Flashback (roller coaster)

Infobox roller coaster
name=Flashback


caption= An artist's renderation of Flashback when it was known as Z Force.
location=Six Flags Magic Mountain
section=Six Flags Plaza
type=Steel
status=Demolished
opened=April 25, 1992
manufacturer=Intamin AG
designer=Werner Stengel
model=Space Diver
track=
lift=Chain lift hill
height=86
drop=
length=1900
speed=35
inversions=0
duration=1:30
angle=
capacity=1,100
cost=
acceleration=
gforce=
rcdb_number=128

Flashback was a steel roller coaster made by Intamin AG of Switzerland. The coaster was located in the Six Flags Plaza area of Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California.

Flashback first opened in 1985 at Six Flags Great America as "Z Force" and was the first and only "Space Dive" coaster (Six Flags called it a "Z-Coaster"). The ride was sent to Six Flags Over Georgia in 1987 and opened in 1988. According to one of the first ride operators, Debbie Gibson and other celebrities rode the Z-Force that year. The ride finally came to Magic Mountain with its new name in 1992.

The ride, especially since opening in California, had suffered from neglect. The track was in poor condition, and riders had complained that the ride was now very rough. In 2003, the ride closed down due to the noise it made. The noises were so loud that they distracted lifeguards at the nearby Hurricane Harbor waterpark. The entrance has now been boarded up, and power has allegedly been cut from the ride. The board put up in front of the attraction's queue entrance has since been removed.

On January 19, 2007, Flashback's page on the park's website disappeared, increasing the possibility of its removal. A few days later, on January 23, 2007, it was announced by the park that Flashback would be removed along with Psyclone. Originally, the park stated that Flashback may be re-built within the park for 2008, however it was dismantled and scrapped in early 2008.

Flashback was the world's only hairpin-drop roller coaster, with 6 head-over-heels dives and a 540-degree upward spiral. It's all packed into a relatively small area with 1,900 feet of track stacked above each other. The drops are severe, producing a free-fall expereince on the plunges; fast steel switchbacks connect the turns just before trains fly into the gravity-defying upward spiral. Trains reach a max of 35 miles per hour, with a 3-g force on the 1 and a half minute ride.

References

1. Econoguide 5th Edition

External links

* [http://www.rcdb.com/id128.htm Flashback at RCDB]
* [http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/reviews/flashback/ Flashback Photos on Ultimate Rollercoaster.com]
* [http://www.rollercoasterpro.com/community/showthread.php?t=435 Flashback Removal Photos]