TWO NEW GERSTLAUER COASTERS DIVE INTO THE STATES DARE DEVIL DIVE • SIX FLAGS OVER GEORGIA UNTAMED • CANOBIE LAKE PARK BY MARK ROSENZWEIG PHOTO BY JOSH HERRINGTON DARE DEVIL DIVE PHOTO BY ADAM SANDY SIX FLAGS OVER GEORGIA Somehow, somewhere in the middle of the Deep South’s coaster capital, something was missing. What that was, no one knew — not even Six Flags. Since its debut in 1967, the park’s USA section acted more as a central hub of sorts to disperse guests off to the park’s various anchor rides than as home to an actual featured attraction. While that sort of changed in 1976 and 1983 with the additions of an Intamin Parachute Tower and Freefall respectively, it wasn’t until the 2006 debut of Goliath (B&M’s not-quite hypercoaster) that the USA section finally featured its own signature attraction. The northern plaza of USA had formerly been home to the aforemen- tioned Freefall ride and was the northern terminus for a second Von Roll aer- ial ropeway attraction that once bisected the east-west cables of the current- ly operating Sky Buckets. Despite continuing to serve as one of the busiest midways in the park, recently this area was home to a lone attraction: Shake Rattle and Roll, an indoor Eli Bridge Scrambler. During the Summer of 2010, Six Flags began looking at options for the main USA midway. After traveling to parks worldwide, they decided the Gerstlauer EuroFighter was the coaster missing from SFOG’s lineup. With space at a premium, a formidable challenge presented itself in needing to have a marketable and compact ride installed on a site sandwiched by the USA mid- way and Six Flags Railroad. Dare Devil Dive is actually a slightly modified version of Anubis: The Ride — a Gerstlauer LSM launch coaster at Belgium’s Plopsaland — with a vertical lift tower replacing the launch track and beyond-vertical drop leading into the intense knot of twisted trackage that makes up the meat of Dare Devil Dive’s ride experience. PHOTO BY ROBERT ULRICH WWW.AMERICANC OASTERE NTHUSIASTS. ORG PHOTO BY GARY SLADE WINTER 2012 43 GERSTLAUER | DARE DEVIL DIVE | SIX FLAGS OVER GEORGIA PHOTO BY PHOTO BY ADAM SANDY Now let’s talk restraints, because Dare Devil Dive introduced Gerstlauer’s new first-ever lapbar restraint on a EuroFighter. Gerstlauer had spent a lot of time looking at restraints while developing the trains for New Texas Giant, which began in the fall of 2009. The Georgia project was intended to be the first looping coaster from the company to utilize lap bars. However, the difficulty was that these lap bars had to endure extremes. They not only had to deal with uplift forces, but also had to offer practical containment when it came to the unusual vertical lift and beyond-vertical drop. The hydraulic cylinders and control interfaces stayed where they were on the previous incarnations of this vehicle, but the restraint itself was re-imagined. The end result was a unique lap bar that fit the contours of the ride vehicles perfectly and offered an unencumbered ride experi- ence. Prior to takeoff, pilots board one of four 6-passenger (3 rows of 2-across seat- ing) cars, cleverly themed to resemble jets. These are then pulled vertically to the lift tower’s 95-foot apex before plunging beyond vertical at speeds exceeding 50 mph. Entering an airfield of twisted steel, riders experience a dive loop, second twisting drop, and Immelmann in quick succession prior to entering the mid- course block brake. What follows next is pure pacing and build-up genius. Many PHOTO BY ADAM SANDY PHOTO BY ADAM SANDY first-time riders who let down their guard thinking the airshow is coming to a conclu- sion are in for one final surprise. After the track drops to the left, traverses an elon- gated speed hill and banks right into a short tunnel before navigating a perfectly paced heartline roll, offering one of the most amazing combinations of visuals and forces ever to be experienced on a coast- er. One final speed hill sends riders into the magnetically braked runway and back to the hangar for disembarking. Dare Devil Dive turned out to be the perfect addition to what is perhaps the best pound-for-pound coaster roster in a Six Flags park. “Dare Devil Dive has been a great addition to our coaster lineup here at Six Flags Over Georgia. Just seeing the guests’ reaction when their train is dis- patched and they stop in front of the 10- story vertical lift…it is quite amusing!” said Melinda Ashcraft, park president. “Everyone, from avid thrill seekers to first- time coaster riders, has had very positive reviews,” Ashcraft adds: “We have taken thrills to the next level. Dare Devil Dive is that must- ride attraction of the year, providing an incredible experience for everyone who dares to ride.” Indeed, coaster technology has come a long way, but all one needs to do is peer across the Six Flags Railroad from Dare Devil Dive to find another somewhat leg- endary ride diving down the ravine: Mind Bender. That ride proved 32 years ago that lapbars are more than sufficient to restrain guests on a looping roller coaster. PHOTO BY ROBERT ULRICH 44 UNTAMED | CANOBIE LAKE PARK | GERSTLAUER Y JOSH HERRINGTON PHOTO BY CHERI ARMSTRONG UNTAMED CANOBIE LAKE PARK Since opening to the public in August 1902 as a humble trolley park for the Massachusetts Northeast Street Railway Company, Canobie Lake Park has served as a family fun getaway for millions of New Englanders. Perched on the eastern shore of Canobie Lake about an hour north of downtown Boston in Salem, New Hampshire, this institution of amusements contin- ues to offer an amazing mix of rides and attractions for all ages — along with some of the best park food anywhere — all in one of the most beautiful amusement park settings in the world. Attention to detail is evident all across the property, from cleverly themed food stands (a structure resembling an overflowing box of popcorn sells….you guessed it) to incredible land- scaping and light packages after dark. At one time, parks like Canobie were seemingly a dime a dozen throughout New England. But to the park’s credit, they have both maintained and improved their product, resulting in Canobie now operating as the oldest and largest family- owned park left in the region. Those who know Canobie are also aware of the strict guidelines the park must adhere to with regard to height and sound/decibel levels when adding new attractions. During a trip to England’s Thorpe Park in the Summer of 2010, one member of Canobie’s ownership was astounded at what they did NOT hear while standing next to Saw: The Ride (2009 custom Gerstlauer EuroFighter). Aside from the screams of riders diving down a 97-degree drop, the PHOTO BY CHERI ARMSTRONG WWW.AMERICANC OASTERE NTHUSIASTS. ORG WINTER 2012 45 GERSTLAUER | UNTAMED | CANOBIE LAKE PARK ride was eerily quiet. It was then discovered that Gerstlauer had, in its bag of tricks, just the layout that met the local height ordinance — the 320+ Compact EuroFighter model, which had previously debuted as Rage at England’s Adventure Island and Falcon at PHOTO BY MARK ROSENZWEIG Duinrell in the Netherlands. Despite being cloned PHOTO BY MARK ROSENZWEIG twice overseas, this layout was ideal for Canobie. It presented a unique and marketable ride for the region and fit like a glove in the former ballfield between two large picnic groves just north of Yankee Cannonball. And so, Untamed was born and Canobie Lake Park would be installing its first major steel coaster since the debut of Arrow’s Canobie Corkscrew in 1987. But like anything else at Canobie Lake Park, Untamed was not to be just an off-the-shelf coaster dropped on a ballfield. The park’s in-house design and development team headed by Ray Captell took to the task of creating a theme and concept not only for the coaster, but for the entire area around it, later to be dubbed Big Bear Plaza. Along with the new coaster, Big Bear Plaza would also encompass the former Canobie Mall building, now to be known as Bear Lodge. Untamed features dark green track and a custom paint job on the columns to give the appearance of birch trees. The three 8-passenger cars (two rows of four-across seating) were custom-themed as Grizzly Bears ready to take would-be riders on a wild bear chase. The ride’s station and maintenance shed are contained within a Disney-caliber themed structure resembling an old Adirondack lodge complete with antler chandeliers. The on-ride photo point-of-sale building at the attraction’s exit continues the theme concept with its own Adirondack touches. PHOTO BY CHERI ARMSTRONG A bear growl means guests have been dispatched PHOTO BY MARK ROSENZWEIG and are headed for the 72-foot vertical lift. What fol- lows is a blur of intensity and rapid-fire transitions — including three inversions — that truly feel…Untamed. A large vertical loop leads trains into an Immelmann, inverting riders while turning a full 180 degrees to the right. Trains then enter a sharp 180-degree left turn setting passengers up for the ride’s third inversion — a perfectly paced heartline roll. This delivers both zero gravity and breathtaking visuals before diving down to the right and finally into a counter-clockwise 360-degree ascending helix lead- ing trains to the descending magnetic brake run, heading back into the loading station.