Suspended Looping Coaster

The first Suspended Looping Coaster installation was El Condor at Walibi Holland in the Netherlands.^[1] It was initially designed to run with ten cars in each train. Trouble with this configuration led to the trains being shortened to eight cars to a train.^[2] T2 at Kentucky Kingdom was the second prototype model Suspended Looping Coaster and the first in the United States.^[3] Like El Condor, it was designed to run with ten cars in a train, though T3's trains were shortened to seven cars for similar reasons.^[2]

The roller coaster is considered to still be in production^{[citation needed]}. The latest new installation (i.e. not relocated) was Queen Cobra at Sun World Danang Wonders in Đà Nẵng, Vietnam which opened in 2017.^[4]

There are several different layouts of Suspended Looping Coasters although most feature a similar pattern.^[2] The ride starts by taking riders up a 33.3-metre (109 ft) chain lift hill.^[5] Once at the top, the train drops down a steep, banked right turn where it enters the first inversion element - a right rollover. A rollover is an Immelmann loop followed by a Dive Loop^[6] After exiting this element, the train traverses a tall, banked left turn and approaches the ride's next inversion - a left sidewinder.^[5] A sidewinder is similar to an Immelmann loop; however, it features a half-loop followed by a half-corkscrew (rather than an inline twist).^[7] After exiting the sidewinder, the train navigates a 270^o right upwards helix before entering the ride's final two inversions - a double inline twist. A banked 90^o turn to the right then turns the train back around to face towards the station. At this point, some models feature an additional helix to the left, while others simply continue straight into the brake run.^[5] The standard model also has a relatively compact layout, providing numerous "footchoppers".

Vekoma have also manufactured three custom Suspended Looping Coasters: The Great Nor'easter at Morey's Piers (which is nearly identical to standard SLC, but with a custom station and supports), Kumali at Flamingo Land, and Jubilee Odyssey at Fantasy Island.^[8]

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  The 765m Extended w/Helix layout
•  
  The 689m Standard, the layout of most Suspended Looping Coasters
•  
  Mind Eraser directly before the rollover
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  Mind Eraser's signature rollover
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  Mind Eraser directly before the sidewinder
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  Mind Eraser preparing to enter its brake run
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  Darien Lake's Mind Eraser

 

Many Suspended Looping Coasters operate with two trains consisting of ten cars, though some operate with as few as seven cars. Poor maintenance, poor track layout or most likely non-exact track manufacturing can cause SLCs riders to experience notoriously painful "head banging", whereby the head hits the Over the Shoulder Restraints. They also use very small plastic seats with little or no room for a person to move. Contrary to popular belief, the wheel spacing on the trains (the 'gaps' between the side friction wheels, up-stop wheels, and the track) adds little to the roughness of these rides. Vekoma is currently manufacturing new trains with convenient hip harnesses. Unlike the first generation of trains, this modification will make the overall ride experience more comfortable. Vekoma also makes vest-like harnesses that allow to rider to sit more comfortably while riding. The only four known places to have these trains are Morey's Piers,^[9] Isla Magica in Spain, Six Flags New England in Agawam, MA and Beto Carrero World in Santa Catarina, Brazil, along with Nopuko Air Coaster at Lost Island in Waterloo, Iowa. In 2012, Lethal Weapon - The Ride at Warner Bros. Movie World reopened as Arkham Asylum - Shock Therapy. The newly opened ride runs with trains manufactured by Kumbak and uses less restrictive harnesses which are similar, but not identical to, the vest-like restraints found on the SLCs at Morey's Piers and Isla Magica.^[10]

The Suspended Looping Coaster is similar in design to other inverted roller coasters, however unlike the four-across seating found on Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) inverted roller coasters, Vekoma SLC's use two-across seating.

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  A Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster train seats riders 2 across.
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  A Bolliger & Mabillard Inverted Roller Coaster train seats riders 4 across.

There are at least 42 different installations across the world which have been located at 48 different theme parks.^[11]

Name	Park	Opened	Status	Model	Image
Arkham Asylum – Shock Therapy Formerly Lethal Weapon - The Ride	Warner Bros. Movie World	1995	Removed	765m Extended w/ Helix		[5]
Batman - The Ride	Six Flags Mexico	2000	Operating	689m Standard		[12]
Blue Tornado	Gardaland	1998	Operating	765m Extended w/ Helix		[13]
Condor Formerly El Condor	Walibi Holland	1994	Operating	662m Prototype		[1]
Death Rail	Al Zawraa Land	2015	Operating	689m Standard		[14]
Desafío	Parque de la Costa	1999	Operating	689m Standard		[15]
Dragon in Clouds	Happy Valley Chengdu	2009	Operating	Shenlin w/ Helix		[16]
Ednör – L'Attaque In Storage Formerly Serial Thriller	La Ronde Great Escape Six Flags AstroWorld	2010 2005 1999	Operating 2009 Closed 2005	689m Standard		[17][18][19]
F2 Fright Flight	Nasu Highland Park	1995	Operating	689m Standard		[20]
FireWhip Formerly Blackout	Beto Carrero World Suzuka Circuit	2008 1995	Operating	689m Standard		[21][22]
Flight Deck Formerly Top Gun	Canada's Wonderland	1995	Operating	689m Standard		[23]
The Gauntlet	Magic Springs and Crystal Falls	2004	Operating	689m Standard		[24]
Golden Wings over the Snowfield Formerly Golden Wings in Snowfield	Happy Valley Beijing	2006	Operating	Shenlin w/ Helix		[25]
The Great Nor'Easter Formerly Fly the Great Nor'Easter	Morey's Piers	1995	Operating	Custom		[26]
Hurricane	Rusutsu Resort	1996	Operating	689m Standard		[27]
Infusion Formerly TraumaTizer	Blackpool Pleasure Beach Pleasureland Southport	2007 1999	Operating Closed 2006	689m Standard		[28][29]
Iron Claw Formerly MP-Xpress Formerly FX Formerly Eraser	Movie Park Germany	2001	Operating	689m Standard		[30]
Jaguar	Isla Magica	1997	Operating	765m Extended w/ Helix		[31]
Kong Formerly Hangman	Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Opryland USA	1998 1995	Operating Closed 1997	689m Standard		[32][33]
Kumali	Flamingo Land	2006	Operating	Shenlin		[34]
Kumba	Superland	2001	Operating	689m Standard		[35]
Maya Adventure Formerly Mayan Adventure	Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village	1997	Operating	689m Standard		[36]
Mind Eraser	Six Flags Darien Lake	1997	Operating	689m Standard		[37]
Mind Eraser	Elitch Gardens	1997	Operating	689m Standard		[38]
Professor Screamore's SkyWinder Formerly Mind Eraser	Six Flags America	1995	Operating	689m Standard		[39]
Nio	Greenland	1997	Operating	689m Standard		[40]
Nopuko Air Coaster Formerly Cobra Formerly Cape Cobras	Lost Island Theme Park Ratanga Junction	2022 1998	Operating	765m Extended w/ Helix		[41] [42]
The Odyssey Formerly Jubilee Odyssey	Fantasy Island	2002	Operating	Custom		[43]
Queen Cobra	Asia Park	2017	Operating	689m Standard		[44]
Raptor Formerly Dream Thunder	Fantasilandia International Dream Exchange Fair	2008 1997	Operating	689m Standard		[45] [46]
Roller Coaster	Dream Park	1999	Operating	765m Extended w/ Helix		[47]
Roller Coaster Mayan	Energylandia	2015	Operating	689m Standard		[48]
Snow Mountain Flying Dragon	Happy Valley Shenzhen	2002	Closed	Shenlin		[49]
Suspended Looping Coaster	Suzhou Amusement Land	2003	Removed	787m Extended		[50]
T3 Formerly T2	Kentucky Kingdom	1995	Removed Closed 2022	662m Prototype		[3]
The Riddler Revenge Formerly Mind Eraser	Six Flags New England	1997	Operating Renamed 2018	689m Standard		[51]
Thunderhawk Formerly Serial Thriller	Michigan's Adventure Geauga Lake	2008 1998	Operating Closed 2007	689m Standard		[52][53]
Titánide Formerly Tizona	Terra Mitica	2003	Operating	689m Standard		[54]
Toxic Garden Formerly Limit	Heide Park	1999	Operating	689m Standard		[55]
Twisted Typhoon Formerly Hangman	Wild Adventures	1999	Operating	689m Standard		[56]
Vampire	Walibi Belgium	1999	Operating	689m Standard		[57]
Vortex Formerly Pusing Lagi	Siam Amazing Park Jerudong Park Playground	2007 1997	Operating Closed 2006	787m Extended		[58][59]

In China, several alternate versions of this ride have been built. One of them is Shenzhou Coaster, an inverted roller coaster at Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park in Beijing, China. The train and track are similar to the Suspended Looping Coaster design by Vekoma, but the ride was instead designed and manufactured by Beijing Shibaolai Amusement Equipment. There have been several problems with other models with the same layout, most notably bad pacing in parts of the ride. For example, the "Hanging Roller Coaster" at Crab Island stalled before its sidewinder element, stranding 12 people for over 3 hours. Other SLC's in China are sometimes manufactured by Hebei Zhongye Metallurgical Equipment Manufacturing Co. Ltd., which are known for being poorer than the Beijing Shibaolai models. HZM has tried to smooth out the transitions but the rides experience has not improved. None of these models can operate during winds in excess of 15 mph.^[60]

• Official website
• Listing of all Suspended Looping Coasters on the Roller Coaster Database