Floorless roller coaster

The floorless roller coaster is a fairly new concept brought forth by coaster manufacturers, Bolliger & Mabillard. The first ever floorless coaster debuted in 1999 at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, USA. The coaster, Medusa, opened to great reviews and continues to earn its place on the Amusement Today Top 50 Steel Coasters list. Recently, B&M have incorporated floorless trains on their Diving Machine roller coasters, such as Griffon and SheiKra. Though they contain floorless trains, the coasters are still not considered floorless coasters.

Design

As of 2007, only Bolliger & Mabillard, who invented the concept, are in the business of designing and manufacturing floorless coasters. Their designs employ a multi-inversion layout (usually four to seven) and high capacity (often two to three trains). These roller coasters are becoming more common with each passing year, ranging in heights of eighty feet or so, up to 168 feet. These coasters are known for their smooth rides, excellent reliability, and usually high cost.

The inversions usually include vertical loops, dive loops, zero gravity rolls, cobra rolls, and corkscrews (usually intertwining corkscrews.)

Floorless Coasters

Note: SheiKra and Griffon are dive coasters featuring floorless trains, they are "not" considered floorless roller coasters [http://rcdb.com/qs.htm?quicksearch=Griffon]

External links

* [http://www.bolliger-mabillard.com/products/floorless_en.aspx Bolliger & Mabillard's Page For Their Floorless Coasters]