Untitled Document

Volume 1, No. 10. June 15, 2001

It's a roller coaster!
Six Flags America in Largo, Maryland, announces the arrival of Batwing, June 12, 2001. Measurements: 115 foot lift hill (35 meters), 3,340 feet length (1,012 meters), 50 mph (80 kph). Delivered by Vekoma International.

The day after feting Capitol Hill's Republican Caucus for IAAPA, Six Flags America switched gears to show off its latest ride, a flying coaster, for the press. Further crowding the schedule was the ride itself, stubbornly delaying its own birth because of technical glitches. But on the announced day, the ride took flight. "The first official ride really was the first official ride," said Debbie Evans, the park's spokesperson who organized the event.

She got significant help in the spokesperson role from NASA astronaut Robert Curbeam Jr., a Baltimore native who flew on the Atlantis Space Shuttle mission earlier this year. "He was phenomenal," Evans said. "He did seven or eight television interviews live while riding the coaster. He was able to talk through the entire ride, during the turns, the inversions, everything, describing the ride as he went. For him it was like a walk down the street." He also enjoyed the ride, eagerly seeking the next interviewer at the conclusion of each ride.

After the media event Curbeam did a presentation in the park's theater which included his narrated-video of the Atlantis mission and a 20-minute question-and-answer with park guests. Meanwhile, another celebrity in the park for a public meet-and-greet, Survivor II runner-up Colby Donaldson, made his way to Batwing for a spin. "He survived the Australia outback, now lets see how he can survive Batwing as well," Evans said. The challenge won, Donaldson gave a vote of endorsement for the ride.

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