Flight of Fear (Kings Dominion)

Infobox roller coaster
name=Flight of Fear


caption=Entrance to the attraction.
location=Kings Dominion
section=Congo
type=Steel
type2=Launched
type3=Enclosed
status=Open
opened=1996
closed=
manufacturer=Premier Rides
designer=Werner Stengel
model=LIM Catapult
track=
lift=LIM Launch
height=74
drop=
length=2705
speed=56
inversions=4
duration=2:24
angle=
capacity=1200
cost=
acceleration=
gforce=4.5
restriction=54
rcdb_number=138

Flight of Fear is an enclosed launched roller coaster located at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. It is one of two roller coasters named Flight of Fear; the two rides are clones of each other, and the other Flight of Fear is located at Kings Island. Both Flight of Fear roller coasters first opened in 1996 and were the world's first roller coasters to feature a linear induction motor launch. Flight of Fear has won three awards from the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, including one for Major Theme/Amusement Park Ride/Attraction and two for Technology Applied to Amusements.

For most of the 2006 season, the Flight of Fear at Kings Dominion had been standing but not operating, possibly awaiting removal and relocation to another Paramount park. However, on August 18, 2006, Flight of Fear reopened, under the park's new owner, Cedar Fair, L.P., which now intends to keep the ride at Kings Dominion.

Layout

Flight of Fear is located in a building near another of Kings Dominion's launched roller coasters, Volcano, the Blast Coaster, which is nearly twice as tall as Flight of Fear at its highest point. [http://www.coaster-net.com/pics/pkd/flightoffearpkd1.jpg]

After boarding Flight of Fear, riders are launched through a narrow launch tunnel into a "spaghetti bowl" of track which contains a cobra roll, a sidewinder, and many twists and turns. After reaching the ride's mid-course brake run, riders spiral downward and to the left, and after more twists and turns they pass through a corkscrew before arriving at the ride's final brake run.

Premier Rides built several of these LIM Catapult roller coasters from 1996 to 1999, although, of those, only the two Flight of Fear rides are indoors. The outdoor LIM Catapult coasters in the United States are Joker's Jinx at Six Flags America, Poltergeist at Six Flags Fiesta Texas; both opened in 1999. In addition, a LIM Catapult coaster called Mad Cobra operated at Suzuka Circuit in Japan from 1998-2003; Mad Cobra was moved to China and reopened at Kingdoms of Discovery in 2006. [http://www.rcdb.com/id1223.htm] [http://www.rcdb.com/id3511.htm] The five Premier LIM catapult coasters share a similar layout and have the same technical specifications.

tatistics and awards

Flight of Fear was built by Premier Rides and was the world's first linear induction motor roller coaster. Its highest peak is 74 ft; and its total length is 2,705 feet. Its maximum speed, which is attained in less than four seconds during its launch, is 56 mph. [http://www.schneider-electric.ca/www/en/crns/html/king.htm] The launch requires 3 megawatts of electric power. [http://capital2.capital.edu/admin-staff/dalthoff/lim.html] When it opened, Flight of Fear had the fastest acceleration of any roller coaster in the world. Flight of Fear won awards at the November 1995 International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions trade show for the best new Major Theme/Amusement Park Ride/Attraction and Technology Applied to Amusements. [http://maxpages.com/rollerride/Batman_and_Robin_the_Chiller] [http://www2.paramountparks.com/kingsisland/attractions/detail.cfm?ai_id=162]

Flight of Fear initially had over-the-shoulder restraints, but those were replaced with individual ratcheting lapbars at the beginning of the 2001 season. The over-the-shoulder restraints, combined with the curving track, caused young riders' heads to bounce back and forth between the restraints. The new lapbar system won Flight of Fear its third award from the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, and its second for Technology Applied to Amusements. [http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/news/features/iaapa_2001/112701_01.shtml] [http://www.gettheloop.com/loopnovember1/iaapaawards.html]

Theming

Originally, the ride was themed to the television show "The Outer Limits" and was called The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear (at the time, a revival of the series produced by the original's rights-holders, MGM Television, was airing on Showtime - a sister company to Paramount Parks). Because the license for using the "The Outer Limits" name and theming expired, the ride's name changed to Flight of Fear at the start of the 2001 season.

As of 2006, the ride's queue still contained UFO-related theming, although it was no longer based on a television show or film. The ride's building was themed to "Area 47", a parody of Area 51, and had a sign outside informing riders, "You are entering a government security zone. Area under constant surveillance." [http://www.coaster-net.com/pics/pki/flightoffear2_bradruwe.jpg] The Flight of Fear queue contained several distinct stages. Riders entered the Flight of Fear building through a "Press Area", but in a later room stood in line in an alien spacecraft. Afterward, riders would see the boarding area for the ride; the loading and unloading areas for the ride were separate so that riders would be greeted by an empty train when they went to board the ride. In addition, the two stations were the only parts of the ride which had much lighting; most of the ride was in the dark. As such, the Flight of Fear buildings at Kings Dominion and Kings Island have also been used to store trains for other rides; the Kings Island Flight of Fear building holds the trains for that park's formerly-operating stand-up coaster, King Cobra. In addition, the darkness of the ride prevented riders from being able to see where they were going.

External links

* [http://rcdb.com/id138.htm Roller Coaster Database entry]
* [http://www.coaster-net.com/ridegallery.php?action=display&id=98 COASTER-net Ride Gallery]
* [http://www.premier-rides.com/specs/specsheet.html#catapult Premier Rides] - ride specifications for all of the LIM Catapult roller coasters