poltdownloads.blogg.se

1. #Six flags san antonio roller coaster g force how to
2. #Six flags san antonio roller coaster g force cracker
3. #Six flags san antonio roller coaster g force series

#Six flags san antonio roller coaster g force cracker

Purvis said the lawsuits have long been resolved and had no bearing on the closing of the ride. In 1998, the park reached settlements worth $3.54 million in lawsuits representing 27 plaintiffs. Its top speed went from 73 mph to 65 mph, and its first drop was shortened.Īt the time, Fiesta Texas officials denied that the changes were the result of allegations in the lawsuits. Park signs warned riders that the Rattler was “an aggressive, high-speed, physically demanding” attraction that might not be best for pregnant women and people with heart, spine or back problems.īy the 1994 season, the ride was toned down.

The 166-foot drop after the ride started and the curves that pulled riders with up to 3.5 G's of gravitational force were blamed for a variety of neck, back and shoulder injuries that led to lawsuits by dozens of riders. “That original, first drop was the single best (coaster) element I've ever experienced.”īut the Rattler's bite was a bit too hard, according to some of the park's guests.

“It's one of the few coasters that literally scared me,” said David Lipnicky, public relations director for American Coaster Enthusiasts and a Grand Prairie resident who was there when the ride began and has come back for more thrills every year since. It has won thousands of fans over the years. So highly anticipated was the ride when the park opened that visitors waited in line for as many as three hours to take their seats and then got back in line for another turn. It was the park's only adult roller coaster when it opened in March 1992. On its final days of operation, the cars froze yesterday and 20 riders were stranded for 45 minutes.The ride, a nearly mile-long, 180-foot-high structure of Douglas fir tracks and southern yellow pine supports, is one of Fiesta Texas' signature features. The Rattler is now a tamer ride - but still a tricky one. Fiesta Texas insisted it had nothing to do with the scores of personal injury lawsuits filed against the park. So how was all this resolved? After two years, Fiesta Texas finally lowered the height of the Rattler’s first drop. Rattler builder Mike Black pointed out to Fiesta Texas owner USAA that design changes had increased the ride’s height and produced “questionable excess g-forces.” Morgan’s letter said the ride was actually exerting forces of 5 g’s on riders, which increased the risk of injury. Publicly, Fiesta Texas was saying riders enjoyed gravitational forces of “3 g’s,” or forces three times the earth’s gravity. He also criticized design changes that increased the height and steepness of the first stomach-churning drop. Here are three key records (click on the bottom-left corner of each record for a full-screen view): Excessive speeds of the Rattlerĭana Morgan, who built the Rattler’s train cars, criticized the decision to open the ride without adequate testing.

#Six flags san antonio roller coaster g force series

Years later, the Express-News wrote a series of stories about amusement ride safety and published the main material in the documents.

#Six flags san antonio roller coaster g force how to

Related: How to contact an investigative reporter in Texas Meanwhile, the public knew little about the problems - and was falsely told the ride was tamer than it actually was. They show how the ride’s manufacturers were struggling to control the Rattler’s high speeds, even after opening day. These internal memos and letters were uncovered in lawsuits filed against Fiesta Texas by riders who complained of head and neck injuries after riding the Rattler during the early 1990s. It’s a good time to reflect on the park’s flagship roller coaster - and how it suffered from excessive speeds when it opened in 1992. After 20 years, a fearsome monster called the Rattler is closing down at Six Flags Fiesta Texas.