Tatsu
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Tatsu is a
flying roller coaster A flying roller coaster is a type of roller coaster meant to simulate the sensations of flight by harnessing riders in a prone position during the duration of the ride. The roller coaster cars are suspended below the track, with riders secured ...
designed by
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 Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabil ...
at the
Six Flags Magic Mountain Six Flags Magic Mountain, formerly known and colloquially referred to as simply Magic Mountain, is a amusement park located in Valencia, California, northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It opened on May 29, 1971, as a development of the Newha ...
amusement park located in
Valencia, California Valencia is an unincorporated community in northwestern Los Angeles County, California. This area, with major commercial and industrial parks, straddles State Route 126 and the Santa Clara River. Development projects continue to be built in ...
, United States. Manufactured by
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 Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabil ...
, it opened as the tallest, fastest, and longest flying coaster in the world on May 13, 2006. It became the park's seventeenth coaster, featuring a height of , a track length of , and a maximum speed of . Tatsu also features the world's tallest
pretzel loop 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". Comm ...
and the only
zero-gravity roll This list of roller coaster elements contains the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation. Introduction Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or turn. ...
inversion on a flying coaster model. Nearly a decade later, The Flying Dinosaur opened at
Universal Studios Japan is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Parks & Resorts, Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operated by a whol ...
in 2016, breaking Tatsu's length record and matching its speed. In its debut season, Tatsu was ranked 40th among steel coasters in the annual
Golden Ticket Awards ''Amusement Today'' is a monthly periodical that features articles, news, pictures and reviews about all things relating to the amusement park industry, including parks, rides, and ride manufacturers. The trade newspaper, which is based in Arli ...
from ''
Amusement Today ''Amusement Today'' is a monthly periodical that features articles, news, pictures and reviews about all things relating to the amusement park industry, including parks, rides, and ride manufacturers. The trade newspaper, which is based in Arli ...
'', peaking with a rank of 28 in 2012.


History

Rumors of a new roller coaster being built at Six Flags Magic Mountain first emerged in the summer of 2004. Land clearing began in mid-2005 around the Samurai Summit area of the park with track for the new roller coaster arriving from
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
soon thereafter. Construction permits filed by Six Flags Magic Mountain and a trademark for the name ''Tatsu'' (filed on August 23, 2005) were later found by the public. Tatsu was officially announced to the public on November 17, 2005. Both
Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
and Roaring Rapids were temporarily closed in order for the roller coaster to be built. After construction and testing was complete, Tatsu opened to the general public on May 13, 2006. Tatsu broke several records upon opening, becoming the world's tallest, fastest, and longest
flying roller coaster A flying roller coaster is a type of roller coaster meant to simulate the sensations of flight by harnessing riders in a prone position during the duration of the ride. The roller coaster cars are suspended below the track, with riders secured ...
. It held these records until The Flying Dinosaur opened at
Universal Studios Japan is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Parks & Resorts, Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operated by a whol ...
in 2016, which broke Tatsu's length record and matched the coaster's top speed of . Tatsu still remains the tallest, and it also features the tallest
pretzel loop 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". Comm ...
in the world, which stands . Its
zero-gravity roll This list of roller coaster elements contains the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation. Introduction Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or turn. ...
is the only one featured on a flying coaster model.


Ride experience

After riders board 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 ...
situated in a vertical, standing position, each car then pivots its seats backward 90 degrees, transitioning riders into a horizontal flying position. The train then dispatches from the station, makes a slight s-bend turn toward 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 ...
. After reaching the top, riders descend through a downward right turn reaching a maximum speed of . This is followed by an upward right turn into the first inversion, a
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 ...
. This leads into a downward left turn immediately followed by an upward left turn, and then the train enters a
zero-gravity roll This list of roller coaster elements contains the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation. Introduction Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or turn. ...
. Riders then experience a sharp drop followed by an horseshoe element. The train makes a left turn and enters a record-breaking
pretzel loop 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". Comm ...
. This is followed by a slight left turn leading into an
inline twist 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 ...
and a 135-degree downward right turn. The train rises back up slightly, leveling out and entering a
mid-course brake run A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track meant to slow or stop a roller coaster train. Brake runs may be located anywhere along the circuit of a coaster and may be designed to bring the train to a complete halt or to simply adjust t ...
. Another series of turns follows, with the train veering downward and then upward to the left, ending at the final
brake run A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track meant to slow or stop a roller coaster train. Brake runs may be located anywhere along the circuit of a coaster and may be designed to bring the train to a complete halt or to simply adjust ...
and returning to the station. One cycle of the ride lasts approximately two minutes.


Characteristics


Trains

Tatsu operates with three steel and fiberglass trains. Each train has eight cars that can seat four riders in a single row for a total of 32 riders per train. Each seat has its own over-the-shoulder-restraint and a pair of ankle restraints to hold the riders' feet in place. The trains are painted green, yellow, orange, and red. In the station, the trains are oriented in a vertical position in order to allow riders to board. Once the restraints are locked, the train seats are rotated forward 90 degrees into a horizontal position and the train is then dispatched from the station. When the train returns to the station, the seats rotate back down and the riders disembark for the next guests.


Track

The steel track of Tatsu is long and reaches its maximum height on the lift hill at . To slow the train, air brakes are utilized in both brake runs. The track was fabricated by
Clermont Steel Fabricators Clermont Steel Fabricators (abbreviated as CSF) is a private steel products manufacturing company known for making Bolliger & Mabillard roller coasters. The plant is located in Batavia, Ohio. CSF was founded in 2004 after the closing of Southern ...
in
Batavia, Ohio Batavia ( ) is a village in and the county seat of Clermont County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,509 at the 2010 census. Geography Batavia is located at (39.077332, -84.179160). According to the United States Census Bureau, the ...
, which manufactures Bolliger & Mabillard's roller coasters. The coaster is painted red and yellow with orange supports.In Between 2021 and 2022, Tatsu's color scheme was altered so that it now has green supports and a dark orange track.


Reception

Joel Bullock from ''The Coaster Critic'' gave Tatsu a nine out of ten for its close-to-the-ground approaches and intense pretzel loop at the bottom of the element. Justice from ''Park Thoughts'' also gave the roller coaster a nine out of ten saying that, "The lift hill is one of the most suspenseful I have ever experienced." Justice also praises the ride's intense g-forces experienced throughout the layout of Tatsu. In 2006,
Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
's
Mega Builders ''Mega Builders'' is a documentary television series appearing on the Discovery Channel and Science Channel. Each episode takes a look into the people and the machines involved into the construction of many huge engineering projects. Episode lis ...
aired an episode which followed the construction of Tatsu. The episode showed how the coaster was assembled and the problems construction crews had to overcome. In Tatsu's opening year, it was named the 40th best steel roller coaster in the world in '' Amusement Today's''
Golden Ticket Awards ''Amusement Today'' is a monthly periodical that features articles, news, pictures and reviews about all things relating to the amusement park industry, including parks, rides, and ride manufacturers. The trade newspaper, which is based in Arli ...
; tied with
Talon Talon or talons may refer to: Science and technology * Talon (anatomy), the claw of a bird of prey * Brodifacoum, a rodenticide, also known as the brand Talon * TALON (database), a database maintained by the US Air Force * Talon, an anti-vehicle- ...
at
Dorney Park Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an American amusement and water park located between Allentown and Emmaus, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The park features 64 rides, including six roller coasters, other adult ...
. It peaked at 28th place in 2012.


References


External links


Official site
{{SFMM Coasters Roller coasters in California Roller coasters operated by Six Flags Roller coasters introduced in 2006 Six Flags Magic Mountain Articles containing video clips Flying roller coasters manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard