ARLINGTON — The new Texas Giant super-duper roller-coaster opens on Friday atSix Flags Over Texas in Arlington with a 79-degree drop that is being touted as the steepest roller-coaster drop in the world.
79 degree angle
To wrap your head around a 79-degree drop, just think of a 90-degree right-angle. Or how about: Imagine being dropped from the side of a building -- that's 90 degrees -- but curved back ever so slightly by 11 degrees.
For a more graphic representation, see photo at right. Whee!
The new roller-coaster is built from a hybrid of materials, with a wood frame but a fancy new steel track painted an eye-catching red.
Texas Giant car
The seating design combines a vintage car theme with a Western motif. There are three train-cars in different metallic colors whose shell replicates the body of a 1961 Cadillac Deville, with headlights, tail-lights, and a showboaty front grill. Each train also has a longhorn hood ornament, saddle-style seats, and a saddle horn on the restraint bar.
The original Giant was shut down in November 2009, demolished, and then rebuilt, at a cost of $10 million. The new Giant is 4,700 feet longer and goes up to 65 mph -- 3 mph more than the old Giant's 62 mph top speed.
You'll surely notice that extra 3 mph.
The braking system includes a set of "rare earth magnet" safety brakes, the strongest type of permanent magnets made but not all that rare.
Six Flags has a time lapse of photos showing the progress of the renovation, and below is a video taken from the front seat of the new ride.
One final new feature sits at the exit: a Texas Giant retail store. You suppose their merchandise will include air-sickness bags?
via pegasusnews
