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The Suspended Looping Coaster (or SLC) is a model of
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
inverted
roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...
built by Dutch manufacturer
Vekoma Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is an amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is a syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory) which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld. History The company originally manu ...
. There are at least 39 different installations across the world. The minimum rider height requirement is . Vekoma is now marketing a Suspended Thrill Coaster as a successor to the Suspended Looping Coaster.
The Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...
is the largest, fastest and tallest SLC ever built at
Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. ...
in the UK.


History

The first Suspended Looping Coaster installation was El Condor at
Walibi Holland Walibi Holland (previously called Walibi Flevo, Six Flags Holland and Walibi World) is a theme park in Biddinghuizen, Netherlands. History The park was opened in 1971 as 'Flevohof'. It was an educational theme park themed after agriculture and ...
in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. It was initially designed to run with ten cars in each train. Trouble with this configuration led to the trains being shortened to eight cars to a train. T2 at
Kentucky Kingdom Kentucky Kingdom, formerly known as Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, is a theme park in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The park includes a collection of amusement rides and the Hurricane Bay water park. Kentucky Kingdom is at the intersection ...
was the second prototype model Suspended Looping Coaster and the first in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Like El Condor, it was designed to run with ten cars in a train, though T3's trains were shortened to seven cars for similar reasons. The roller coaster is considered to still be in production. The latest new installation (i.e. not relocated) was Queen Cobra at Sun World Danang Wonders in Đà Nẵng, Vietnam which opened in 2017.


Ride


Layouts

There are several different layouts of Suspended Looping Coasters although most feature a similar pattern. The ride starts by taking riders up a
chain lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from ...
. Once at the top, the train drops down a steep, banked right turn where it enters the first inversion element - a right rollover. A rollover is an Immelmann loop followed by a Dive Loop After exiting this element, the train traverses a tall, banked left turn and approaches the ride's next inversion - a left sidewinder. A sidewinder is similar to an
Immelmann loop Roller coasters are widely known for their drops, inversions, airtime (rides), airtime, and other intense ride elements that contribute to the ride. They are also made up of a variety of features and components responsible for the mechanical opera ...
; however, it features a half-loop followed by a half-corkscrew (rather than an inline twist). After exiting the sidewinder, the train navigates a 270o right upwards helix before entering the ride's final two inversions - a double inline twist. A banked 90o turn to the right then turns the train back around to face towards the station. At this point, some models feature an additional helix to the left, while others simply continue straight into the
brake run A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track that utilizes some form of brakes to slow or stop a roller coaster train. There are various types of braking methods employed on roller coasters, including friction brakes, skid brakes, a ...
. The standard model also has a relatively compact layout, providing numerous " footchoppers". Vekoma have also manufactured three custom Suspended Looping Coasters: The Great Nor'easter at Morey's Piers (which is nearly identical to standard SLC, but with a custom station and supports), Kumali at
Flamingo Land Flamingo Land is a theme park, zoo, and resort located in Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire, England. Opened in 1959, it has been owned and operated by The Gibb Family since 1978. History Flamingo Land Resort was established in 1959 when a cin ...
, and Jubilee Odyssey at
Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. ...
. File:Vekoma SLC 765m helix.svg, The 765m Extended w/Helix layout File:Vekoma SLC 689m standard.svg, The 689m Standard, the layout of most Suspended Looping Coasters File:Mind Eraser (Under Drop).JPG, Mind Eraser directly before the rollover File:Mind Eraser (Sidewinder).JPG, Mind Eraser's signature rollover File:Mind Eraser (Overbank).JPG, Mind Eraser directly before the sidewinder File:Mind Eraser (Under Brake Run).JPG, Mind Eraser preparing to enter its brake run File:Mind Eraser.jpg,
Darien Lake Six Flags Darien Lake (also known as Six Flags Darien Lake Resort and formerly known as Darien Lake Fun Country, Darien Lake, and Darien Lake Theme Park Resort) is a 1,200-acre (4.86 km2) amusement park and resort located in Darien, New Yor ...
's Mind Eraser


Trains

Many Suspended Looping Coasters operate with two trains consisting of ten cars, though some operate with as few as seven cars. Poor maintenance, poor track layout or most likely non-exact track manufacturing can cause SLC riders to experience notoriously painful "head banging", whereby the head hits the Over the Shoulder Restraints. They also use very small plastic seats with little or no room for a person to move. Contrary to popular belief, the wheel spacing on the
trains A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
(the 'gaps' between the side friction wheels, up-stop wheels, and the track) adds little to the roughness of these rides. Vekoma is currently manufacturing new trains with convenient hip harnesses. Unlike the first generation of trains, this modification will make the overall ride experience more comfortable. Vekoma also makes vest-like harnesses that allow to rider to sit more comfortably while riding. The only four known places to have these trains are Morey's Piers, Isla Magica in Spain, Six Flags New England in Agawam, MA and
Beto Carrero World Beto Carrero World is a theme park located in Penha, Santa Catarina, Penha, Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, Brazil. The park is part of Santa Catarina's signature amusement parks. It is the largest theme park in Latin America, occupying ...
in Santa Catarina, Brazil, along with Nopuko Air Coaster at Lost Island in Waterloo, Iowa. In 2012, Lethal Weapon - The Ride at
Warner Bros. Movie World Warner Bros. Movie World is a theme park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. Owned and operated by Village Roadshow Theme Parks, the park opened on 3 June 1991. It is part of a entertainment precinct, with the ...
reopened as Arkham Asylum - Shock Therapy. The newly opened ride runs with trains manufactured by Kumbak and uses less restrictive harnesses which are similar, but not identical to, the vest-like restraints found on the SLCs at Morey's Piers and Isla Magica. The Suspended Looping Coaster is similar in design to other inverted roller coasters, however unlike the four-across seating found on
Bolliger & Mabillard Bolliger & Mabillard, officially Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers, Inc. and often abbreviated B&M, is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by engineers Walter Bolliger and Cl ...
(B&M) inverted roller coasters, Vekoma SLC's use two-across seating. File:Kumalitrain.jpg, A Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster train seats riders 2 across. File:NemesisAlton.JPG, A
Bolliger & Mabillard Bolliger & Mabillard, officially Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers, Inc. and often abbreviated B&M, is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by engineers Walter Bolliger and Cl ...
Inverted Roller Coaster train seats riders 4 across.


Installations

, there are 42 different installations across the world which have been located at 52 different theme parks.


Similar roller coasters

In China, several alternate versions of this ride have been built. One of them is Shenzhou Coaster, an inverted roller coaster at Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park in
Beijing, China Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
. The train and track are similar to the Suspended Looping Coaster design by Vekoma, but the ride was instead designed and manufactured by Beijing Shibaolai Amusement Equipment. There have been several problems with other models with the same layout, most notably bad pacing in parts of the ride. For example, the "Hanging Roller Coaster" at Crab Island stalled before its sidewinder element, stranding 12 people for over 3 hours. Other SLC's in China are sometimes manufactured by Hebei Zhongye Metallurgical Equipment Manufacturing Co. Ltd., which are known for being poorer than the Beijing Shibaolai models. HZM has tried to smooth out the transitions but the rides experience has not improved. None of these models can operate during winds in excess of 15 mph.


References


External links


Official website


on the
Roller Coaster Database Roller Coaster DataBase (RCDB) is a roller coaster and amusement park database begun in 1996 by Duane Marden. It has grown to feature statistics and pictures of over 12,000 roller coasters from around the world. Publications that have mentioned ...
{{Vekoma Steel roller coasters Mass-produced roller coasters Vekoma