Inversion (roller Coaster)

A roller coaster inversion is a roller coaster element in which the track turns riders upside-down and then returns them to an upright position. Early forms of inversions were circular in nature and date back to 1848 on the Centrifugal railway in Paris. These vertical loops produced massive g-force that was often dangerous to riders. As a result, the element eventually became non-existent with the last rides to feature the looping inversions being dismantled during the Great Depression. In 1975, designers from Arrow Development created the corkscrew, reviving interest in the inversion during the modern age of steel roller coasters. Elements have since evolved from simple corkscrews and vertical loops to more complex inversions such as Immelmann loops and cobra rolls. The Smiler at Alton Towers holds the world record for the number of inversions on a roller coaster with 14.

History

Prototypes (1848–1903)

The first inversion in roller coaster history was part of the Centrifugal Railway of Paris, France, built in 1848. It consisted of a 43-foot (13-meter) sloping track leading into a nearly circular vertical loop 13 feet (3.9 m) in diameter. During the early 1900s, many rides including vertical loops appeared around the world. These early loops had a major design flaw: the circular structure produced intense g-forces (hereafter "Gs"). The Flip Flap Railway, designed by Lina Beecher and built in 1895 on Coney Island of Brooklyn, United States, had a 25-foot circular loop at the end which though initially popular caused some discomfort in passenger's necks, and the ride soon closed. Loop the Loop, another looping coaster, was built later in Coney Island as well. This time the loops were slightly oval-shaped rather than circular, though not clothoid in shape like modern loops. Although the ride was safe, it had a low capacity, loading four people every five minutes (48 people per hour, compared to 1800 riders per hour on Corkscrew, an early modern coaster that opened in 1976), and was poorly received after the discomfort of the Flip Flap Railway. As their novelty wore off and their dangerous reputation spread, compounded with the developing Great Depression, the early looping coasters disappeared.

Corkscrew (1968–1976)

The concept of inverting riders was not revisited until the 1970s. In 1968, Karl Bacon of Arrow Dynamics created a prototype steel roller coaster with a corkscrew, the first of its kind. The prototype proved that a tubular steel track, first pioneered by Arrow to create Disneyland's Matterhorn Bobsleds in 1959, could execute inversions both safely and reliably. The full model of the prototype, aptly named Corkscrew, was then installed in Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, United States, making history as the world's first modern inverting roller coaster (it was relocated to Silverwood Park of Idaho in 1990). In 1976, the previously disastrous vertical loop was successfully revived when Anton Schwarzkopf constructed the Great American Revolution at Six Flags Magic Mountain of Valencia, United States, which became the world's first complete circuit looping roller coaster. Another roller coaster named Corkscrew, built in Cedar Point of Ohio in the same year, became the first with three inversions.

Inversions (1977–present)

The next few years brought innovations that are still popular in modern coasters. The shuttle roller coaster (non-complete circuit) was invented by Schwarzkopf in 1977 and realized at Kings Island with the Screamin' Demon

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