Arrow’s 700-Foot-Tall Fish-Hook Roller Coaster
I was recently contacted by a television production company doing research on roller coasters. They wanted to know if there were any strata coasters currently being built. Strata coasters are over 400′ tall and currently there are only two in the World in that lofty category. Kingda Ka & Top Thrill Dragster.
I told the producer that there was nothing (that I knew of) that was being built or even in development that would set a new height record. His inquiry reminded me of a proposed 700-foot tall roller coaster designed by Arrow Dynamics in 2001.
Six-seat cars would hoist riders up the southern face of the 1,149-foot tower, Stratosphere spokesman Mike Gilmartin said. At 740 feet, the cars would drop off a ledge, plunge down the east side of the tower and across the street, where they would rise to a height of 415 feet.
The roller coaster was heavily opposed by locals and was eventually scrapped. Soon after, Arrow went bankrupt. One has to wonder if the proposed fish hook coaster was built, would Intamin & Cedar Point have still teamed up for Top Thrill Dragster. They may have still been able to claim a speed record, but height would have been far out of reach, unless they touted the “Tallest Complete Circuit Roller Coaster” title.
X at Magic Mountain was Arrow’s final gasp as the company went bankrupt working on the prototype 4th dimension roller coaster. Later S&S moved in and purchased the company. I’d love to see S&S take up where Arrow left off and find a way to reliably and safely execute the fish hook coaster concept. Imagine a record-breaking drop that had a roller coaster train plummeting down the side of a skyscraper or the wall of the Grand Canyon.
What’s Your Take?
What do you think of Arrow’s proposed fish hook roller coaster? Image courtesy of Las Vegas Sun.
November 14, 2009 at 13:14
It`d be cool if they actualy made it, but if they scrapped it before they`ll probably scrap it again. i wish they would though.
November 14, 2009 at 15:09
this is a cool idea, but how long would they stay? and weather conditions? good idea but it would be closed more than open. and being an Arrow, it would probabbly be rough the whole time
November 15, 2009 at 15:53
how would it get to the top, and after that how would it stop from flying off?
November 15, 2009 at 17:31
It would probally have a cable to pull it up and it would be connected to the track.
P.S. ALL roller coasters are connected to the track.
November 16, 2009 at 12:50
if they were connected they wouldn`t be able to move, they`re held on by wheels.
November 16, 2009 at 15:03
No, they are connected to the track. Most roller coasters these days have one wheel on top, one wheel on the side, and one wheel one the bottem. Most of the time there are to sets of these on each car. Look at this link: http://www.rcdb.com/628.htm?p=24250
If you look carefully you can see the wheels connected to the track the way I discribed. Also, if TTD or kingda ka arn't connected to the track how come they don't fly off the track every time they go down?
November 16, 2009 at 15:20
there are 3 sets of wheels:
1. side friction wheels- keep train on track
2. speed wheels- ones normally seen
3: some others- idk wat they are called
November 16, 2009 at 20:58
From Busch Coaster Tour Part 1:
"The three types of wheels that standard roller coasters have are the: upstop (the wheel below the track, not present in the picture), the running wheels (on top of the track), and the side friction wheels (inside the track)."
I see the need to keep expanding the Coasterology 101 section this off-season.
November 17, 2009 at 02:53
I knew that. that`s not being connected, that`s being held on, and JaMeS, the third type of wheel that you couldn`t name is called the upstop wheel. if it WAS connencted, it wouldn`t be able to move, seeing as it would be fused to the track.
November 17, 2009 at 13:36
how fast would this be?
November 17, 2009 at 17:19
This old Associated Press article mentions it would have gone 120 mph. There's also another article below it giving you some insight into how the locals opposed the ride.
November 17, 2009 at 17:47
Only 120 m.p.h.? Remenber, TTD has the exact same speed, and is around 300 feet shorter. Sure, it's a launched coaster, but it still barely makes it over the top. How can a 700+ foot coaster go that? Does terminal velocity play a role here?
November 17, 2009 at 18:05
They could line the drop with trim brakes, so it will accelerate up to a certain seed then be kept at that speed by systematically using trim brakes
November 19, 2009 at 03:02
Maybe the train is lifted on an elevator cable like the deamon drop or the pilgrims plunge?
CFC, if my guess was right about the elevator cable, they could of put brakes down the track heading tords the fish hook, just enough not to fly off. that means it would be slowed while going down the drop, not getting past say, 120mph.
but there`s still one thing i`m wondering about. if my theory is right, how would the riders get off? i didn`t see any station.
November 19, 2009 at 03:46
they would figure that one… maybe jump off the ride, do 3 back flips, then land perfect and get a score from a judge? that would be fun!
January 21, 2010 at 16:03
I know this is late, but I recall a show on one of Discovery's stations (Travel Channel?) with Michael Boodley loosely proposing a ride starting at the top of a San Franciscan skyscraper and cresting the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge…yes, a steelie.
Most assuredly a "What!?!" moment.
January 21, 2010 at 16:55
I saw the show that you're referring to. Yes, a Golden Gate Bridge coaster would be completely insane! It was probably a concept that emerged from the fish hook coaster as it could have theoretically used any standing structure as its base. Like the Grand Canyon, existing skyscrapers, etc.
January 22, 2010 at 02:45
if you guys are talking about "XTREME Roller Coasters: buckle up, enjoy the ride", then i knowwhat your talking about. i think i`ve also een the same show. Sunday every morning, right?
January 22, 2010 at 13:28
I read this articale when it came out but, I didn't bother to comment on anything at the time. But anywho, Arrow doesn't have the balls to do anything near that. They used to have all their inversions at the same dimentions, only higher/lower above the ground. Arrow is too cowardly. The Stratosphere got rid of the Let it Ride High Roller, why would they want another coaster to break down. They're spending enough on the employees checks, so I don't want to see the rest of their bills.
January 22, 2010 at 13:43
darn! high roller looked prettey darn cool.
January 15, 2011 at 23:06
Seriously, even if they build that monster, there will not be a lot of people riding this.
February 2, 2011 at 06:53
built the ride!!
next year and opened 2013
February 2, 2011 at 15:22
I can't find any news on the subject. If this is true, please leave a link to whatever site you learned this from.
June 10, 2012 at 20:57
I would deffinently ride this!!! It is a brilliant idea, they need something to replace the KK because they copied TTD, so they need to blow it over the top!!
November 28, 2012 at 12:21
This would come close to 200 MPH might even reach 200 MPH, Cause its really TTD Doubled the height