X-Flight is a wing coaster at Six Flags Great America, located in the County Fair section of the park. It opened on May 12, 2012, after a soft opening on May 16. It was manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard.
History[]
X-Flight was announced on September 1, 2011. Six Flags Great America was the first park to announce plans for a Wing Coaster in the United States. Land clearing started in September 2011 on the former site of Splashwater Falls and the Great America Raceway. The first pieces of the track began to arrive in early October. 127 Caissons (footers), ranging from 30 feet (9.1 m) to 77 feet were dug into the ground. On January 27, 2012, the final piece of the lift hill was topped off. The trains for X-Flight arrived at the park on March 2, 2012. In a Chicago Sun-Times article in February, the park said they expect safety tests to start in early April. X-Flight opened for "Xclusive season pass holders" on the weekend of May 12 and opened to the public on May 16.
Experience[]
Queue[]
As guests go past the entrance sign, they choose either the standard line on the right or The Flash Pass line on the left. The queue line begins as guests first pass a switchback section with an extended queue path. Following this, guests navigate through a straight pathway with shaded areas. This leads to a left turn through the keyhole and a pathway to the right. Getting closer to the station, there is another switchback section. Guests then enter the hangar and choose either the left wing or the right wing. Once the side is selected, guests climb up the stairs and board the train.
Layout[]
After departing from the station, which resembles an airplane hangar, the train immediately begins to climb the steep 120-ft chain lift hill. Upon reaching the top of the lift hill, the train enters the first element of the roller coaster, a Dive Drop. This element is similar to the Dive Drop's found on The Swarm at Thorpe Park and GateKeeper at Cedar Point and consists of the train rotating 180 degrees into an upside down position before descending back to the ground. During this drop, the train reaches its top speed of 55 mph. At the bottom of the first drop, riders get their picture taken. After the train exits the first drop, the train then enters a zero-g-roll before going through a cloud of fog. The train then makes a slight left turn before entering an Immelmann loop followed by a right turn over a pond. The train then leads into the second zero-g-roll over the main entrance of the ride. Following the roll, the train makes a left turn before going through an Inline twist. During this element, which is known as a keyhole, riders go through an actual airplane control tower (which was retrieved from O'Hare International Airport), giving the illusion the train will hit the tower. After going through the tower, the train goes through another near miss keyhole surrounded by a cloud of fog, before exiting the twist and making a tight right turn, passing by Demon's corkscrews and last turn, before making a slight left upward turn leading into the brake run. The train then makes a 180-degree left turn into another set of brakes before entering the station. One cycle lasts about 1 minute and 15 seconds.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Images[]
See also[]
External links[]
- X Flight - Six Flags Great America at Six Flags
X-Flight (Six Flags Great America) at the Roller Coaster Wiki- X-Flight (Six Flags Great America) at Wikipedia
