Another Alton Towers coaster; this time Air.
Air is a ‘flying’ coaster, which is the term for a coaster where the rider has a near horizontal seating position whilst riding, giving the impression of flying, like Superman.
I’ve only ridden this a couple of times before this visit, because for some strange coincidence it always seemed to be ‘off’ on my last couple of visits.
A
nother trip to Alton Towers recently prompted me to catch up on a backlog of coaster reviews I’d been meaning to do.
First up – Rita, formerly “Rita: Queen of Speed” (see below*), is a LSM launched coaster, much like the Aerosmith Rock n Roller Coaster in Hollywood Studios Florida, technology-wise. It uses a Linear Synchronous Motor to accelerate the cars from 0-62mph in 2.2 seconds. It does take your breath away a bit.
‘TH13TEEN’ is, at time of writing, the newest coaster at Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, England (UK).
Like a number of rides at Alton Towers, it’s a ‘first’ in a genre; in this case a ‘free-fall’ track coaster.
The coaster was built on the site of the original “Corkscrew” coaster, the initial main attraction when the park opened, which was in itself a world’s first; a double helix coaster. A piece of Corkscrew’s track is now displayed in the entrance area to the theme park.
Until Montu at Busch Gardens in Florida, Nemesis at Alton Towers was probably my favourite coaster.
Over the years, I’ve been To Alton Towers many, many times and when I’m there, I always make a point of having at least a couple of goes on this fabulous coaster.
Alton Towers is in the heart of the Staffordshire countryside in England, equidistant between Derby and Stoke-On-Trent, if you know that area.
You drive on some winding roads through some really beautiful countryside to get from the motorway to the park.
