What is a Wing Rider Roller Coaster?
With the number of wing coasters on the rise, I figured it was time to add a post about them in my series of Coasterology 101 posts. Wing rider roller coasters have seats positioned on either side of the track rather than above or below it. They look similar to 4th dimension coasters, but unlike those rides, the seats are fixed and do not rotate. The seating position allows for unobstructed views. They’ve also been referred to as wing walker coasters.
Furius Baco at Port Aventura (Spain) was the first wing coaster. Built in 2007, the coaster features six rows with two seats outside of the track in each row. In 2011, Bolliger & Mabillard built their first wing coaster in Raptor at Gardaland (Italy). Three more have been announced for 2012. They are: The Swarm at Thorpe Park, X-Flight at Six Flags Great America, and Wild Eagle at Dollywood.
Bolliger & Mabillard has yet to list these coasters as a product on their website, but you can see Intamin’s listing for their WingRide Coaster model.
Here’s a great video of Raptor at Gardaland:
For your safety and the safety of others, please DO NOT take a camera on a roller coaster.
What’s Your Take?
Have you been lucky enough to ride Raptor at Gardaland or Furius Baco at PortAventura? What’d you think of it? Image courtesy of Roller Coaster Evolution.
September 19, 2011 at 13:59
I hate how copyrighted music is restricted on Youtube. I see why, but it's annoying when crapy music ruins what should have been a good video. This video's music wasn't too bad(and the visuals were great), but sometimes it can realy kill a video.
These new winged coasters look awsome, and I can't wait to ride one.
PS-I also hate hitting Caps Lock when I'm typeing.
September 19, 2011 at 16:01
Seconded on all that you said!
September 19, 2011 at 23:27
I can't wait. I'm doubling up on my travel funds savings for 2012
September 24, 2011 at 01:40
Same here dc! I wasn't too blown away by the concept at first, but seeing footage like this (especially with the near miss aspect) I'm getting really excited for 2012!
September 21, 2011 at 12:05
I want one.
October 2, 2011 at 17:28
Looking forward to X-Flight i really want to make another trip up there next year.
October 5, 2011 at 05:23
how fast is it?
October 22, 2012 at 21:03
GATEKEEPER!!!