Stealth

Stealth
Location	Thorpe Park
Park section	Amity Cove
Type	Steel - Launched
Status	Open
Opened	March 15, 2006
Manufacturer	Intamin AG
Designer	Werner Stengel
Model	Accelerator Coaster
Track layout	Out and back
Lift/launch system	Hydraulic launch track
Height	206 ft (63 m)
Drop	203 ft (62 m)
Length	1,312 ft (400 m)
Max speed	80 mph (130 km/h)
Inversions	0
Duration	27 seconds
Max vertical angle	90°
Capacity	1200 riders per hour
Cost	£12 million
Acceleration	0–80 mph in 2.0 seconds
Max G force	4.8
Stealth at RCDB Pictures of Stealth at RCDB
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Stealth is a steel roller coaster built by Intamin AG of Switzerland. The coaster is located in the Amity Cove area of Thorpe Park in Surrey, England and opened in 2006. The ride reaches a maximum height of 62.5 m (206 ft), which makes it the third tallest roller coaster in Europe after Silver Star and Pepsi Max Big One. The ride reaches speeds of around 130 km/h (80 mph) in 2.83 seconds. Stealth was the fastest roller coaster in Europe, although it lost this record when Furius Baco opened in 2007 at Port Aventura in Spain. The ride produces G-forces of up to 4.8g and is thought to have cost £12 million.^[1] It is currently sponsored by Nestlé Yorkie.

History

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When the ride was first announced on the Thorpe Park mid-term development plans it was compared to Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm in the US. It went under the name Project Stealth. Stealth bears major similarities to Kingda Ka, the current world record holder for tallest and fastest roller coaster.

In the original designs there were plans for a grandstand style queue-line, which involved the queue wrapping around and through a traditional drag racing grandstand.^{[citation needed]} This was turned down in favour of a more cost-effective 'cattle pen' queue-line similar to the one at Alton Towers for its coaster, Rita - Queen of Speed.

Stealth had its own live DJ in a booth outside the ride. The DJ played rock 'n' roll classics from musicians such as Elvis Presley, The Champs and the Beach Boys. Guests could request tracks and give shoutouts that could be heard throughout the queue-line and the Stealth area of Thorpe Park.^{[citation needed]} From 2007, the DJ booth was no longer available, and a pre-recorded mock radio station is now played in the Stealth area. The booth is now used to sell Fastrack tickets.^{[citation needed]}

Ride experience

Upon embarking, an American accented announcer says "Place your heads back, face forwards, hold on tight and brace yourself" the train then edges forwards and then back a few times, while a revving sound effect is played, in order to hook onto the catch car. The launch brakes are retracted and a countdown begins during which the announcer repeats his message. Depending on if the ride is in sequence,the announcer shouts "3,2,1", the light will turn green and the announcer shouts "Go, Go, GO!" (however on Fright Nights the announcer just uses his safety message, but in a deep, disembodied voice). At that instant the train is accelerated to 80 mph (130 km/h). As it nears the end launch track, the catch car unhooks itself and the train carries on its journey up the vertical 205 ft tower, cresting over the top-hat and coming back down. Stealth provides excellent panoramic views of the area from the top, if one is at the peak long enough to appreciate them and look in the right direction. The London skyline and Heathrow Airport are visible to the North East & North respectively, Windsor Castle to the North North West, Guildford Cathedral to the South and the Royal Holloway College and the Holloway Sanitorium to the West and if it is a very clear day Wembley Stadium can be seen. The train then crests over a smaller airtime hill while being slowed down by magnetic brakes.

As with many launched roller coasters, Stealth is susceptible to rollbacks when the train does not gain enough momentum on the launch track in order to make it over the top-hat and rolls down backwards. Stealth has magnetic brakes along the launch track in order to slow the train down if this happens. Rollbacks usually only happen when the ride has first opened, but other factors can affect the launching system.

Incidents

On 25 May 2008, the train reached the exact momentum to completely stop on the top. Unlike a similar incident which occurred on Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster, it was during testing. The problem was solved by three engineers giving it a small push to make it roll back. It remained closed until about 4PM, then resumed operation.

Stealth has been noted for its many failed launches due to attempting to launch before the nitrogen accumulators have properly refilled or before the catch car has arrived back at the station, the latter causing a delayed launch quite a while after the ride announcer shouts "Go, Go, Go!". There is a sign outside of the ride that says that there are on average four rollbacks per day.

Theming

Stealth is themed as a 1960s race track called "Amity Speedway". The nearby buildings are made to look worn and old, to fit in with the tidal wave theme including a 1950/60s diner and buildings with typical 1960s advertisements.

Stealth 1.1

Before the beginning of the 2007 season, Tussauds announced that Stealth had been upgraded to do 0-80 mph in 1.8 seconds. The slogan "It's Back. It's Upgraded. Are you ready?" was used to promote the improved ride via the official website.

Records

When Stealth opened in 2006, it was the fastest roller coaster in Europe. It has now lost its title to the Furius Baco at Port Aventura, Spain although Stealth still retains the record for having the fastest acceleration of any roller coaster in Europe. It is currently the fastest roller coaster in the UK at 80mph. It is the second tallest roller coaster in the UK behind Pepsi Max Big One and third tallest roller coaster in Europe.

External links

• Official website for Thorpe Park
• Stealth microsite
• Stealth at Total Thorpe Park
• Thorpe Park Insider
• Stealth at Theme Park Junkies
• BritishCoasters homepage
• Stealth at ThemeParks-UK

Coordinates: 51°24′18″N 0°30′56″W / 51.40504°N 0.515553°W / 51.40504; -0.515553

References