo of a train in the Stengel-Dive , the Goliath roller coaster in Walibi Holland

↑ Premiere of the X-Flight Wing Coaster (English). Los Angeles Times, April 11, 2012, accessed August 27, 2012

^ The History of the Inversion. Coaster Globe, archived from the original on January 12, 2009 ; accessed on March 9, 2015 (English).

^ Photo of the inclined Immelmann of the Black Mamba

↑ List of roller coasters with Inside Raven Turn

↑ List of roller coasters with Outside Raven Turn

↑ Element Cross Reference Report ( Memento of December 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive )

[1] Dive Drop . Database entry, accessed October 11, 2018

[2] Gatekeeper ( Memento from August 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive ). Cedar Point, accessed August 28, 2012

[3] Photo of the bay knot

[4] Curse of Novgorod Bay Node April 20, 2009 on YouTube , accessed September 27, 2018.