Limit
Specific Type: Suspended Looping Coaster
|
During the latter half of the 1990s, Heide Park was home to three thrilling roller coasters that were added in the years following its 1978 grand opening. The lineup included Big Loop, a Vekoma looping coaster that flips riders upside down four times, andSchweizer Bobbahn, a Mack bobsled that takes riders through steeply banked turns and helices. Thrill-seekers eagerly awaited the park's next installation, and would soon be thrown through a loop once again. In 1999, an airplane swooshed into Saltou in the form of a brand new roller coaster. The park recruited the Netherlands-based Vekoma to construct one of their popular Suspended Looping Coaster (SLC) models. Taking riders through five inversions, Limit was an immediate sensation. The compactness of the coaster provided intense forces, and the ride proved to be a prescient addition for the park.
Standing at one hundred and nine feet, Limit is nuzzled into a corner of the park's Transsilvanien (Transylvania) area. The station is done in a style similar to an aircraft hangar, complete with a plane sitting at the top. The coaster is surrounded by Big Loop to the south and Schweizer Bobbahn to the west, and all three rides sport a white and green color scheme. Riders are situated in two trains consisting of ten cars with two seats each, yielding a total of twenty guests per train. The trains themselves sport a yellow scheme with black shoulder harnesses, and leave riders' feet dangling as they roar through the course at fifty miles per hour while running below the track. Packing two thousand and sixty feet of track into a relatively small space, Limit truly provides an exciting experience that compliments the park's other coasters. Upon securing the restraints, the train embarks on its journey by starting directly into the lift chain. Traveling up the lift hill, riders slowly approach the top where they are able to see Colossos in the distance. After cresting the hill and disengaging the chain, the train swoops down a steeply banked right hand nosedive right toward the ground and directly into the first two inversions. Barreling through a half loop and twisting into another half loop (collectively known as a rollover), the train exits the inversion traveling the same direction it was before. It then rises into another steeply banked turn, curving left to end up parallel to the station. Riders are then flipped through a sidewinder, charging through a half loop and half corkscrew, before making a 270-degree turn into a double in-line twist. Another swooping right hand curve follows, sending the train briefly meandering from left to right before landing into the final brake run. Two more right turns lead riders back into the station, concluding the one minute and thirty six second ride. Upon getting their barrings together, riders exit the train having had an extraordinary aerobatic experience. Five coasters have been added over the years since Limit's opening, but the powerful ride stands its ground as it sends its riders soaring through the |
©1998-2016 COASTER-net.com, All Rights Reserved.