Arrow Dynamics

Infobox Defunct Company
company_name = Arrow Dynamics
company_
slogan =
fate = Bankrupt
successor = S&S Worldwide
foundation = 1946
defunct = 2002
location = Clearfield, Utah, United States
industry = Roller coasters
key_people =
products =
num_employees =

Arrow Dynamics was a roller coaster design company based in Clearfield, Utah, United States. In 2002, the company went bankrupt but was quickly bought by fellow amusement ride manufacturer S&S Power to form S&S Arrow. During its peak, Arrow Dynamics was responsible for some of the biggest and most influential advancements in the roller coaster industry. From the first tubular steel tracked coaster, Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland, to the first modern inverting coaster, Corkscrew at Knott's Berry Farm, to the world's first Hypercoaster, Magnum XL 200 at Cedar Point, to the world's first fourth dimensional roller coaster, X² at Six Flags Magic Mountain, Arrow Dynamics made a lasting impact on the roller coaster industry.

History

Beginnings

Arrow Development was founded in 1946 when two World War II veterans, Ed Morgan and Karl Bacon, formed a small machine shop at 243 Moffett Boulevard, just north of Downtown Mountain View, California. They started out small, building merry-go-rounds and other rides for local amusement parks.

In 1953 they were contacted by Walt Disney, who was just beginning to plan a new type of amusement park, the "theme park" we all know today as Disneyland. Disney admired Arrow's work, and hired the company to help design and build the ride systems for many of Disneyland's original and early rides including the Tea Cups, carousel, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Snow White's Adventures.

While Arrow designed and tested these rides, Disney made frequent trips up to Mountain View to check on their progress. Then they were quickly shipped down to Anaheim to be ready for the park's opening. Disney continued to use Arrow as he expanded Disneyland. The company went on to build the Casey Jr. Circus Train, Dumbo Flying Elephants, Autopia and Alice in Wonderland in coming years.

Move towards roller coaster manufacturing

In 1959, Arrow Development designed what was to be the first of their many roller coasters, the "Matterhorn Bobsleds" at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Built in conjunction with WED Imagineering, [cite web |title=Arrow Story |url=http://www.arrowdynamics.com/history.php |accessdate=2008-01-02 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021206124720/arrowdynamics.com/history.php |archivedate=2002-12-07] the ride was the first tubular steel tracked roller coaster in the world.

After construction of the Matterhorn, Disney bought a third of Arrow Development, and moved the company to a larger plant at 1555 Plymouth Street in the North Bayshore Area. At the new location Arrow went on to develop new ride systems for Disney, and developed the vehicles and tracks for It's a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, Adventure Thru Inner Space, and the Haunted Mansion.

When Arrow wasn't developing rides for Disney it was creating rides for other amusement parks. It developed the modern log flume ride, which can be seen around the country in amusement and theme parks. In the 1970s the company perfected and brought back the loop into roller coasters.

Arrow Development began to make large advancements in the roller coaster industry as well as major installations throughout the United States. In 1975, Arrow installed one of the most important rides of its time, Corkscrew made its debut at Knott's Berry Farm as the world's first modern inverting coaster. Arrow made dozens of coasters throughout the decades including several Corkscrew style coasters, many "runaway mine train" coasters like Cedar Creek Mine Ride, custom designed coasters like Loch Ness Monster, and Carolina Cyclone. Arrow Dynamics didn't only make large advancements in roller coaster technology but also in many other fields such as in water rides (creating the hugely popular "Log Flume" rides), as well as many other family style rides.

Some of Arrow Development's later projects included what were at the time the world's tallest roller coasters, such as"Magnum XL-200" at Cedar Point in 1989 and the "Pepsi Max Big One" at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 1994.

Bankruptcy

In the late 1990s, Arrow Development's workload steadily decreased, with few installations towards the end of the decade. Bankruptcy loomed as Arrow made their final attempt to stay afloat with "X", a 4th dimension roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain. "X" opened to massive media attention and received an initially positive reception.Fact|date=January 2008 However, several mechanical problems caused the ride to be closed for repairs during much of its first year of operation.

The company finally fell into bankruptcy in December 2001. During October 2001 the company's assets were sold to fellow amusement ride manufacturer S&S Power. Arrow Dynamics, now S&S-Arrow still operates, but basically only to make their 4th dimension coasters. The first multidimensional coaster since X debuted in Japan for 2006, Eejanaika.

Milestones

*1959: The world's first tubular steel track coaster, Matterhorn Bobsleds, at Disneyland. [http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/history/timeline.shtml]
*1966: The world's first mine train roller coaster, the Runaway Mine Train at Six Flags Over Texas. [http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/yellowpages/coasters/minetrain_sfot.shtml]
*1975: The world's first modern inverting coaster, Corkscrew, at Knott's Berry Farm. [http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/history/timeline.shtml]
*1977: The world's first coaster with consecutive vertical loops, Double Loop, at Geauga Lake. [http://www.rcdb.com/id237.htm]
*1981: The world's first modern suspended coaster, The Bat, at Kings Island. [http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/history/timeline.shtml]
*1982: The world's first coaster with 5 inversions, The Viper at Darien Lake.
*1984: The world's first successful suspended coaster, XLR-8 at Six Flags Astroworld.
*1987: The world's first coaster with 6 inversions, The Vortex at Kings Island.
*1989: The world's first Hypercoaster, Magnum XL-200, at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. [http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/history/timeline.shtml] .
*1994: The world's tallest,steepest and fastest coaster, Pepsi Max Big One at Blackpool's Pleasure Beach, UK .
*2002: The world's first Multi-dimension coaster, X, at Six Flags Magic Mountain. [http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/history/timeline.shtml]
*2008: The world's first Fourth Demension Coaster, X2, at Six Flags Magic Mountain. [http://www.sixflags.com/magicMountain/rides/X2.aspx]

Note: x2 and x are the same ride, it was reopened with new visual effects and a new train design.

ee also

*List of Arrow Dynamics roller coasters

References

External links

* [http://www.s-spower.com S&S Worldwide, the successor to Arrow Dynamics]