Tranan ( en, The Crane) is a

suspended roller coaster A suspended roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster in which the car hangs from the bottom of the rolling stock by a pivoting fulcrum or hinge assembly. This allows the car and riders to swing side to side as the train races along the ...

located at

Skara Sommarland Skara Sommarland is a summer park located 8 km east of Skara. It was founded in 1984 by Swedish entrepreneur Bert Karlsson Bert Willis Karlsson (born 21 June 1945) is a Swedish record company manager, entrepreneur, and former politician (Me ...

amusement park in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. The ride was manufactured by

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, a manufacturer of aftermarket engi ...

(now S&S – Sansei Technologies) as the company's only Free Fly model, and it opened to the public in May 2009.

History

On 1 July 2008, a patent was filed by Timothy R. Jacobi and Stanley J. Checketts for a "''Longitudinally Spinning Suspension Roller Coaster''". This concept was later revealed to be a new model of roller coaster by S&S Worldwide named the ''Free Fly''. Shortly after the filing of the patent, Parks & Resorts Scandinavia announced their plans to add new roller coasters at three of their parks in 2009. This announcement included ''Tranan'' at Skara Sommarland which was the world's first Free Fly roller coaster. After a period of construction from late 2008 through to early 2009, ''Tranan'' officially opened to the public on 29 May 2009.

Ride experience

The ride begins with a left turn out of the

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

. Upon reaching the top of the

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 ...

, the

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

descends down a small dip into a series of helices and track inversions (one clockwise and one anti-clockwise). For the majority of the ride, the vehicles remain vertical with only slight banking occurring on various turns. Riders therefore do not experience traditional

roller coaster inversion 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 ...

On-ride photo An on-ride camera is a camera mounted alongside the track of a roller coaster, log flume or other thrill ride that automatically photographs all of the riders on each passing vehicle. They are often mounted at the most intense or fastest part of t ...

s can be purchased following the ride.

Ride system

''Tranan'' features four trains, each consisting of two,

bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

-style vehicles. These vehicles each seat four people inline and are suspended from a central,

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

ed support structure. The two vehicles, which rest on either side of a roller coaster track, feature an

air suspension Air suspension is a type of vehicle suspension powered by an electric or engine-driven air pump or compressor. This compressor pumps the air into a flexible bellows, usually made from textile-reinforced rubber. Unlike hydropneumatic suspension, ...

system which allows for smooth, longitudinal rotations. The ride was installed by

Ride Entertainment Group Ride Entertainment is a firm based in the United States specializing in the construction, sales, service, and operation of amusement rides and attractions. Divisions Sales Responsible for the sale of amusement rides, attractions and related pro ...

Reception

''Tranan'' and the wider Free Fly concept was well received by park guests and the amusement industry alike. In late 2009, the Free Fly concept won the

International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) represents over 6,000 amusement-industry members in more than 100 countries worldwide and operates several global attractions-industry trade shows. Its annual IAAPA Expo in ...

Best New Product Award in the Major Theme/Amusement Park Ride/Attraction category as well as the Impact Award. During 2010, S&S Worldwide was in discussions with several amusement parks about the opening of their own Free Fly rides the following year. However, as of January 2013, no other Free Fly rides have been built. S&S – Sansei Technologies have cited the ride's relatively low operating capacity of 480 to 600 riders per hour as a contributing factor as to why the ride didn't take off. As a potential market replacement, S&S Worldwide unveiled a new concept in 2012 which features trains seating between 24 and 32 riders. Seats would face both backwards and forwards with the ride experience featuring the same longitudinal rotations performed by the Free Fly.

References

External links

* (Swedish) *
Free Fly
at the S&S – Sansei Technologies website
US20100326312 Longitudinally Spinning Suspension Roller Coaster
{{S&S – Sansei Technologies