Record-shattering roller coaster simulates falling from cliff with 155 mph speeds
UKRAINE - 2021/08/25: In this photo illustration the Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (Six Flags Theme Parks) logo is seen on a smartphone screen. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
A theme park in Saudi Arabia unveiled a new roller coaster that’s expected to be the tallest and fastest in the world when patrons catch their first ride next year.
The massive roller coaster called "Falcon’s Flight" is located at Six Flags Qiddiya – a theme park that’s under development near Riyadh as part of the country’s Vision 2030 initiative aimed at promoting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s economic, social and cultural diversification. The park is expected to open in October 2024.
The Falcon’s Flight roller coaster is expected to have a 650-foot height and reach top speeds of 155 mph over the course of a 13,000-foot track, according to Intamin, the roller coaster’s designer and manufacturer. One of its major drops is designed to emulate a plunge over the side of a cliff.
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The world’s current holder of the title of tallest roller coaster is the Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey.
The Falcon’s Flight top speed of 155 mph will break the world record held by the Formula Rossa at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, which has a top speed of 150 mph.
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It will also claim the world record for the longest roller coaster, surpassing the more than 8,100-foot track of the Steel Dragon 2000 in Japan’s Nagashima Spa Land.
The Falcon’s Flight will be nearly a mile longer than the Steel Dragon 2000 – a length that will require it to have three different electro-magnetic propulsion systems that keep the roller coaster moving over the nearly 2.5-mile ride.
Philippe Gas, the CEO of Six Flags Qiddiya, said in a prior press release, "There is nothing quite like it anywhere else."
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