Nitro

This article is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please help add inline citations to guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (November 2007)

Nitro
Nitro From The View
Location	Six Flags Great Adventure
Park section	Movietown
Type	Steel
Status	Open
Opened	April 7, 2001
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Model	Mega Coaster
Track layout	L-shaped Out and Back
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	230 ft (70 m)
Drop	215 ft (66 m)
Length	5,394 ft (1,644 m)
Max speed	80 mph (130 km/h)
Duration	2:20
Max vertical angle	68°
Cost	$20,000,000
Max G force	4.2
Nitro at RCDB Pictures of Nitro at RCDB
Amusement Parks Portal

Nitro is a steel roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. It was opened in the spring 2001 and was the tallest, fastest roller coaster in New Jersey at the time (the titles of fastest and tallest coaster in the world, let alone New Jersey, now belong to Kingda Ka, which can also be found in Six Flags Great Adventure), as well as the tallest on the East Coast of the United States.

The ride

Nitro's entrance and the 230-foot lift hill

Nitro's hill climb

Although there are no inversions, the ride features six camelbacks, a hammer head turn and a 540-degree helix. After the all-clear signal, Nitro leaves the station and makes a left U-turn dip and up onto the 230 foot (70 m) lift hill. After reaching the 230-foot mark, the train crests the top and drops 215 feet (66 m) at 68 degrees, reaching its top speed of 80 mph (130 km/h), then up a second 189-foot-tall (58 m) hill and then diving down to the left through a 161 foot (49 m) airtime hill. After the moment of weightlessness, Nitro enters its unique element, the Hammerhead turn, a tight U-turn to the right. Soaring over another camelback hill, Nitro enters its S-curve and into the 540-degree helix. After the trim brakes, Nitro soars over three camelback hills and returns to the station. The front row gives an almost unparalleled view and smoothness, but the back row gives you the most airtime throughout the ride, especially at the top of the first drop and the dive off the mid-course brake run. The roller coaster track colors are fuschia and yellow, with blue support beams. This ride is very similar to the Diamondback at Kings Island, Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America, Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens and Behemoth in Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Canada.

Nitro currently has the second steepest drop of a lifted (as opposed to launched) roller coaster in the park, behind El Toro's 76 degree first drop. The coaster used to feature signs up the lift hill which compared points on the hill to other tall structures, such as Niagara Falls; these signs were later removed. The ride continues to be popular, with long wait times, although the line normally moves quickly because of the trains' high capacity and ease of dispatch. It now has a reputation as the most reliable ride in the park.

Trains and station

Nitro's test seat, with the restraint in the highest position that will allow the train to be dispatched.

Nitro features open, side-less trains with individual lap bar restraints. There are a total of 3 trains, and each train seats 4 across and has 9 rows for a total of 36 seats.

Nitro's trains can be loaded and checked quickly, resulting in very high capacity with all 3 trains running. There are three main reasons for this:

1. There is no "backup restraint" that must be checked (Nitro used to have a backup restraint, see further down for more details). Most roller coasters have some sort of seat belt (either on the rider's lap or holding the main restraint down) that serves as a safety device in case the main restraint unlocks.
2. Nothing needs to move out of the way before the train dispatches and after the train advances into the station. This is not the case on most of B&M's other coaster models. For example, on their flying roller coaster, the floor descends and the seats flip into flying position before the train begins to move. On floorless roller coasters and inverted roller coasters, a sort of gate in front of the trains must swing open in addition to the floor moving.
3. The trains can be deployed much more successively than most roller coasters. Usually, as soon as one train has crested the lift hill, the train behind it can be dispatched onto the lift.

Nitro's queue area consists of an indoor and outdoor area followed by a long path before climbing the stairs into the station. Views from the line show the backside to Batman the Ride and the Great Adventure mechanical and storage area.

Other notes

One of Nitro's differences from other Bolliger & Mabillard coasters is the lack of Bolliger & Mabillard's signature pre-drop, which is used on nearly all of their coasters. This is a short drop onto a flat section of track before the main first drop. It is used to relieve tension on the lift chain, as without a pre-drop, the train will pull on the lift chain as it begins to go down the first drop.

Nitro's on-ride camera was previously located at the bottom of the second drop, but in 2006 it was moved to the bottom of the first drop.

On a clear night, the skyline of Philadelphia (about 55 miles/90 kilometers away) is visible from the lift hill, and also when the coaster turns to the left and goes up and down the large hills.^{[citation needed]}

Nitro previously had a backup safety restraint, which featured a black knob that extended out of the seat. The lap bar latched onto the knob to serve as a safety feature without the need for a safety belt. These were later removed because they were deemed unnecessary, as they easily disconnected and greatly interfered with loading times.

Rankings

References

External links

• Six Flags Great Adventure Nitro ride page
• Google Video - Nitro On Ride Video

Coordinates: 40°08′9.32″N 74°26′46.83″W / 40.1359222°N 74.4463417°W / 40.1359222; -74.4463417