- Werner Stengel
Werner Stengel (born
22 August 1936 ) is a Germanroller coaster designer andengineer . Stengel is the founder of Stengel Engineering, also known as Ingenieur Büro Stengel GmbH (or Ingenieur Buero Stengel GmbH).Born
22 August 1936 , inBochum , Germany, Stengel first worked onamusement park rides in collaboration withAnton Schwarzkopf in 1963. He established his own company, Stengel Engineering, in 1965. His collaboration with Schwarzkopf was responsible for many innovations in roller coaster design, including in 1975 the first modern looping coaster - "Revolution" atSix Flags Magic Mountain . Hisclothoid loop is now standard on many roller coasters as it produces less intense forces on the human body than a circular vertical loop. In 1976 Stengel and Schwarzkopf established the first horizontal launch "Shuttle Loop". He was also noted as being a pioneer in heartlining, the principle of having the track twist around the heart line, rather than the center of the track rotating itself. Since Schwarzkopf's retirement, he has maintained his eminent position in the amusement park industry ever since; he has worked on most of the world's record breaking roller coasters includingSon of Beast ,Millennium Force ,Top Thrill Dragster ,Kingda Ka and many others. In the 2004Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards list of the world's top 50 steel roller coasters, 72% have had direct involvement with Stengel Engineering.He received a
honorary doctorate fromGothenburg University in 2005, for his "inexhaustible creativity in linking physics and design to the experience of the body in roller coasters and other rides". One of the most famous and highly regarded Stengel / Schwarzkopf rides isLisebergbanan atLiseberg , a park situated in Gothenberg city.Today, he is currently semi-retired and working as a consultant in the amusement park ride industry.
Stengel celebrated his 500th roller coaster with the opening of Maverick, located at
Cedar Point .References
* Faculty of Science, Gothenburg University. [http://www.science.gu.se/english/werner_stengel.shtml "Roller coaster constructor Werner Stengel receives honorary doctorate at Göteborg University"] . Press release,
15 June ,2005 .External links
* [http://www.rcstengel.com/ Official website of Stengel Engineering]
* [http://www.amusementvideo.com/view_video.php?viewkey=b9530df88f7f002e78ea discovery channel video of stengel's video of the top thrill dragster]
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