Crazy Bird
Specific Type: El Loco
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S&S Worldwide has had a solid place in the amusement industry since 1994. They are most well known for their tower and flat rides. They produced six different types of tower rides, and five different types of flat rides thrilling fans of all ages around the world. After they acquired Arrow Dynamics, and several lead employees from the then recently defunct Custom Coaster International they started designing and selling roller coasters.
They first used a technology they were familiar with from their tower rides and produced a compressed air launch coaster, their first was in 1999, Powder Keg at Silver Dollar City with Premier Rides. Later S&S designed what they called a thrust air coaster, the first of which was installed in 2001 , Hypersonic XLC at Kings Dominion. Next they tried their hand at wooden coasters, installing their first in 2003 at Enchanted Village called Timberhawk: Ride of Prey. They only made three more in 2004, and then discontinued building wood coasters. In 2005 they introduced the Screaming Squirrel model, which resembles a wild mouse tipped on its side so the car travels upside down after is makes its way around the curves, and then flips back upright at the next. The first Screaming Squirrel model was installed at Gardaland and is called Sequoia Adventure. In 2006 S&S started building Arrow’s 4th dimension coasters, as they acquired the patent with the purchase of Arrow Dynamics. In 2008 they developed the El Loco model which started with Steel Hawg at Indiana Beach. Crazy Bird at Happy Valley in Tianjin is the fifth El Loco model, and the first El Loco Coaster in Asia. S&S continued to innovate creating a variation to the invert and a free spin 4D model as well. The El Loco models are notable for their extremely steep beyond vertical drops, tight curves, and unexpected banked turns. Each El Loco Coaster is designed for the space provided and the layouts differ, but feature similar elements. The Crazy Bird at Happy Valley is an indoor model and it features one of the steepest drops in the world at 120 degrees. Guests load into individual cars, two riders per row in two rows. The cars are decorated with tropical feathers, the guests are locked in with hydraulic restraints, and each seat features on-board sound. After the car leaves the station it does a U-turn and makes its way up the 98.4 foot tall lift hill. At the top the car negotiates a banked S-curve and U-turn as a pre drop warmup. The car falls over the beyond vertical 120 degree drop, and then glides skyward towards a MCBR and a curved turn banked the opposite way you would expect leaving riders pitched over the outside of the turn. The cars gains some speed on a descending banked turn and then is flipped upside down leaving riders hanging for a few seconds before being flipped back by the dive loop. The car climbs again passing another MCBR, and meandering through a banked turn. Around the bend is an inline twist that the car enters slowly maximizing the hang time for the riders, as it spits you out a brick pace reaching the ground for the first time since the main drop. The car goes through a steeply banked turn and a pop of airtime as the car enters the brakes and returns to the station. |
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