Coasting Through Life

1
Coasting Through Life

• Hang on to Your Hat!

2
Coaster History

• 1400s ice slides in Russia
• 1700s wheeled sleds
• 1800s tracks and continuous circuits
• Early 1900s Golden Age of wooden roller coasters
• Late 1900s steel roller coasters, loops,
  corkscrews, and more

3
Coaster Types

• Wood roller coasters
• Steel roller coasters

4
Wood Coasters

• Any roller coaster with laminated wooden rails to
  which flat steel rails are attached
• Pro That classic clackety-clack coaster
  sound from metal wheels on metal
• Con Lack of variety in track design

5
Wood Coaster Statistics

• Tallest
• Rattler 179 feet (Six Flags Fiesta Texas)
• Steepest drop
• Cyclone 58.6 (Coney Island)
• Fastest
• American Eagle 66 mph (Six Flags Great America)
• Oldest still operating
• Rutschebanen 1917 (Tivoli Gardens, Denmark)

6
Steel Coasters

• Any roller coaster with steel rails
• Pro Flexible metal lends itself to many designs
  such as loops and corkscrews
• Con A relatively silent ride because of coated
  wheels

7
Steel Coaster Statistics

• Tallest
• Fujiyama 259 feet (Fujikyu Highland Park, Japan)
• Steepest drop
• Oblivion 88 (Alton Towers, England)
• Fastest
• Fujiyama 81 mph
• Most inversions
• Dragon Khan 8 (Port Aventura, Spain)

8
Most Popular Coasters

• Alpengeist (Busch Gardens Williamsburg)
• Corkscrew (Cedar Point)
• Anaconda (Kings Dominion)
• Kumba (Busch Gardens Tampa Bay)
• Raptor (Cedar Point)

Based on votes at an online coaster site.
9
The Physics of Coasting

• Most roller coasters fueled by gravity
• Gravity results in speeds up to 80 mph
• Lift hill builds momentum for entire ride
• Speed and motion also generate Gs
• Standing still is 1 G
• G-force of more than 3.5 is scary
• On downhills, G-force may drop to 0.2

10
Coaster Accidents

• Most coasters are rigorously inspected
• Accidents usually happen because
• Riders disable safety restraints and stand
• Ride operators fail to check safety bars
• Ride operators taking test rides fail to use
  safety restraints
• Maintenance workers or inspectors are struck by
  cars

11
Coaster Glossary

• Corkscrew One or more elongated loops
• Inversion Any part of a roller coaster circuit
  that turns you upside down
• Lift hill The track containing the device that
  lifts the coaster
• Loop A nearly closed vertical turn of 360 during
  which riders are upside down