A suspended roller coaster is one in which the car hangs from the bottom of the wheel assembly by a pivoting fulcrum or hinge assembly. This allows the car and riders to swing side to side as the train races along the track. Due to the swing designs, these roller coasters cannot invert riders. Four manufacturers primarily designed and constructed suspended roller coasters over the years, Arrow Dynamics, Vekoma, Caripro, and Setpoint.
History
The first suspended roller coaster was The Bat at Kings Island. (Although some suspended coasters have been recorded earlier than this, The Bat was the first major suspended coaster and is widely known as the world's first suspended coaster) Built by industry leader (at the time), Arrow Dynamics, The Bat was a failure. Opened April 21, 1981, The Bat was a revolutionary new roller coaster, but it was soon plagued with problems. The problems included: excessive stress on the support springs due to the unbanked curved track sections and stress on the wheels because the brakes were mounted at bottom of the swinging cars. With these problems, Kings Island's $3.8 million dollar (USD) ride closed in 1984 and an announcement for demolition was soon followed. The site that The Bat stood on is now occupied by the Arrow Dynamics looping coaster Vortex.
Arrow Dynamics perfected the suspended roller coaster design from 1981-1984 when the first two successful suspended coasters opened. The Big Bad Wolf at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and XLR-8 at the defunct Six Flags Astroworld began the successful line of suspended roller coasters. Since 1984, Arrow Dynamics manufactured ten successful suspended roller coasters (such as Iron Dragon at Cedar Point, Ninja at Six Flags Magic Mountain, Vortex at Canada's Wonderland, and Flight Deck at Kings Island), Vekoma manufactured four, Caripro manufactured twelve, and Setpoint manufactured 2 (possibly 3, there are speculations about whether Caripro or Setpoint designed Pteranodon Flyers)
Suspended Roller Coasters
External links
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