Air @ Alton Towers ISN'T the first flying coaster?

[kailisun98]

I was doing a research project on roller coasters and stumbled upon this in RCDB. According to RCDB, apparently, Air @ Alton Towers is not the first flying coaster. It is actually Skytrak at Grenada Studios in Britain. The ride was made by Skytrak International and featured trains similar to Zamperla's Volare flying coasters.

http://rcdb.com/2380.htm

[Rollercoaster Rider]

Ummm..... Stealth at California's Great America was advertised as the Worlds First Flying Coaster

[cfc]

Hmm--interesting, but that looks like one painful ride. You could chip a tooth on that bar in front of your face.

[Gnome]

I always thought it was advertised as the first B&M flying roller coaster. Stealth was operating in 2000. Air didn't open until 2002.

[ernierocker]

Just noticed the OP said Air and not Stealth. So, the answer to the thread is that it wasn't.

 

And that Skytrak ride shouldn't count as anything other than a one-person torture device.

[Rollercoaster Rider]

I always thought it was advertised as the first B&M flying roller coaster. Stealth was operating in 2000. Air didn't open until 2002.

 

Air was the first B&M Flying Coaster but VEKOMA made the first flying coaster in 2000.

[KarlaKoaster]

I can't remember Alton advertising it as the 'first' but that's not to say they didn't. Parks often are economical with the truth when it comes to advertising their rides. You could say the same about Oblivion bearing in mind Ultra Twisters existed before Oblivion did.

 

They definitely didn't advertise it as the "World's first B&M flying coaster" because, to 99% of people that would mean absolutely nothing ("what's a B&M" etc)

[Wes]

They did advertise it as the world's first flying coaster.

 

http://web.archive.org/web/20050528203708/http://press.altontowers.com/release.asp?PRID=36

[coasterfreak101]

^I think the justification is that the Vekoma Flying Dutchman models are 'laying' coasters that allow you to fly, while the B&M models are pure flyers. It's theme park marketing, but I suppose they have a bit of a point.

[Wes]

^ Yeah, that must have been their thinking..but Alton's marketing has always been sensationalist so it all makes sense.

[robbalvey]

They did advertise it as the world's first flying coaster.

 

http://web.archive.org/web/20050528203708/http://press.altontowers.com/release.asp?PRID=36

And they also marketed Nemesis as the "first" even though Batman came two years before it. Oh, Merlin...

[cfc]

They can change their advertising to say "Chuck's first flying coaster." That would be accurate.

[Moose]

This is far from the worst of Merlin's marketing hyperbole.

[kailisun98]

Apparently, the coaster company that built this only built ONE coaster in their entire existance...

[Josh Linn]

They did advertise it as the world's first flying coaster.

 

http://web.archive.org/web/20050528203708/http://press.altontowers.com/release.asp?PRID=36

 

And people thought Six Flags and Cedar Fair were bad with throwing "world's _______" around.

[Noporian]

Doesn't six flags do that stupid world's _____ (insert ride type here) stuff?

 

Like this seems like something that big companies do.

[kailisun98]

Through my 3 years in China,I have discovered some claims that are even more insane. A ride op at Jinjiang Action Park tried to convince me that their Giant Inverted Boomerang was designed by China and is the only one in the world. I was like, how stupid does he think I am.

[booink]

Wow, this flying coaster looks A LOT like one of the funkier coaster designs in RCT3 ! It's called the "mini flying suspended coaster"...

Anyone else noticed they look alike ?

[KingRCT3]

Actually, all of the RCT3 rides are based on either real attractions or real concepts.

 

Look, it's a real reverser!

[booink]

^That is pretty cool, I never knew if the reverser rides ever existed !

[Xmeister]

Looks like a more painful version of the Zamperla Volare.

[larrygator]

Hmm--interesting, but that looks like one painful ride. You could chip a tooth on that bar in front of your face.

 

The bar was actually made out of chocolate.

[Jackdude101]

Air was the first flying coaster made by B&M. It's a prototype just like Oblivion at Alton Towers was the prototype for the Diving Machine models.

 

Also, fun facts:

 

Air is the shortest B&M roller coaster (65.62 feet) and the second-slowest (46.60 mph).

[Coaster Joe]

Premier Rides tried selling a solo coaster Skysurfer concept back in the early 2000s. Can't find a picture anywhere but it looked like a better take on this idea.

 

I've always been intrigued by Air. Count me as an opponent to pretzel loops and other sustained high-G maneuvers on flyers.

[kailisun98]

Looks like a more painful version of the Zamperla Volare.

I remember seeing on a british coaster enthusiast website that the guy who designed the ride was the first to ride it and got a back concussion. It also says that it constantly broke down and had many bugs. I'll try to find the link and post it later.