Storm Chaser (roller coaster)

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Storm Chaser
250px
Ride entrance
Previously known as Twisted Sisters (1998-2001) and Twisted Twins (2002-2007)
Kentucky Kingdom
Status Operating
Soft opening date April 28, 2016 (2016-04-28)
Opening date May 1, 2016 (2016-05-01)
Cost $15 million
General statistics
Type Steel
Manufacturer Rocky Mountain Construction
Designer Alan Schilke
Model I-Box – Custom
Lift/launch system Chain lift hill
Height 100 ft (30 m)
Length 2,744 ft (836 m)
Speed 52 mph (84 km/h)
Inversions 3
Duration 1:40
Max vertical angle 78°
Capacity 960 riders per hour
G-force 3.8
Trains 2 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train.
Storm Chaser at RCDB
Pictures of Storm Chaser at RCDB

Storm Chaser is a steel roller coaster at Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky. The ride originally opened in 1998 as Twisted Sisters, a double-tracked dueling wooden roller coaster designed by Custom Coasters International.[1] It was renamed Twisted Twins in 2002 but has been standing but not operating since 2007 when Kentucky Kingdom closed the ride. Rocky Mountain Construction was hired by the park to convert the roller coaster to Storm Chaser, which opened to the public in May 2016.

History

In late 1997, the rights to operate Kentucky Kingdom were sold by Themeparks LLC to Premier Parks for $64 million.[2] The new operators announced that they would be adding a $5 million dueling roller coaster, called Double Trouble, in April 1998.[3] Following Premier Parks purchase of Six Flags in June 1998, the park was rebranded as Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom.[2][4] It was later announced that Double Trouble would be renamed Twisted Sisters and would open on June 21, 1998.[1][3][5]

In 2002, the heavy metal band Twisted Sister threatened the park with legal action regarding the name of the roller coaster. To avoid a lawsuit, the park changed the ride's name to Twisted Twins.[1][5] It operated under that name until the end of the 2007 season when the park closed the ride indefinitely.[1] Although standing but not operating,[1] the Gerstlauer trains were relocated to Six Flags St. Louis to be used as spare parts for The Boss, another Custom Coasters International ride with Gerstlauer trains.[6]

Amid corporate bankruptcy on February 4, 2010, Six Flags announced that the park would cease operations immediately following the rejection of an amended lease by the Kentucky State Fair Board.[7] Former operator of Kentucky Kingdom, Ed Hart, along with several other investors formed the Kentucky Kingdom Redevelopment Company with the aim of reopening the park quickly.[8][9][10] However, plans were abandoned after sixteen months of negotiations.[11][12][13][14] On February 23, 2012, the Kentucky Fair Board approved a lease agreement which would see the park operate as Bluegrass Boardwalk. The plans called for the removal of Twisted Twins and T2 as a result of safety concerns.[15][16]

On June 27, 2013, Ed Hart's group negotiated an agreement to spend $36 million to reopen the park in May 2014. They also announced plans to transform Twisted Twins into "a much superior ride" and hoped to reopen it in 2016.[17][18] Rocky Mountain Construction was eventually hired to refurbish the roller coaster with their patented iBox track design. Kentucky Kingdom plans to rename the ride Storm Chaser, and open it in 2016.[19]

Characteristics

Twisted Twins

File:Twisted Twins SBNO 8.jpg
Twisted Twins, prior to reconfiguration into Storm Chaser

In its original form, Twisted Twins was a dueling roller coaster, which featured two roller coaster tracks that would depart from opposite ends of a single station. The two tracks would follow different paths, passing by each other four times.[20] Despite this, both tracks measure 3,000 feet (910 m) in length, stand 80 feet (24 m) tall, and feature top speeds of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h).[1] The ride was the only dueling roller coaster manufactured by Custom Coasters International, and was one of only two dual-tracked roller coasters manufactured by the company (Stampida at PortAventura is a racing roller coaster).[21][22] The ride was designed by Dennis McNulty and Larry Bill, a duo responsible for many of the company's roller coasters.[1][23][24] Construction of Twisted Twins was completed by Martin & Vleminckx.[1]

A single train, manufactured by Gerstlauer, would run on each of the tracks. These two trains were named Stella and Lola, respectively.[25] Each train would seat 28 riders across seven cars configured in two rows of two.[1] These trains required riders to be of a minimum height of 48 inches (120 cm).[26]

Storm Chaser

According to park officials, Storm Chaser will utilize some components of Twisted Twins' structure as a budgetary feature, but will otherwise be a completely new experience.[19] Storm Chaser will use Rocky Mountain's "iBox" steel track system to create a ride experience that has the smoothness of a steel coaster with the faster pace of a wooden coaster.[19] The new track will also permit the train to perform inversions, something not normally seen on wooden roller coasters.[19]

The table below illustrates the differences between Twisted Twins and Storm Chaser. Statistics shown for Twisted Twins are for a single track and are identical for both sides:

Statistic Twisted Twins[27] Storm Chaser[28]
Years 1998-2007 2016–
Manufacturer Custom Coasters International Rocky Mountain Construction
Designer Dennis McNulty, Larry Bill Alan Schilke
Track Type Wood Steel
Track Layout Dueling Out and back
Height 80 ft or 24 m 100 ft or 30 m
Drop Unknown TBD
Length 3,000 ft or 910 m 2,744 ft or 836 m
Speed 55 mph or 89 km/h 52 mph or 84 km/h
Max vertical angle Unknown 78°
G-force 3.2 3.8
Capacity Unknown 960 riders per hour
Duration 2:12 1:40
Inversions 0 3
Trains Gerstlauer Rocky Mountain Construction

Ride experience

File:StormChaser Corkscrew.jpg
Storm Chaser's corkscrew inversion

Storm Chaser departs the station and makes a U-turn to the right to start up its lift hill. After cresting the top of the lift, the train banks left and enters a barrel-roll drop back down to ground level, followed by an airtime hill and an overbanked left-hand turn that leaves the train partially upside down for a short time. Storm Chaser then climbs another hill and banks right before turning to the left and heading back in the opposite direction and rounding an overbanked turn to the right.

The train crests another airtime hill before banking right and entering the final inversion, a corkscrew. Exiting the corkscrew and banking to the left, Storm Chaser passes over a series of camelback hills where the banking varies from side to side. The train then enters a 270-degree banked helix to the right, then rises to the left before entering the final brake run and returning to the station.

Reception

In Mitch Hawker's worldwide Best Roller Coaster Poll, the two tracks of Twisted Twins were rated separately. Both rides peaked in their debut year at positions 41 and 37, respectively. Despite the rides having different rankings throughout their lifetime, they both have an average ranking of 107.[29]

Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll: Best wood-Tracked Roller Coaster[29]
Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Stella 41 54 65 82 84 96 115 112 124 126 132 155 148 137 138 128
Lola 37 53 66 77 83 99 110 109 128 125 131 151 143 143 144 134

References

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External links

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