Blue Hawk is a steel roller coaster located in Lickskillet at Six Flags Over Georgia. It opened on March 1, 1992 as Ninja, and was originally manufactured by Vekoma.
When Blue Hawk (in its previous incarnation as Ninja) opened in 1992, it was the tallest roller coaster in the park at that time. The ride had previous been located at Hunt's Pier in New Jersey, and was later purchased by Six Flags.
In 2016, Six Flags announced that the ride would be renovated and renamed, with members of the public voting on the ride's new name. It opened on June 9th of that year.
History[]
Ninja (1992–2015)[]
Ninja in 2015.
In 1989, Hunt's Pier in Wildwood, New Jersey purchased and installed an all-new roller coaster, naming it Kamikaze. Kamikaze was purchased by Six Flags and relocated to Six Flags Over Georgia, where it was given the new name Ninja.
Ninja was placed in the park's Cotton States section and sits roughly where Z-Force was previously located prior to its removal after the 1990 season. Ninja was opened to the public on March 1, 1992.
Blue Hawk (2016–present)[]
The ride received extensive work in 2016 and did not open with the park for its new season. The ride was repainted with blue track and gray supports, the track was inspected and repaired as needed to improve smoothness, and the trains were replaced with two new models featuring soft vest restraints instead of the previous over-the-shoulder harnesses. Park guests were invited to vote for one of three potential new names for the ride—American Eagle, Air Commander or Blue Hawk. After more than 6,000 votes were cast, voters selected Blue Hawk as the new name, followed by American Eagle and Air Commander. The renovated ride is themed to the American military and re-opened to guests on June 9, 2016.[1]
Ride experience[]
Blue Hawk uses two 28-passenger trains, each with seven cars carrying four passengers in two rows of two seats. Riders are held in place using vest-style restraints. As Blue Hawk departs the station, it turns to the right, dropping slightly before another right turn to start up the 122-foot-tall lift hill. Upon cresting the lift, the roller coaster dives downward to the right before swooping up into the first major element, a two-inversion butterfly. Exiting the butterfly, the train enters a wide-radius 270-degree curve to the left, setting up the third inversion, a reverse sidewinder. Blue Hawk climbs a gentle slope before making a U-turn to the left and entering its final element, a double corkscrew. After completing the final inversion, the train banks to the left and passes very close to the station and under the reverse sidewinder, then turns right prior to entering the main brake run. The train exits the brakes and makes a final U-turn to the right to set up the return to the station.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Photos[]
References[]
- ↑ Smoother and Sleeker 122-Foot Blue Hawk Roller Coaster Debuts (Press release). Six Flags Over Georgia (2016-06-09). Archived from the original on August 12, 2020.
See also[]
External links[]
- Blue Hawk - Six Flags Over Georgia at Six Flags
Blue Hawk at Coasterpedia- Blue Hawk at the Roller Coaster DataBase
- Blue Hawk at the Roller Coaster Wiki
- Blue Hawk (roller coaster) at Wikipedia
