Shock Wave (Six Flags Over Texas)

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Shock Wave
250px
250px
Six Flags Over Texas
Park section Tower
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Status Operating
Opening date April 22, 1978
General statistics
Type Steel
Manufacturer Anton Schwarzkopf
Designer Werner Stengel
Model custom looping
Lift/launch system Chain lift hill
Height 116 ft (35 m)
Drop 105 ft (32 m)
Length 3,600 ft (1,100 m)
Speed 60 mph (97 km/h)
Inversions 2
Duration 2:00
Max vertical angle 46°
Capacity 1100 riders per hour
G-force 5.9
Height restriction 42 in (107 cm)
Trains 7 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 28 riders per train.
Shock Wave at RCDB
Pictures of Shock Wave at RCDB

Shock Wave is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. Built right at the edge of the park, the Shock Wave is easily seen by passers-by on Interstate Highway 30. Its unique four-sided tube truss track system is similar to the Mind Bender roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia which was constructed at the same time.

History

When it opened in 1978, Shock Wave was the tallest roller coaster in the world. It lost this title within weeks upon the opening of The Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens: The Old Country.

The ride is built on Johnson Creek real estate, and had to temporarily close in the 2004 season because of a flood. Shock Wave was temporarily closed again in early 2008 for an extensive remodeling.[1]

Six Flags announced on March 3, 2016, that Shock Wave would be among several rides at various parks that would receive a virtual reality (VR) upgrade. Riders will have the option to wear Samsung Gear VR headsets, powered by Oculus, to create a 360-degree, 3D experience while riding. The illusion is themed to a fighter jet, where riders fly through a futuristic city as co-pilots battling alien invaders. The feature will debut with the coaster, when it reopens in spring of 2016.[2]

Ride experience

File:SixFlags-Shock-Wave-5991.jpg
The final drop on the Shock Wave (2010)

The ride starts with the lift-hill going up 116 feet (35 m). A U-turn with a slight dip immediately follows, then the coaster goes down its first drop and into the back-to-back loops, with peak forces of 5.9 G.[3] The train then travels back up a hill into a mid-course brake run. At this point the ride turns right and dives down then back up, turns left and dives down. The last element is a final hill with a left turn that goes into a 270° helix to the right, then the train returns to the station.

Colors

Throughout the years, Shock Wave has undergone several re-paintings with different color schemes. When it first opened, the attraction's track and supports were all-white. The solid white color lasted only two years as it quickly became dirty. The second color scheme, introduced in 1980, featured dark blue track and supports. Since then, the ride has been repainted light blue, then silver with navy blue supports.[4] During Time-Warner's ownership of the park the ride was painted with white track, yellow supports and pink loops. The operators jokingly referred to the ride as "fruit loops." The seventh color scheme of blue track with red supports came about in 1996. 2001 marked the 40th anniversary of the park, and Shock Wave once again was given a new coat of paint — this time royal blue supports with a bright green track.[4] That paint job remained on the coaster until 2012, when Shock Wave was finally given a much-needed new coat of paint. Similar to the previous color scheme, the present colors are royal blue supports, with a slightly brighter shade of green track.

Awards

Golden Ticket Awards: Top steel Roller Coasters
Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Ranking 17[5] 12[6] 21[7] 27[8] 36 (tie)[9] 34[10] 26[11] 37[12] 36[13] 35[14] 31[15] 34[16] 37[17] 42[18] 26 (tie)[19] 29[20] 40[21] 41[22]

References

  1. ↑ www.screamscape.com page on Six Flags over Texas
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Shock Wave Article on schwarzkopf.coaster.net, a fan page by Michael Pantenburg (German/English)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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Preceded by World's Tallest Complete Circuit Roller Coaster
April 1978–June 1978		 Succeeded by
Loch Ness Monster
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