Air (roller coaster)

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Air
Location	Alton Towers
Park section	Forbidden Valley
Type	Steel - Flying
Status	Operating
Opened	March 16,2002
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Designer	John Wardley
Model	Flying Coaster
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	66 feet (20.1 m)
Drop	53 feet (16.2 m)
Length	2,756 feet (840 m)
Max speed	46.6 miles per hour (75.0 km/h)
Inversions	2
Duration	1:40
Max vertical angle	42°
Capacity	1,500 riders per hour
Cost	£12,000,000
Max g force	3.5
Height restriction	54 inches (137 cm)
Air at RCDB Pictures of Air at RCDB
Amusement Parks Portal

Air is a steel flying roller coaster located in the Forbidden Valley area of Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. The ride was the first flying roller coaster to be made by Swiss manufacturers Bolliger & Mabillard. Guests ride in a prone position and experience the feeling of flight by 'flying' close to the ground and under footpaths.

History

Ride experience

Air is located at the end of Forbidden Valley, near to Nemesis. The ride has two loading bays in the station, allowing one train to be loaded while another is unloaded. After taking a seat and lowering the restraints, a retracble floor lowers and the seats then rotate 90° forward leaving the passengers facing the ground. As with the Corkscrew, Air has a lift hill painted dark green to camouflage it within the trees.

Air's passengers ride in a prone position.

The ride commences with a short passage through a tunnel out of the station, followed by a lift hill. The first drop dips to the right, rises up to a 180 degree turn, and drops down in to a large drop to ground level. The track then twists over so the riders are riding on their backs, performing a large upward left turn before twisting back so riders are once again in the prone position, flying underneath a small ravine. The track then pitches up in to a tight turn before performing a 360 degree barrel roll, banking over the service garage and dropping in to a swooping anti-clockwise turnaround. The train hits the brake run and re-enters one of the two stations.

References

External links

• Official Alton Towers website