From 1981 until 1984, Kings Island was home to the first modern-day suspended coaster, The Bat. A design created by Arrow Dynamics, the suspended coaster featured cars hanging below the track, able to swing independently from the other cars in the train. Unfortunately The Bat, while safe, was too much trouble maintenance-wise, and was dismantled before the 1985 season.
Arrow Dynamics had long-since perfected the design when they were called upon to put together the 1993 addition for PKI, Flight Deck. Uniquely placed high on the side of a hill, the initial lift rises 98 ft. above the ground before the track turns and the trains barrel into a ravine, distinctly following the natural terrain of the coaster's location. Flying at speeds up to 51 mph, Flight Decktakes its guests on a dogfight through a half-mile of airspace before finishing the mission and banking hard back onto the aircraft carrier.
Although barely over a minute, this coaster is an intense ride throughout, and is a great coaster for weaning junior away from Hanna-Barbera. Be sure to check it out!
Central Tip: For an experience you can’t find on any other seat, sit in the front row of the train. You’ll notice a dramatic change in this coaster and will find a more thrilling ride that the other seats cannot provide.
Coaster Type: Steel, suspended, swinging
Seating Arrangement: 2-abreast, 28-passenger
Designer: Arrow
Manufacturer: Arrow
Opened to Public: April 9, 1993
.:.Statistics
Length: 2352 feet
Height: 98 feet
Drop: 98 feet
Inversions: 0
Speed: 51 mph
Duration: 1:30
Capacity: 1200 pph
.:.Additional Info
Average Wait: 5-15 minutes
Station Theming: John DeCuir |
Coaster Type |
Steel, suspended, swinging |
Seating Arrangement |
2-abreast, 28-passenger |
Designer |
Arrow |
Manufacturer |
Arrow |
Opened to Public |
April 9, 1993 |
|
|
Length |
2352 feet |
Height |
98 feet |
Drop |
98 feet |
Inversions |
0 |
Speed |
51 mph |
Duration |
1 minutes, 30 seconds |
Capacity |
1200pph |
|
|
Average Wait |
5-10 Minutes |
Themed by |
John DeCuir |
Footer Depth |
Up to 50 feet! |
Amount of Concrete Used |
2000 yards |
Top Gun
√ | Kiddy Coral
√ | Parent Swap
√ | Ride Watch Area
√ | Q-TV
√ | High Thrill Ride
√ | >48″ to ride
√ | Upper Body Control
× | Ride Photos
× | Stroller/Wheel Chair passable Q-Line
× | Containers
× | Recent surgery or illness
× | Back, Neck or bone condition
× | Pregnancy
× | High Blood Pressure
× | Heart Condition |
Comments
Thunderbirds,
Jetstream
Afterburn
Just to name a few.
i love kings island but the same thing is going to happen with kings island as geauga lake. but it is going to take them twice as long because kings island is way amazing. i will give cedar fair 5 years with the park. just expect by then that 3 of the coasters are ripped out and many flat rides gone. the only thing they will do about it is increase ticket prices and cover it up with a gay corn hole toss.
cedar fair i hate you!
(but kings island is the best!)
You should be thankfull that They havent already started demolishing the Dipper.
its very thrilling, and in 2000, when the son of beast was there, it added a near collision part, which i actually thought that the ride had broken i was going to crash.
I'm a Cedar Fair kid here, so I'm just responding to some things.
What happened to Geagua Lake will NOT happen to Kings Island. Kings Island is running REALLY REALLY well right now, and with the addition of the new coaster, nothing will happen to it like that. Geagua Lake suffered big time, and its not what Cedar Fair did, but what Six Flags did prior to their ownership.
2nd off, they did have to rename the ride while keeping it to the theming, and Flight Deck fits perfectly for 2 reasons....the Aircraft Carrier Flight deck, and when it comes to flying, "hugging the deck" (because the ride twists throughout the terrain).
Thunderbirds would not have worked due to copyrights on that (such as the movie Thunderbirds or the US Air Force Thunderbirds jet demonstration team and would not have fit the "Top Gun" theme!)
The one at California's Great America was also renamed "Flight Deck"
The one at Carowinds is called "Afterburn" but is a B&M Inverted (although it was initially supposed to be themed to Godzilla)
The one at Canada's Wonderland (although an SLC) is renamed "Flight Deck".
I'm sure we'll all live, and the great ride lives on!
About the names, cedar fair doesn't have naming rights to paramount movies. why did paramount sell kings island anyway?
which means i'm going to poop myself before i get on that thing