Volume 1, No. 9. June 1, 2001
It's a roller coaster!
Six Flags Worlds of Adventure in Aurora, Ohio,
announces the arrival of X-Flight May 22, 2001. Measurements: 115 feet
high (35 meters), 3,340 feet long (1,012 meters), 51 mph (82 kph). Delivered
by Vekoma International.
When Six Flags Ohio's general managers
past and present returned from the first official run of the world's second
"flying coaster," they looked like they had gone through the spin cycle in a
washing machine. Current GM Joe Costa and Jack Bateman, now vice president of
business development, debuted X-Flight during a day-long rainstorm. Despite
the dousing, Costa arrived back in the station to offer a thumbs up. "You ride
with your stomach to the ground, which is really cool," he said.
A glistening gold robot "remove(d) this festive blockade so you can take your
position on X-Flight" (in other words, he cut the ribbon) to officially
unveil the coaster for an invited gathering of media, local dignitaries and
coaster enthusiasts. The day's theme was flight: songs about flying played over
the loudspeaker, attendees received wing pins, and invitations came with a vinyl
travel kit which included earplugs, a propeller toy, a bag of X-Flight
peanuts, and a sewing kit for "rip-roaring excitement."
However, on this blustery Tuesday it was the earthly elements which dominated
conversation, as riders swooped down low over the yet-to-be landscaped ground.
"All I noticed was mud at one point," said Kristi Hoffman of WMMS radio station.
With her and most of the enthusiasts, that was a good thing. "The rain made
it that much better," she said. "It was refreshing."
©2001, Minton Enterprises LLC
All rights reserved