Comments on: Nighthawk & Batwing | Roller Coaster Reviews

By: DRU

DRU — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 00:01:19 +0000

I agree that Batwing is a better ride than Great Adventure's flying Superman coaster. Mostly due to the lay-down orientation as you ascend the lift hill and unload. , As opposed to the hanging orientation on Superman. I did miss the hanging part for the lift hill but I was very glad to be laying down for the end of the ride. I remember on Superman the pain being very bad due to the blood flow getting cut off to my arms while we were hanging there waiting for it to be our turn to unload. My arms went totally numb. I was even in great shape then. I was in the station about to ride superman once when it was brand new and it had a breakdown. The coaster was hanging halfway up the lift hill for about 20 minutes. A girl who was on the stuck train must have broken some blood vessels in her eyes. It was crazy scary to see how red her eyes were as see unloaded. I have never seen anything like that before.
I agree that being on your back for the loop is a crazy cool feeling. I also agree that it is difficult to look forward but well worth the effort. These flying coasters prove a cool point about pre-judging a ride. I remember saying to my friends how slow it looked while we waited for our first ride. I was then very surprised by how fast it felt and how intense the G's felt on the outward facing turns. You could tell that if it did go any faster through a turn like that our bodies could not handle it. It also becomes apparent why they put you on your back for the big loop.

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 22:14:17 +0000

I would agree with rating the Vekoma flyers higher than the S:UF clones. Despite not having pretzel loops (which in my opinion are awesome) I preferred Batwing's overall ride to Superman's, and I'd assume the other two offer similar ride experiences as well. Although the loading times are horrible and the restraints are pretty uncomfortable, the actual ride was pretty good.

By: Mr. Coaster was here

Mr. Coaster was here — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 15:31:41 +0000

Awesome. I am ready for the next for the next coaster!

By: secret person

secret person — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:07:10 +0000

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEaaaaaaaahhhhh man that's totally awsome the way I see it!

By: Mark

Mark — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 01:22:39 +0000

I found the B&M flying coaster (Illinois) much smoother than the Batwing in Maryland. Perhaps it's the B&M approach of putting the wheels on the outside instead of the inside of the track. Also, it probably makes the ride much better to ensure all wheels roll on the track. On Batwing, you can see the upstop wheels are not moving as the train leaves the station, my guess is this approach results in a rougher ride. It felt like being suspended from the bottom of an aging Arrow coaster, a strange experience but not that pleasant. One ride on Batwing was enough.

In contrast, the nearby Superman Ride of Steel Intamin hypercoaster was delightful, a dozen rides was wonderful. Nice airtime, good speed, definitely the highlight of Six Flags Maryland (their only highlight). The rest of their coasters ranged from OK (wild one) to bad (mind eraser) and rough (roar and joker's jinx). Of the Six Flags parks I've been to, it seemed the least taken care of.

I haven't been to Riverside aka Six Flags New England since before Six Flags bought it, but imagine their "Superman" coaster is even better with its better design layout.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 12:01:54 +0000

Batwing was one of the most intense coasters I've ever been on. I loved the forces it puts on you. I had never felt being pushed UP and pulled DOWN on any coaster like that one! Very good coaster.

By: Quil

Quil — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 06:08:59 +0000

My favorite part of batwing is when you do an overbank turn, but half way into it you twist and turn in the other dirrection. It actualy feels a bit like the pretsel loop on ultimate flight.

By: Quil

Quil — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 05:59:06 +0000

That't a good point, The only time when the riders actualy invert is during the loop, they stay in practicaly the same position during a barrle roll.

By: DC

DC — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 04:08:53 +0000

I've ridden two of the Vekoma coasters, one at Geauga Lake and the other at SFA. I admit they were different but extremely restrictive in the comfort department. Being 5'8", many restraint systems tend be uncomfortable for us shorter guys, The same problem plagues all the off-the-shelf Vekoma SLC's I've ridden over the years, with the last seats innaffectionately know ans "Headache Row". While definitely different, I don't ever wish to re-ride the Vekoma flyers as they always ruin the rest of my day with a nasty headache. Plus the restraint design makes holding your head up to actually see where you're "flying' both difficult and painful. I still prefer the B&M version, as multiple rides don't yield a negative after effect.

I'll qualify this with the caveat that as I get older, my body's ability to endure pain diminishes. I've been riding since 1956, with the Wildcat at Philly's Woodside Park being my first ever. (Many thanks to my sister for yielding to my blackmail and taking me on that beauty!)

By: Prof.BAM

Prof.BAM — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 20:09:40 +0000

I still say that an inversion should be classified as when the passengers invert, not the track as currently counted. The lie to flys are just roll-overs, We don't invert. With how an inversion is counted now, 3/4 of a flying coaster is an inversion.