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Photograph by Skye Dunlap
These screaming people were among the first lucky riders on Stealth, the newest roller coaster attraction at Paramount's Great America. The coaster places riders in a flying position, a one-of-a-kind characteristic park officials say.
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Up, up and away!
By SAM SCOTT
It's as near to flying as you can get without donning blue tights and a cape.
Stealth, the newest roller coaster at Paramount's Great America, has eight inversions, the most of any ride in the continent. But it's the position of riding which really makes the $17 million thrill stand apart from other coasters. Once the trains pass the first tower, the cars swing below the tracks, hanging the riders from shoulder and knee harnesses. The tracks pass invisibly above (during the inversions, below). With outstretched arms, the riders look like a tightly-formed squadron of Supermen.
"It's the most spectacular ride I've been on," says David Escalante, a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts club. "People have to try it. There's nothing to compare it to."
At the station, riders sit in what looks like a conventional coaster that faces backwards. Once the rider is strapped in, the seats recline so that the rider is laying on his back. The train ascends the first hill. As the train goes over the top, the cars swing below the tracks, leaving the rider in a head-first flying position. Due to the nature of the position, riders rarely see the other cars, meaning the allure of waiting for the first car is minimized.
A member of ACE for 20 years, Escalante says he has ridden over 350 coasters from Japan to France. He says some in his organization traveled from as far as Minnesota to try out the new attraction at a sneak preview on March 20.
Roller coasters, it seems, inspire a deep passion. "We're all crazy," Derek Willhite, a fellow ACE member, says. "We love to ride."
Duane Marden, who runs the Roller Coaster Database (www.rcdb.com), a website detailing coasters throughout the country, traveled from Milwaukee to try riding Stealth. A student of coasters, Marden was eager to see the new technology.
"It's displaying something that's very new," he says.
Great America spokesman Tim Chanaud says the park is the only in the world to have a ride that places guests in the flying position. According to Chanaud, Stealth reaches speeds up to 50 mph, travels 2,781 feet, and lasts 2 minutes 50 seconds from start to end. Stealth, located near the park's The Revolution ride, replaces the Yankee Clipper, a water ride.
Admission to the park is $36.99. Children ages 3 to 6 pay $19.99. Guests 60 years old and older pay $24.99. The park opens on weekends April 1. Beginning June 2, the park will be open daily until late August.
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