Gulf Construction Online - QIC starts design of fastest roller coaster

Saudi Focus

Six Flags Qiddiya ... expected to feature a record number of entertainment attractions.

QIC starts design of fastest roller coaster

01 February 2021

Saudi-based Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC), in partnership with Intamin Amusement Rides, has kicked off the design process for the Falcon’s Flight, the signature attraction of Six Flags Qiddiya, a one-of-a-kind theme park scheduled for opening in Qiddiya’s first phase.

Qiddiya is a mega entertainment destination taking shape in Riyadh.

The Falcon’s Flight is set to become the world’s longest, fastest and tallest coaster. It will travel across 4 km, feature a vertical cliff dive manoeuvre into a 160-m-deep valley using magnetic motor acceleration (LSM technology), and achieve unprecedented speeds of over 250 km/h.

The Falcon’s Flight will also be the world’s tallest free-standing coaster structure featuring a parabolic airtime hill allowing a weightlessness airtime experience.

On the key achievement, CEO Philippe Gas said: “Rollercoaster fans around the world have been eagerly anticipating this ride since it was announced as there is nothing quite like it anywhere else.

“Now we are in the design stage with the experts at Intamin and the engineering team at Six Flags, the excitement is building! Falcon’s Flight will dominate the skyline at Qiddiya weave all the way around our destination, right out of the theme park, up the cliffside, and down the cliff face – the greatest drop of any ride in the world; it won’t be for the fainthearted.”

Covering 32 hectares and featuring 28 rides and attractions across six themed lands, Six Flags Qiddiya is set to become the theme park that breaks all records of entertainment in Saudi Arabia and the region.

On each ride – a three-minute-long adventure – up to 20 passengers will experience the exhilaration of three electromagnetic propulsion launch systems as well as panoramic views of Six Flags Qiddiya and the Resort Core, he added.

Intamin Amusement Rides Vice-President (Design & Development) Daniel Schoppen said: “I will never forget the moment when I was standing at the edge of the 200-m-high cliff on the Tuwaiq Mountain in Qiddiya, looking into the valley and imagining the creation of a future record-setting roller coaster.

“I knew that exactly at this spot, The Falcon Flight will dive down along the cliff, ending in a unique exhilarating 250+ km/hour proximity flight close to the ground. The unique setting and heights such as the natural cliff will enable us to design an architectural masterpiece in steel.”