Type of roller coaster manufactured by S&S Worldwide
This article is about the model of roller coaster manufactured by S&S Worldwide. For the specific installation of this coaster model at Adventuredome, see
El Loco (Adventuredome)
.
El Loco
|
---|
An overview of Steel Hawg at Indiana Beach
|
Status
| In Production
|
---|
First manufactured
| 2008
|
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No.
of installations
| 6
|
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Manufacturer
| S&S Worldwide
|
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El Loco at RCDB
|
El Loco
is a model of
steel
roller coaster
manufactured by
S&S Worldwide
. The rides are characterised by a vertical or beyond-vertical drop, tight corners and abnormal banking. As of November 2013, there are six El Locos operating around the world.
History
[
edit
]
The first El Loco was
Steel Hawg
at
Indiana Beach
.
[1]
The ride was announced in November 2007 as having a 120° first drop and a planned opening date in mid-May 2008.
[2]
However, these were revised to a drop angle of 111° and an opening date on July 5, 2008.
[3]
The ride drop angle was the steepest in the world at the time, taking the record from a series of
Gerstlauer Euro-Fighters
which shared the record with drops of 97°. The design of the outward banking turn found on the ride was developed by
Alan Schilke
of Ride Centerline LLC.
[4]
Mumbo Jumbo
at
Flamingo Land
was the next El Loco to be constructed. In order for the ride to take the world's steepest drop record from Steel Hawg, the drop angle was increased to 112°.
[5]
All other elements of the ride remained the same. The ride opened on July 4, 2009.
[5]
In 2011, S&S Worldwide set about building two El Loco roller coasters.
[1]
The first was
Timber Drop
at
Fraispertuis City
which opened on July 2, 2011.
[6]
Following the trend from the previous versions, this ride had an increased drop angle of 1° (making the drop 113°) to claim the world record.
[6]
This record was short-lived with
Takabisha
at
Fuji-Q Highland
claiming the record just two weeks later.
[7]
Also in 2011,
Warner Bros. Movie World
collaborated directly with S&S Worldwide to develop an El Loco roller coaster that was unlike the previous models of Mumbo Jumbo, Steel Hawg and Timber Drop. The park wanted the same style of ride, but with increased capacity.
[8]
[9]
S&S Worldwide came up with a new train design which features four across seating in two rows, totalling eight riders per train.
[10]
This gives the ride double the capacity of the previous El Locos. The trains are
articulated
in such a way that the first row of four riders moves independently from the second row.
[11]
Each seat features a pair of stereo speakers in the head rest which are capable of playing multiple tracks for up to 9 minutes on a single charge.
[8]
[12]
Riders are harnessed in to the ride through the use of lap bars and seat belts.
[10]
This design was showcased by the company at the 2011
IAAPA
Attractions Expo.
[13]
The ride also features a drop angle of 120.5° – the third steepest in the world.
[14]
Green Lantern Coaster
officially opened on December 23, 2011.
[15]
In 2013, a new El Loco was opened at
Happy Valley, Tianjin
named Crazy Bird, featuring a 120° drop.
[16]
Circus Circus Las Vegas
opened the first indoor El Loco on a custom track layout to fit an existing space in February 2014. It is the second
indoor
installation at the
Adventuredome
.
[17]
In March 2014, an El Loco named
Twist Coaster Robin
was opened in
Yomiuriland
in Japan. The ride featured a layout that differed from the previous models, although the
elements
were similar. The coaster closed in the same month it opened, and it remained closed until it was demolished in March 2016.
[18]
Locations
[
edit
]
As of February 2014, there are six El Locos operating around the world.
[1]
Name
|
Park
|
Location
|
Opening date
|
Status
|
Drop angle
|
Ref.
|
Crazy Bird
|
Happy Valley, Tianjin
|
Dongli
,
Tianjin
, China
|
December 22, 2013
|
Operating
|
120°
|
[16]
|
El Loco
|
Adventuredome
|
Las Vegas
,
Nevada
, United States
|
February 18, 2014
|
Operating
|
90°
|
[17]
|
Green Lantern Coaster
|
Warner Bros. Movie World
|
Gold Coast
,
Queensland
, Australia
|
December 23, 2011
|
Operating
|
120.5°
|
[19]
[15]
|
Mumbo Jumbo
|
Flamingo Land
|
North Yorkshire
, England, United Kingdom
|
July 4, 2009
|
Operating
|
112°
|
[5]
|
Steel Hawg
|
Indiana Beach
|
Monticello
,
Indiana
, United States
|
July 5, 2008
|
Operating
|
111°
|
[3]
|
Timber Drop
|
Fraispertuis City
|
Jeanmenil
,
Vosges
, France
|
July 2, 2011
|
Operating
|
113°
|
[6]
|
Ride experience
[
edit
]
The majority of El Loco roller coasters begin with a U-turn out of the
station
. Riders ascend a
chain lift hill
before going down a small dip and into an s-bend followed by a U-turn. After a slight ascent, the car enters a beyond-vertical drop. The track then returns to approximately two thirds of its original height before entering the first set of
block brakes
. These brakes lead into a left turn with reverse or outward banking. It then drops under the block brakes and into the first inversion ? a
Dive Loop
. The inversion begins with half of an
inline twist
which transitions into half of a
vertical loop
. Upon exiting the inversion the track makes an incline and into a second set of block brakes. The train then goes around a right U-turn and into the second inversion ? a downwards
inline twist
. This leads into a
cutback-style
turnaround before entering the final
brake run
and returning to the station.
[20]
[21]
[22]
Records
[
edit
]
As of July 2022, the operating El Loco roller coasters are two of the five steepest roller coasters in the world. Three of these rides held the
Guinness World Record
for a period of time.
[14]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Marden, Duane.
"Roller Coaster Search Results (El Loco)"
.
Roller Coaster DataBase
. Retrieved
November 15,
2013
.
- ^
"Steel Hawg Roller Coaster To Debut At Indiana Beach In 2008"
(Press release). Indiana Beach Amusement Park. November 28, 2007
. Retrieved
December 15,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
Marden, Duane.
"Steel Hawg (Indiana Beach)"
.
Roller Coaster DataBase
. Retrieved
December 1,
2012
.
- ^
Ruben, Paul (2009). "Demented Design".
RollerCoaster! Magazine
.
30
(2). Zanesville, Ohio: American Coaster Enthusiasts: 42.
ISSN
0896-7261
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Marden, Duane.
"Mumbo Jumbo (Flamingo Land Theme Park & Zoo)"
.
Roller Coaster DataBase
. Retrieved
December 1,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Marden, Duane.
"Timber Drop (Fraispertuis City)"
.
Roller Coaster DataBase
. Retrieved
December 1,
2012
.
- ^
Toto, Serkan (July 12, 2011).
"Takabisha: Japan Gets World's Steepest Roller Coaster (Videos)"
.
Tech Crunch
. Retrieved
December 16,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
Rohwer, Kevin (November 15, 2011).
"IAAPA 2011 Trade Show Part 1 Orlando Florida Theme Park Review Intamin S&S Gravity Group"
.
Interview (Video)
. YouTube
. Retrieved
December 1,
2012
.
- ^
Rohwer, Kevin (November 15, 2011).
"S&S World Wide"
.
Interview (Video)
. YouTube
. Retrieved
December 1,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
Marden, Duane.
"Green Lantern Coaster ? Concept Art (Warner Bros. Movie World)"
.
Roller Coaster DataBase
. Retrieved
December 1,
2012
.
- ^
Warner Bros. Movie World.
"12 Days of Green..."
Facebook
. Retrieved
December 1,
2012
.
- ^
Saurine, Angelina (December 23, 2011).
"Southern Hemisphere's steepest roller-coaster opens at Movie World"
.
The Australian
. Retrieved
December 1,
2012
.
- ^
Kubersky, Seth (December 1, 2011).
"Live Active Cultures"
.
Orlando Weekly
. Retrieved
December 1,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
"Steepest roller coaster drops - Coasterpedia - The Roller Coaster and Flat Ride Wiki"
.
coasterpedia.net
. Retrieved
July 26,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Marden, Duane.
"Green Lantern Coaster (Warner Bros. Movie World)"
.
Roller Coaster DataBase
. Retrieved
December 1,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
Marden, Duane.
"Crazy Bird (Happy Valley)"
.
Roller Coaster DataBase
. Retrieved
August 25,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
Marden, Duane.
"El Loco (Adventuredome)"
.
Roller Coaster DataBase
. Retrieved
February 9,
2013
.
- ^
Marden, Duane.
"Twist Coaster Robin (Yomiuriland)"
.
Roller Coaster DataBase
. Retrieved
November 15,
2013
.
- ^
Warner Bros. Movie World (December 20, 2011).
"Does GL have the..."
Facebook
. Retrieved
December 1,
2012
.
- ^
Wilson, Richard (October 22, 2011).
"Movie World, October 22, 2011"
.
The Parkz Update
. Parkz
. Retrieved
November 4,
2011
.
- ^
Alvey, Robb
(July 28, 2010).
"Mumbo Jumbo Roller Coaster POV ? Flamingo Land, UK"
.
Video
. YouTube
. Retrieved
November 4,
2011
.
- ^
Village Roadshow Theme Parks (December 21, 2011).
"GREEN LANTERN Coaster POV"
.
Video
. YouTube
. Retrieved
December 23,
2011
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Current roller coaster models
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Current ride models
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Discontinued roller coaster models
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Discontinued ride models
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