is a

Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter The Euro-Fighter is a type of steel roller coaster developed by Gerstlauer. First launched in 2003, the trademark feature of the roller coaster is its beyond-vertical drop, which reaches an angle greater than 90 degrees. Although the majority of E ...

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

located at the

Fuji-Q Highland is an amusement park in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan, owned and operated by the namesake Fuji Kyuko Co. it was opened on 2 March 1968. The theme park is near the base of Mount Fuji. It has a number of roller coasters, as well as two haun ...

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

Fujiyoshida is a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 48,782 in 19,806 households and a population density of 400 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Fujiyoshida lies at the northern ...

, Yamanashi,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It is famous for having a drop angle of 121° – the former steepest coaster in the world before being replaced by TMNT Shellraiser at American Dream in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

.Steepest roller coaster made from steel
,

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

. Last accessed July 2011 The

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

name ''Takabisha'' translates to "high-handed" or "domineering" in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. The name is a pun, in that the three kanji in the name literally mean "high fly car".

History

On 11 May 2011, Fuji-Q Highland announced to the world that they would be opening ''Takabisha'' – the world's steepest roller coaster. Testing for the ride began around 8 June 2011 with media and special invited guests being able to ride ''Takabisha'' one month later. The ride officially opened to the public on 16 July 2011.

Ride

''Takabisha'' is a custom

Gerstlauer Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH is a German manufacturer of stationary and transportable amusement rides and roller coasters, located in Münsterhausen, Germany. History In 1982, Hubert Gerstlauer, a former employee of the Anton Schwarzkopf ...

Euro-Fighter roller coaster. The ride begins with a sudden drop into pitch black darkness before entering a slow

heartline roll Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or turn. Variations in normal track movement that add thrill or excitement to the ride are often called "thrill elements". Com ...

. In just two seconds, the car is launched by

linear motor A linear motor is an electric motor that has had its stator and rotor "unrolled", thus, instead of producing a torque (rotation), it produces a linear force along its length. However, linear motors are not necessarily straight. Characteristicall ...

s down a long tunnel to a speed of . It then exits out of the

station building A station building, also known as a head house, is the main building of a passenger railway station. It is typically used principally to provide services to passengers. A station building is a component of a station, which can include tracks, p ...

and directly into a large inverted top hat. Immediately following the exit of this inversion the car goes into a banana roll,

corkscrew A corkscrew is a tool for drawing corks from wine bottles and other household bottles that may be sealed with corks. In its traditional form, a corkscrew simply consists of a pointed metallic helix (often called the "worm") attached to a hand ...

and then two airtime hills. The ride is slowed on a set of block brakes and returns into the station building. The track then turns a sharp 180° turn to the right before going back out of the building and onto the vertical

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 th ...

. This hill takes riders up to a height of . Once at the top, the car slowly inches towards the record-breaking 121°, beyond-vertical drop. Once the car is released from the top of the hill, it hurtles back down towards the ground and enters a dive loop, an inline loop and finally the seventh inversion, an immelmann loop. The whole ride is over within 2 minutes.

Records

When ''Takabisha'' opened on 16 July 2011 it gained the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for the steepest roller coaster made from steel. It officially took the world record from Fraispertuis City's ''Timber Drop''

S&S Worldwide S&S may refer to: *''Sense and Sensibility'', a novel by Jane Austen *'' Salt and Sanctuary'', a video game * Sword and sorcery, a subgenre of fantasy and historical fantasy *Simon & Schuster, a publisher *S&S Cycle S&S Cycle is an American motorcy ...

El Loco ''El Loco'' is the seventh studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top, released in 1981. The title means "The Madman" in Spanish. The band's guitarist/singer Billy Gibbons has said that the recording of this album was the first time the thre ...

roller coaster, which had gained the record only two weeks earlier. ''Timber Drops record was set at 113.1° while Takabisha's drop measures at an angle of 121°.

References

External links

Fuji-Q Highland
official website
Euro-Fighter
on the Gerstlauer official website * {{Fuji-Q Coasters Roller coasters in Japan

History

Ride

Records

See also

References

External links