Galactica (roller coaster)

Last updated

Galactica
Previously known as Air (2002–2015)
Galactica Logo Alton Towers.jpg
Alton Towers
Location Alton Towers
Park section Forbidden Valley
Coordinates 52°59′09″N1°52′55″W / 52.9859°N 1.88205°W / 52.9859; -1.88205
StatusOperating
Opening date16 March 2002 (2002-03-16)
Cost£12 million
General statistics
Type Steel  – Flying
Manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard
Model Flying Coaster
Track layoutTerrain
Lift/launch system Chain lift hill
Height20 m (66 ft)
Length840 m (2,760 ft)
Speed75 km/h (47 mph)
Inversions 2
Duration1:40
Capacity1,500 riders per hour
G-force 3.5
Height restriction140 cm (4 ft 7 in)
Trains3 trains with 7 cars. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 28 riders per train.
Galactica at RCDB

Galactica is a flying roller coaster located in the Forbidden Valley area of Alton Towers amusement park in Staffordshire, England. It originally opened as Air on 16 March 2002 and is the first flying coaster manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard. Guests ride in a prone position, meant to produce the feeling of flight, as the train passes close to the ground, under footpaths, and narrowly past trees and rocks. The ride was refurbished for the 2016 season and reopened as Galactica. It features an 840-metre-long (920 yd) track and reaches a maximum speed of 75 km/h (47 mph; 21 m/s).

Contents

History

Air (2002–2015)

Alton Towers conceived the concept of a flying roller coaster in 1990, twelve years before Air eventually opened. [1] Following the opening of Nemesis in 1994, a flying coaster was planned by the park to open in 1998, but was delayed due to technological limitations. [2] During its development, Alton Towers marketed the ride as Secret Weapon 5 (abbreviated to SW5), [3] following the naming pattern established for previous major park developments.

Construction of Air began in mid-2001. [2] Later that year, Alton Towers initially advertised the new rollercoaster as a "next generation Aerial Inversion Ride"; subsequently revealing the name Air. [4] [5] [6]

In early 2002, testing of Air began with special crash test dummies. At the time of opening, Air tied with Oblivion as the most expensive ride at Alton Towers, at a cost of £12 million. [7] [8] A £4.5 million marketing campaign for the ride included commercials based around the ride's slogan, "assume the position". [2] Air officially opened to the public on 16 March 2002. [7] On opening, Alton Towers entered into a five-year sponsorship agreement for the ride with Cadbury Heroes. [9]

Galactica (2016–present)

In June 2015, the park submitted a planning application to make modifications to the station building and retail space. This proposed adding a new photo opportunity into the queue, enclosing the station building with new walls, and constructing additional theming elements around the ride area. [10] This was in addition to an earlier planning application to convert the existing ride shop into a restaurant. [11] In October 2015, the first promotional material was posted on the Alton Towers website, advising guests to "prepare for a new flight" and to "watch this space". [12]

On 12 January 2016, Alton Towers announced that Air would be re-themed as Galactica for the 2016 season and would include on-ride virtual reality (VR) headsets simulating a ride through the cosmos. The announcement was made at an event held at the Science Museum. [13] Each seat on the roller coaster was initially fitted with a Samsung Gear VR headset and pouch. [14] The virtual reality experience was optional, as guests could choose to ride without using the headsets. [15] A promotional website was also released explaining more information about the ride and its new storyline. [16] In late February 2016, the park announced that the official opening date would be 24 March 2016. [17]

For the 2018 season, the availability of VR headsets on the ride were reduced to the back three rows of each train only, with guests choosing whether to use the VR or not when they entered the station. In 2019, Alton Towers removed the virtual reality headsets altogether due to guest feedback. [18] [19]

Characteristics

Statistics

At the time of opening, Galactica was the tallest ride at Alton Towers with a height of 20 metres (66 ft). [7] [8] [20] The 840-metre-long (2,760-foot) ride reaches a top speed of 75 kilometres per hour (47 miles per hour), and riders can experience a g-force of up to 3.5g whilst on the ride. One cycle of the ride lasts approximately one minute and forty seconds. [7]

Trains

Galactica features a dual-platform loading station, permitting three trains to operate simultaneously. Each train has seven cars, with each car carrying four riders side-by-side in a single row. This configuration allows for up to 1500 riders per hour, [7] although this was heavily reduced when VR was in operation.

Air 35.jpg
Air 36.jpg
A train in the loading position (left) and flying position (right)

Station and loading

Riders board a train sitting down, in a similar style to inverted roller coasters. [21] Riders are restrained through a padded over-the-shoulder harness and a lap bar. At the ankles, two flaps hold the legs in position and close as the harness locks into place. After a train is fully locked and checked, riders are raised into the flying position and the train departs the station. [21] From 2016 to 2018, riders had the option of wearing virtual reality headsets, which were attached to the restraints.

Ride layout

Air 06.jpg
Air 47.jpg
Trains navigating the fly-to-lie (left) and inline twist (right) elements.

Galactica departs the station and ascends a chain lift hill. The train enters the first drop, dips to the right, and rises back up through the ride's centrepiece theming element – a portal – which correlates to the ride's space theme. Immediately following this, the track twists, turning riders from the prone position onto their backs. [22] The train then embarks on a large upward left turn before twisting again, returning riders to the prone position. [22] After exiting from this lie-to-fly element, the train passes underneath a small ravine before pitching up into a tight turn over the plaza area. [22] A 360-degree inline twist [7] is followed by a series of smaller turns and dips in the track, before coming to a stop on the brake run and returning to one of the ride's two stations. [22]

Reception

The Tussauds Group, owners of Alton Towers in the early 2000s, claimed that Air contributed to the park's strong performance in 2002 and 2003. [23]

In Amusement Today 's annual Golden Ticket Awards, Air was ranked in the top 50 among steel roller coasters numerous times following its opening. It peaked at position 24 in 2003, [24] before dropping to 34 in 2004 and 36 in 2005. [25] [26] In 2006, it tied ranked 49th with another Bolliger & Mabillard flying coaster, Superman: Ultimate Flight. [27] The ride would drop out of the annual rankings the following year, although it would make a brief reappearance as Galactica in 2015 when it ranked 38th. [28]

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    References

    1. ↑ "The World's First Flying Rollercoaster Opening at Alton Towers" (Press release). Alton Towers. 10 March 2002. Archived from the original on 28 May 2005. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
    2. 1 2 3 "Air: A Coaster in the Making". Alton Towers Almanac. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
    3. ↑ "All Time Greats – Air". Alton Towers. Archived from the original on 31 July 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
    4. ↑ Koranteng, Juliana (15 October 2001). "Coaster shoots for all ages". Amusement Business. 113 (41).
    5. ↑ Koranteng, Juliana (14 January 2002). "Alton Towers debuts coaster". Amusement Business. 114 (2): 9.
    6. ↑ "Air Rollercoaster". Alton Towers. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
    7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Marden, Duane. "Air  (Alton Towers)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
    8. 1 2 Marden, Duane. "Oblivion  (Alton Towers)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
    9. ↑ "Minor works to the 'Air' rollercoaster, including enhancing the existing station area, installing a photo-opportunity kiosk and new themed features". Staffordshire Moorlands District Council. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
    10. ↑ "Alton Towers plans extension to 'Air shop'". Leek Post & Times. Archived from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
    11. ↑ "Alton Towers promise 'out of this world' year for 2016". Airgates. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
    12. ↑ "Galactica launches at London's Science Museum". TowersStreet. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
    13. ↑ White, Jeremy (18 March 2016). "Galactica at Alton Towers: What it's like to ride a VR rollercoaster (Wired UK)". Wired UK. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
    14. ↑ Wright, Dan (12 January 2016). "Alton Towers announce Galactica". Airgates. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
    15. ↑ "Galactica". galacticatours.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
    16. ↑ "Exciting developments for our 2016 season!". Alton Towers. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
    17. ↑ "Galactica: VR removed from Alton Towers rollercoaster". Ride Rater. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
    18. ↑ "Reply to user @Ev_Jay". Alton Towers official Twitter account. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019. Galactica no longer features VR due to guest feedback regarding their experience on the ride.
    19. ↑ Marden, Duane. "Nemesis  (Alton Towers)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
    20. 1 2 Bevil, Dewayne (17 November 2008). "Manta on demand: more details about SeaWorld coaster under construction". Orlando Sentinel . Archived from the original on 14 April 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
    21. 1 2 3 4 Bell, Ian (13 October 2006). "Air, Alton Towers POV". Coaster Force. Retrieved 27 April 2013– via YouTube.[ dead YouTube link ]
    22. ↑ Koranteng, Juliana (22 December 2003). "Despite Economic Woes, Attendance Stable in Europe". Amusement Business. 115 (51): 11, 15.
    23. ↑ "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today . September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2013.
    24. ↑ "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today . September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 April 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
    25. ↑ "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today . September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2013.
    26. ↑ "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today . September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2013.
    27. ↑ "Issue Archive". Golden Ticket Awards . Amusement Today . Retrieved 27 April 2013.
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