Specific Type: Impulse Coaster
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For the year 2001, California's Six Flags Discovery Kingdom made the decision to put a new angle on thrills and introduced V2: Vertical Velocity to the Vallejo-based park. V2 came from Intamin AG as one of the company's 'Spiraling Impulse' coaster models - a U-shaped inverted shuttle coaster which utilized Linear Induction Motor technology to send riders onboard twisting 90 degrees towards the sky and then ascending a straight 90-degree climb in reverse. The two vertical spikes of V2 made the ride Discovery Kingdom's tallest coaster, in fact, a little too high for its own good. Exceeding the city's height limitations by 30 feet, the park had no choice but to lower V2. But Six Flags Discovery Kingdom wouldn't just lower the ride and call it a day, no - the park decided to go the extra mile and compensate for the loss of vertical height by reworking the frontwards twist and bringing it down to a not-so-vertical 45 degrees. Marine World would comply with height restrictions but at the same time retain the full 360 degrees of twisting action, in the process creating the first ever Inclined Twist and one of the most unique shuttle coasters yet.
V2 riders board a 13-row, 26-passenger train before the station floor below retracts and the ride starts off on a first launch ahead. After climbing the diagonal track aways, the speed wears off and the train falls backwards through the station area. Hitting a second period of LIM acceleration, the Vertical Velocity begins as riders are thrust up a good percentage of the 150-foot 90-degree back spike. Falling forwards, passengers are swept along the horizontal straightaway as another moment of Linear Induction Motors gets the speed up to a maximum 65 miles per hour and carries the train up the Inclined Spiral. Riders get to watch the world rotate 360 degrees as they spiral upwards, and then get to experience the same maneuver in reverse. V2 rockets in reverse again and hits the vertical tower once again to send passengers climbing backwards and plunging forwards back through the station area, partially ascending the forwards diagonal climb once more to wear off speed. Backing into the station area, the coaster slows to a final halt. Vertical Velocity may have gotten shorter for 2002, but Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's V2 just got a whole lot more unique! |
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