Corkscrew (Cedar Point)

Corkscrew
The final inversion on Corkscrew
Cedar Point
Coordinates 41°29′1″N 82°41′7.25″W / 41.48361°N 82.6853472°W / 41.48361; -82.6853472Coordinates: 41°29′1″N 82°41′7.25″W / 41.48361°N 82.6853472°W / 41.48361; -82.6853472
Status Operating
Opening date May 15, 1976
Cost $1,750,000 USD
General statistics
Type Steel
Manufacturer Arrow Development
Designer Ron Toomer
Model Custom Looping Coaster
Track layout Out and back
Height 85 ft (26 m)
Drop 65 ft (20 m)
Length 2,050 ft (620 m)
Speed 48 mph (77 km/h)
Inversions 3
Duration 2:00
Max vertical angle 45°
Capacity 1,800 riders per hour
Height restriction 48 in (122 cm)
Trains 2 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train.
Fast Lane available
Corkscrew at RCDB
Pictures of Corkscrew at RCDB

Corkscrew is a steel roller coaster built by Arrow Development at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. When built in 1976, it was the first roller coaster in the world with 3 inversions. The coaster, which features Arrow's first vertical loop, was built during the same time period as The Great American Revolution at Magic Mountain. However, Revolution opened seven days prior and is therefore credited as the first modern-day coaster to feature a vertical loop.

General

Corkscrew train returning to station

The ride's station is located on the midway directly across from Top Thrill Dragster and was the first coaster to have inversions featuring a walkway underneath. The ride consists of an elevated station, which houses three 24 passenger trains painted red, white & blue, a color scheme inspired by the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976, the year the ride was introduced.[1]

Ride experience

Riders leave the station when the ride operator releases the pneumatic station brakes. The slight decline of the station allows the car to roll out down a small drop and around a declining 180 degree curve until the train reaches the chain lift.

The lift operates at or near a speed of 5 mph (8.0 km/h) and ascends, at a 30-degree angle, an 85-foot (26 m) lift hill; then riders are dropped 65 feet (20 m) at a 45-degree angle, gaining speed up to 48 mph (77 km/h). The next element is a bunny hop, so named for the quick rise and fall. The end of this hill is lower than the beginning. It then goes through a vertical loop (Corkscrew opened only 7 days after the first modern coaster to feature a vertical loop, The New Revolution at Six Flags Magic Mountain). It then coasts up an incline. After a piece of flat track, the train curves around a 180-degree descending turn, heading into the twin corkscrews over the midway of the park. In the "eye" of the corkscrews, it is traveling at 38 mph (61 km/h). It completes these two corkscrew loops, comes through trim and block brakes, and coasts back into the station.[2]

The ride is 2,050 feet (620 m) long, consisting of blue tubular steel track with a 48-inch (1,200 mm) separation between tubes, built on 5 acres (20,000 m2), rides for 1 minute and 40 seconds, and has three 24-passenger trains. Almost daily, a train is transferred off the track once ridership reaches a point that permits two-train operation with little or no waiting in line. A different train is cycled off each day. The ride was designed by Ron Toomer and built by Arrow Dynamics. The total cost of construction was US$1,750,000 (equivalent to $7,526,023 in 2017), and the ride has had over 30 million total riders since opening in May 1976.

Records

Preceded by
Corkscrew		 First Roller Coaster With 3 Inversions
May 1976–March 1980		 Succeeded by
Carolina Cyclone

References

  1. ↑ "Corkscrew". CedarPoint.com. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
  2. ↑ "Corkscrew". ThePointOL.com. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
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