Suspended Looping Coaster

Suspended Looping Coaster (SLC)
Blue Tornado in Gardaland, Italy, a 765m extended SLC with a helix
Status	In Production
First manufactured	1994
No. of installations	41
Manufacturer	Vekoma
Vehicle type	Roller coaster train
Height restriction	130 cm (4 ft 3 in)
Type	Steel - Inverted
Lift system	Single chain lift hill
Succeeded by	Suspended Thrill Coaster
Suspended Looping Coaster (SLC) at RCDB

The Suspended Looping Coaster (or SLC, as referred to by coaster enthusiasts) is a model of steel inverted roller coaster built by Vekoma. There are at least 39 different installations across the world. The minimum rider height requirement is 130 centimetres (4 ft 3 in). Vekoma is now marketing a Suspended Thrill Coaster as a successor to the Suspended Looping Coaster. The Odyssey is the largest, fastest and tallest SLC ever built at Fantasy Island in the UK.

History[]

The first Suspended Looping Coaster installation was El Condor at Walibi Holland in the Netherlands.^[1] It was initially designed to run with ten cars in each train. Trouble with this configuration led to the trains being shortened to eight cars to a train.^[2] T3 at Kentucky Kingdom was the second prototype model Suspended Looping Coaster and the first in the United States.^[3] Like El Condor, it was designed to run with ten cars in a train, though T3's trains were shortened to seven cars for similar reasons.^[2]

The roller coaster is considered to still be in production^{[citation needed]}. The latest new installation (i.e. not relocated) was Queen Cobra at Sun World Danang Wonders in Đà Nẵng, Vietnam which opened in 2017^[4]

Ride[]

Layouts[]

There are several different layouts of Suspended Looping Coasters although most feature a similar pattern.^[2] The ride starts by taking riders up a 33.3-metre (109 ft) chain hill.^[5] Once at the top, the train goes down a steep, banked turn to the right where it enters the first inversion element - a rollover. A rollover first features an Immelmann loop quickly followed by a Dive Loop^[6] Upon exit from this element, the train goes up a hill which features some banking at the top before descending and approaching the ride's next inversion - a sidewinder.^[5] A sidewinder is similar to an Immelmann loop however it features a half-loop followed by a half corkscrew (rather than an inline twist).^[7] From the exit of this sidewinder, the train goes into a sharp helix before entering the ride's final two inversions - inline twists. These two twists are followed one after the other. A banked curve to the right turns the train back around to face towards the station. At this point some models feature an additional helix to the left while others simply continue straight into the brake run.^[5] The standard model also has a relatively compact layout, providing for "footchoppers".

Vekoma have also manufactured two custom Suspended Looping Coasters: Fly - The Great Nor'easter at Morey's Piers (which is really just a standard SLC with custom station and supports) and Jubilee Odyssey at Fantasy Island.^[8]

• 

  The 765m Extended w/Helix layout

• 

  The 689m Standard, the layout of most Suspended Looping Coasters

• 

  Mind Eraser directly before the rollover

• 

  Mind Eraser's signature rollover

• 

  Mind Eraser directly before the sidewinder

• 

  Mind Eraser preparing to enter its brake run

• 

  Darien Lake's Mind Eraser

Trains[]

Close up of an SLC wheel assembly

Many Suspended Looping Coasters operate with two trains consisting of ten cars, though some operate with as few as seven cars. Poorly maintained, poor track layout or most likely non-exact track manufacturing can cause SLCs riders to experience notoriously painful "head banging", whereby the head hits the Over the Shoulder Restraints. They also use very small plastic seats with little or no room for a person to move. Contrary to popular belief, the wheel spacing on the trains (the 'gaps' between the side friction wheels, up-stop wheels, and the track) adds little to the roughness of these rides. Vekoma is currently manufacturing new trains with convenient hip harnesses. Unlike the first generation of trains, this modification will make the overall ride experience more comfortable. Vekoma also makes vest-like harnesses that allow to rider to sit more comfortably while riding. The only three known places to have these trains are Morey's Piers,^[9] Isla Magica in Spain and Six Flags New England in Agawam, MA. In 2012, Lethal Weapon - The Ride at Warner Bros. Movie World reopened as Arkham Asylum - Shock Therapy. The newly opened ride runs with trains manufactured by Kumbak and uses less restrictive harnesses which are similar, but not identical to, the vest-like restraints found on the SLCs at Morey's Piers and Isla Magica.^[10]

The Suspended Looping Coaster is similar in design to other inverted roller coasters, however unlike the four-across seating found on Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) inverted roller coasters, Vekoma SLC's use two-across seating.

• 

  A Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster train seats riders 2 across.

• 

  A Bolliger & Mabillard Inverted Roller Coaster train seats riders 4 across.

Installations[]

There are at least 42 different installations across the world which have been located at 48 different theme parks.^[11]

Name	Park	Opened	Status	Model	Image
Arkham Asylum – Shock Therapy	Warner Bros. Movie World	1995	SBNO 2019	765m Extended w/ Helix		[5]
Batman - The Ride	Six Flags Mexico	2000	Operating	689m Standard		[12]
Blue Tornado	Gardaland	1998	Operating	765m Extended w/ Helix		[13]
Condor	Walibi Holland	1994	Operating	662m Prototype		[1]
Desafío	Parque de la Costa	1999	Operating	689m Standard		[14]
Dragon in Clouds	Happy Valley Chengdu	2009	Operating	Shenlin w/ Helix		[15]
Ednör – L'Attaque In Storage Formerly Serial Thriller	La Ronde Great Escape Six Flags AstroWorld	2010 2005 1999	Operating 2009 Closed 2005	689m Standard		[16][17][18]
F2 Fright Flight	Nasu Highland Park	1995	Operating	689m Standard		[19]
FireWhip Formerly Blackout	Beto Carrero World Suzuka Circuit	2008 1995	Operating	689m Standard		[20][21]
Flight Deck Formerly Top Gun	Canada's Wonderland	1995	Operating	689m Standard		[22]
Fly - The Great Nor'easter	Morey's Piers	1995	Operating	Custom		[23]
The Gauntlet	Magic Springs and Crystal Falls	2004	Operating	689m Standard		[24]
Golden Wings in Snowfield	Happy Valley Beijing	2006	Operating	Shenlin w/ Helix		[25]
Hurricane	Rusutsu Resort	1995	Operating	689m Standard		[26]
Infusion Formerly TraumaTizer	Blackpool Pleasure Beach Pleasureland Southport	2007 1999	Operating Closed 2006	689m Standard		[27][28]
Jaguar	Isla Magica	1997	Operating	765m Extended w/ Helix		[29]
Kong Formerly Hangman	Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Opryland USA	1998 1995	Operating Closed 1997	689m Standard		[30][31]
Kumali	Flamingo Land	2006	Operating	Shenlin
Kumba	Superland	2001	Operating	689m Standard		[32]
Limit	Heide Park	1999	Operating	689m Standard
Mayan Adventure	Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village	1997	Operating	689m Standard		[33]
Mind Eraser	Six Flags Darien Lake	1997	Operating	689m Standard		[34]
Mind Eraser	Elitch Gardens	1997	Operating	689m Standard		[35]
Mind Eraser	Six Flags America	1995	Operating	689m Standard		[36]
MP Xpress	Movie Park Germany	2001	Operating	689m Standard		[37]
Nio	Mitsui Greenland	1997	Operating	689m Standard		[38]
The Odyssey	Fantasy Island	2002	Operating	Custom		[39]
Queen Cobra	Sun World Danang Wonders	2017	Operating	689m Standard		[40]
Raptor	Fantasilandia	2008	Operating	689m Standard
Roller Coaster	Dream Park	1999	Operating	765m Extended w/ Helix		[41]
Roller Coaster Mayan	Energylandia	2015	Operating	689m Standard
Snow Mountain Flying Dragon	Happy Valley Shenzhen	2002	Operating	Shenlin		[42]
Suspended Looping Coaster	SuZhou Amusement Land	2003	Operating	787m Extended		[43]
T3 Formerly T2	Kentucky Kingdom	1995	Operating Closed 2010; Reopened as T3 in 2015	662m Prototype		[3]
The Riddler Revenge Formerly Mind Eraser	Six Flags New England	1997	Operating Renamed 2018	689m Standard		[44]
Thunderhawk Formerly Serial Thriller	Michigan's Adventure Geauga Lake	2008 1998	Operating Closed 2007	689m Standard		[45][46]
Titánide	Terra Mitica	2003	Operating	689m Standard		[47]
Twisted Typhoon Formerly Hangman	Wild Adventures	1999	Operating	689m Standard		[48]
Vampire	Walibi Belgium	1999	Operating	689m Standard		[49]
unknown Cape Cobra	Lost Island Theme Park Ratanga Junction	2022 1998	Closed 2018	765m Extended w/ Helix		[50]
Vortex Formerly Pusing Lagi	Siam Park City Jerudong Park Playground	2007 1997	Operating Closed 2006	787m Extended		[51][52]

Similar roller coasters[]

In China, several alternate versions of this ride have been built. One of them is Shenzhou Coaster, an inverted roller coaster at Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park in Beijing, China. The train and track are similar to the Suspended Looping Coaster design by Vekoma, but the ride was instead designed and manufactured by Beijing Shibaolai Amusement Equipment. There have been several problems with other models with the same layout, most notably bad pacing in parts of the ride. For example, the "Hanging Roller Coaster" at Crab Island stalled before its sidewinder element, stranding 12 people for over 3 hours. Other SLC's in China are sometimes manufactured by Hebei Zhongye Metallurgical Equipment Manufacturing Co. Ltd., which are known for being poorer than the Beijing Shibaolai models. HZM has tried to smooth out the transitions but the rides experience has not improved. None of these models can operate during winds in excess of 15 mph.^[53]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Listing of all Suspended Looping Coasters on the Roller Coaster Database