Tornado (Parque de Atracciones de Madrid)

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Tornado
Parque de Atracciones de Madrid
Coordinates 40°24′48″N3°44′53″W / 40.4134°N 3.7480°W / 40.4134; -3.7480 Coordinates: 40°24′48″N3°44′53″W / 40.4134°N 3.7480°W / 40.4134; -3.7480
StatusOperating
Opening date May 23, 1999 (1999-05-23)
General statistics
Type Steel  Inverted
Manufacturer Intamin
Designer Ingenieur Büro Stengel GmbH
Height 98 ft (30 m)
Length 2,624.7 ft (800.0 m)
Speed 49.7 mph (80.0 km/h)
Inversions 3
Duration 2:00
G-force 4
Height restriction 120 cm (3 ft 11 in)
Tornado at RCDB
Pictures of Tornado at RCDB

The Tornado is a steel inverted roller coaster at the Parque de Atracciones de Madrid in Casa de Campo, Madrid, Spain. Manufactured by Intamin, it opened on May 23, 1999. [1] [2]

Inverted roller coaster roller coaster that runs under the track


An inverted roller coaster is a roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. This latter attribute is what sets it apart from the older suspended coaster, which runs under the track, but swings via a pivoting bar attached to the wheel carriage. The coaster type's inverted orientation distinguishes it from a traditional roller coaster, where the passengers' legs rather than arms are exposed.

Parque de Atracciones de Madrid amusement park in Madrid, Spain

Parque de Atracciones de Madrid is a 20-hectare (49-acre) amusement park located in the Casa de Campo in Madrid, Spain. Opened in 1969, it is the third-oldest operating amusement park in Spain behind Parc d'Atraccions Tibidabo and Parque de Atracciones Monte Igueldo. It is the flagship park of Parques Reunidos, who operates the park under Madrid municipal government concession till year 2039.

Casa de Campo cultural property in Madrid y Pozuelo de Alarcón, Spain

The Casa de Campo is the largest public park in Madrid. It is situated west of downtown Madrid, Spain. It gets its name 'Country House' because it was once a royal hunting estate. Its area is more than 1,750 hectares (6.8 sq mi).

Contents

Description

Tornado is an inverted roller coaster with a length of 2,624.7 feet (800 meters) and a height of 98 feet. [1] [2] It is unusual among inverted roller coasters made by Intamin in using a chain lift rather than a magnetic launcher. [3] It features 3 inversions, 2 loops, a corkscrew, and a 30m drop to 80 km/h. [2]

Roller chain

Roller chain or bush roller chain is the type of chain drive most commonly used for transmission of mechanical power on many kinds of domestic, industrial and agricultural machinery, including conveyors, wire- and tube-drawing machines, printing presses, cars, motorcycles, and bicycles. It consists of a series of short cylindrical rollers held together by side links. It is driven by a toothed wheel called a sprocket. It is a simple, reliable, and efficient means of power transmission.

Linear induction motor

A linear induction motor (LIM) is an alternating current (AC), asynchronous linear motor that works by the same general principles as other induction motors but is typically designed to directly produce motion in a straight line. Characteristically, linear induction motors have a finite primary or secondary length, which generates end-effects, whereas a conventional induction motor is arranged in an endless loop.

The ride was designed by Ingenieur Büro Stengel GmbH and opened on May 23, 1999. [2] It is one of five rides at the park that form the subject of physics problems in a student workbook that won the Madrid award for teaching materials. [4]

Ride experience

When Tornado starts, the coaster exits the station and goes up a lift hill. Riders then drop 30 metres (98 ft) and reach a speed of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph) before entering the first loop, followed by the second. The coaster then goes through a corkscrew, which is one of the inversions. It then goes into 2 or 3 helices before going through the brake run, which takes riders back into the station, where the ride ends. The ride lasts 2 minutes.

Lift hill

A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from the peak by gravity and is usually allowed to coast throughout the rest of the roller coaster ride's circuit on its own momentum, including most or all of the remaining uphill sections. The initial upward-sloping section of a roller coaster track is usually a lift hill, as the train typically begins a ride with little speed, though some coasters have raised stations that permit an initial drop without a lift hill. Although uncommon, some tracks also contain multiple lift hills.

Controversies

In June 2009 the ride was temporarily closed because it was so popular with teenagers that there was risk of an accident. [5] In 2011, a complaint that noise from the park exceeded legal limits singled out the Tornado as even noisier than two newer roller coasters in the same park, the Tarántula and the Abismo. [6]

Related Research Articles

Steel roller coaster roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel

A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world. Incorporating tubular steel track and polyurethane-coated wheels, the steel roller coasters can provide a taller, smoother, and faster ride with more inversions than a traditional wooden roller coaster.

Roller coaster inversion section of inverted track on a roller coaster

A roller coaster inversion is a roller coaster element in which the track turns riders upside-down and then returns them to an upright position. Early forms of inversions, dating as far back as 1848 on the Centrifugal Railway in Paris, were vertical loops that were circular in nature. They produced massive g-force that was often dangerous to riders, and as a result, the element eventually became non-existent with the last rides to feature the looping inversions being dismantled during the Great Depression. In 1975, designers from Arrow Development created the corkscrew, reviving interest in the inversion during the modern age of steel roller coasters. Since then, the element have evolved from simple corkscrews and vertical loops to more complex inversions such Immelmann loops and cobra rolls. Featuring fourteen inversions, The Smiler at Alton Towers holds the world record for the number of inversions on a roller coaster.

Stand-up roller coaster type of roller coaster

A stand-up roller coaster is a roller coaster designed to have the passengers stand through the course of the ride. These roller coasters are very intense, and generally carry taller height restrictions than other rides.

Dragon Khan amusement ride

Dragon Khan is a steel sit-down roller coaster located in the PortAventura Park theme park in Salou and Vilaseca (Tarragona), Catalonia, Spain. Dragon Khan boasts eight inversions, which was a world record until the opening of the ten-inversion Colossus in Thorpe Park, United Kingdom in 2002.

Parque Warner Madrid theme park

Parque Warner Madrid is a theme park located 23 km southeast of Madrid, Spain, in the municipality of San Martín de la Vega. The park opened on 6 April 2002 under the management of the Six Flags chain, with a 5% ownership share held by WarnerMedia. In November 2004, the management arrangement with Six Flags was terminated, with the park now managed by WarnerMedia and numerous Spanish investment groups. The name change to Parque Warner Madrid occurred at the start of 2006.

<i>The Riddlers Revenge</i> amusement ride

The Riddler's Revenge is a stand-up roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened on April 4, 1998 as the park's eleventh roller coaster, setting world records among stand-up coasters for height, speed, drop length, track length and number of inversions. The previous record holder was Chang at Kentucky Kingdom which opened a year earlier. Located in the Movie Town area of the park, The Riddler's Revenge was also the park's single biggest investment at a cost of $14 million. It stands 156 feet (48 m) tall and features a top speed of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h). The 4,370-foot-long (1,330 m) coaster also features six inversions and a ride duration of approximately three minutes.

Boomerang (roller coaster) model of roller coaster built by Vekoma

Boomerang is a model of roller coaster manufactured and designed by Vekoma, a Dutch manufacturer. The roller coaster model name is from the hunting implement based on the traditions of the Indigenous Australians. As of March 2019 there are 55 Boomerangs operating.

Colossus (Thorpe Park) roller coaster at Thorpe Park in Surrey, England

Colossus is a steel roller coaster at Thorpe Park in Surrey, England, and the park's first major attraction. It was built by Swiss manufacturers Intamin and designed by Werner Stengel as an adaptation of Monte Makaya in Brazil, with consultation from Tussauds attraction developer John Wardley. Colossus was the world's first roller coaster with ten inversions; an exact replica, called the 10 Inversion Roller Coaster, was later built at Chimelong Paradise in Guangzhou, China. It retained its title of having the most inversions on any other roller coaster in the world until The Smiler at Alton Towers took the record in 2013.

Suspended Looping Coaster Type of roller coaster

The Suspended Looping Coaster is a model of steel inverted roller coaster built by Vekoma. There are at least 39 different installations across the world. The minimum rider height requirement is 130 centimetres.

Monte Makaya was a steel, looping roller coaster manufactured by Intamin and located at Terra Encantada in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. When it opened in 1998, Monte Makaya's eight inversions tied the world record previously set by Dragon Khan. It was located in the Terra Africana section near the rear of Terra Encantada in the northwest corner prior to the park's destruction. Its location is now in the new Mirabilandia location under construction in Paulista, Pernambuco, Brazil as of 2017.

Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or turn. Variations in normal track movement that add thrill or excitement to the ride are often called "thrill elements" or "thrill factor".

Fahrenheit (roller coaster) steel roller coaster at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States

Fahrenheit is a steel roller coaster at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Located in the Pioneer Frontier section of the park, the roller coaster opened on May 24, 2008. It features six inversions and became the steepest roller coaster in the world when it opened with its first drop of 97 degrees. Fahrenheit briefly held the record until Steel Hawg at Indiana Beach, which featured a 111-degree drop, opened several weeks later on July 5. It is now the 7th steepest roller coaster in the world.

Superman: La Atracción de Acero steel floorless roller coaster at Parque Warner Madrid in Spain

Superman: La Atracción de Acero is a steel floorless roller coaster at Parque Warner Madrid in Spain. It was built by Bolliger and Mallibard and opened on April 6, 2002. It features 7 inversions: a vertical loop, an Immelmann, a zero-g roll, a cobra roll and two interlocking corkscrews. It has the signature B&M pre-drop before going down a straight drop, instead of a swooping drop like on most B&M looping coasters.

Roller Coaster is a steel roller coaster located at Đại Nam Văn Hiến in Bình Dương, Vietnam. The ride was built in late 2008. Currently it is the tallest and fastest roller coaster, and the one with the most inversions, in Vietnam.

Super Manège is a steel roller coaster at La Ronde in Montreal, Canada. It was built in 1981 by Vekoma as the park's first inverting roller-coaster. The ride was constructed by Martin & Vleminckx.

SkyLoop

SkyLoop is a type of steel roller coaster manufactured by Maurer Söhne. There are currently 10 SkyLoops operating worldwide; 9 of which are identical XT 150 models with only one being the extended, XT 450 model. The first SkyLoop to open was Sky Wheel in 2004 while the first and only XT 450, Abismo opened in 2006. There are also 3 other models available; XT 900, Custom, and Launch, those have not been built yet.

The Monster is a Gerstlauer steel roller coaster at Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa. It opened to the public on June 4, 2016 as the first Infinity Coaster in the United States.

PortAventura Park a Spanish theme park located in the PortAventura World Resort

PortAventura Park is a theme park located in the PortAventura World Resort, 85 km southwest of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in the municipalities of Salou and Vila-seca, on the Costa Daurada. The park opened on 1 May 1995 under the management of the Tussauds Group which had a 40.01% share in the park, La Caixa (33.19%), Anheuser-Busch (19.9%) and FECSA (6.7%).

References

  1. 1 2 Tornado, Atracciones, Parque de Atracciones de Madrid (in Spanish)
  2. 1 2 3 4 Duane Marden, Tornado - Parque de Atracciones de Madrid (Madrid, Madrid, Spain), Roller Coaster Database, retrieved February 3, 2013.
  3. Matteo Crepaldi, Parque de Atracciones de Madrid, The Parks.it, April 4, 2009, retrieved February 8, 2013 (in Italian)
  4. Beatriz Lucas, "Newton en el Parque de Atracciones: Las instalaciones del principal centro de ocio de Madrid se convierten en un gran laboratorio de física", El País , April 7, 2005 (in Spanish)
  5. "Quejas entre la avalancha de jóvenes que celebran el fin de curso en Parque de Atracciones tras la suspensión de una atracción", Qué! , June 22, 2009 (in Spanish)
  6. "Salvemos la Casa de Campo: el Parque de Atracciones 'burla' la norma de ruido", Noticias agencias, ABC , June 16, 2011 (in Spanish)