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Superman – Ride of Steel

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For the roller coaster at Six Flags New England previously named Superman – Ride of Steel, see Superman The Ride.
Superman – Ride of Steel
Superman - Ride of Steel at Six Flags America
General statistics
TypeSteel
ManufacturerIntamin
DesignerWerner Stengel
ModelMega Coaster
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Height208 ft (63 m)
Drop205 ft (62 m)
Length5,400 ft (1,600 m)
Speed73 mph (117 km/h)
Inversions0
Duration2:02
Max vertical angle68°
Capacity1100 riders per hour
Height restriction54–76 in (137–193 cm)
Trains2 trains with 8 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 32 riders per train.
Flash Pass Available at Six Flags America

Superman – Ride of Steel is a steel roller coaster based on the DC Comics character Superman at two Six Flags theme parks in the United States. Both hypercoasters were manufactured by Intamin and feature identical layouts, opening one year apart; Six Flags Darien Lake in 1999 and Six Flags America in 2000. The roller coaster at Six Flags Darien Lake, was renamed in 2007, to Ride of Steel, dropping the character theme, when the company sold the park. (Six Flags Darien Lake was brought back to Six Flags, and has yet added any theme to the coaster.)

Both roller coasters are 208 feet (63 m) tall, feature a drop length of 205 feet (62 m), and reach a maximum speed of 73 mph (117 km/h).

Installations

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Locations for Superman – Ride of Steel
Name Park Area Opened Status Reference
Ride of Steel Six Flags Darien Lake May 15, 1999 Operating [1]
Superman – Ride of Steel Six Flags America Gotham City May 13, 2000 Operating [2]

VR experience

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On March 3, 2016, Six Flags announced that the ride would be one of several rides at various Six Flags parks to feature a VR system. Riders have the option of wearing a Samsung Gear VR headset, powered by Oculus to create a 360-degree, 3D experience while riding. It is themed to Superman saving a city from Lex Luthor's Lex Bots who are causing chaos with an anti-gravity ray. This theming was also added to Superman: Krypton Coaster at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Superman The Ride at Six Flags New England.[3]

Ride layout

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Once the train has been dispatched from the station it makes a winding, 180-degree turn. The train ascends 208 feet (63 m) up the lift hill and then drops 205 feet (62 m) at an angle of 68 degrees. The train reaches the maximum speed of 73 mph (117 km/h) before entering a sharp turn and the first airtime hill. A 540-degree helix follows, in addition to another smaller airtime hill. The finale involves a 500-degree helix and several more airtime hills before reaching the brake run and returning to the station.

Elements

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  • 5 airtime hills (4 airtime hills and a twisted airtime hill)
  • 2 helixes (540 degree and 500 degree)

Rankings

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Golden Ticket Awards: Top steel Roller Coasters
Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2018 2019
Ranking 20[4] 16[5] 13[6] 12[7] 18[8] 23[9] 14[10] 17[11] 28[12] 26[13] 40[14] 43[15] 38[16] 39 (tie)[17] 47 (tie)[18]
  • The Ride of Steel station, Six Flags Darien Lake
    The Ride of Steel station, Six Flags Darien Lake
  • Superman's lift and first drop, Six Flags America
    Superman's lift and first drop, Six Flags America
  • Superman's first airtime hill, Six Flags America
    Superman's first airtime hill, Six Flags America
  • (Superman) Ride of Steel, Six Flags Darien Lake
    (Superman) Ride of Steel, Six Flags Darien Lake

Incidents

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  • On May 16, 1999, a passenger was thrown from the train at the Darien Lake installment on one of the final hills and suffered minor injuries.[19]
  • On July 8, 2011, a disabled Iraq War veteran who lost both legs during his deployment in Iraq died after being ejected from the front seat of the Darien Lake coaster.[20] The state's Department of Labor cited "operator error" as the cause of the accident and issued two violations, in which the park responded by retraining staff and updating ride safety signage before reopening the ride.[21] A final report from the local sheriff's office detailed the negligence by employees, who should have been aware that the restraints required passengers to have both legs.[22] Witnesses reported seeing the disabled vet reaching for his hat that flew off before he was ejected, and evidence suggested that the rider died instantly from blunt force trauma to the head when he came in contact with the front of a train car.[22]

References

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  1. ^ https://rcdb.com/541.htm Ride of Steel at Six Flags Darien Lake on Roller Coaster DataBase
  2. ^ https://rcdb.com/699.htm Superman – Ride of Steel at Six Flags America on Roller Coaster DataBase
  3. ^ "Six Flags adds VR roller coasters". Digital Trends. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  4. ^ "Top 25 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 7B. August 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  5. ^ "Top 25 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 7B. September 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  6. ^ "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 14–15B. September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  7. ^ "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 18–19B. September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2007. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  8. ^ "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 26–27B. September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  9. ^ "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 26–27B. September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  10. ^ "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 11 (6.2): 36–37. September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  11. ^ "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 12 (6.2): 36–37. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  12. ^ "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 13 (6.2): 32–33. September 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  13. ^ "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 14 (6.2): 34–35. September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  14. ^ "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 15 (6.2): 38–39. September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  15. ^ "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 16 (6.2): 36–37. September 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  16. ^ "2013 Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 17 (6.2): 34–35. September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  17. ^ "2018 Top 50 Steel Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  18. ^ "2019 Top 50 Steel Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  19. ^ "Rider thrown from new Darien Lake roller coaster". RideAccidents.com. May 16, 1999. Archived from the original on February 7, 2008. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
  20. ^ "Army amputee ejected from roller coaster, dies". NBC News. July 9, 2011. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011.
  21. ^ "Ride of Steel Reopens, Darien Lake Officials Answer Questions About Tragedy". WKBW TV Buffalo. July 22, 2011. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012.
  22. ^ a b Owens, Howard B. (August 25, 2011). "Final Sheriff's Office report on death at Darien's 'Ride of Steel' contains new details". The Batavian. Archived from the original on October 14, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
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