originally posted on 7/6/2021 1:19:56 AM
Rendering: Courtesy Zamperla. View full-sized image.
A provider of countless family and thrill rides around the globe, Zamperla is one of the most well-known manufacturers in the amusement industry. Its portfolio of rides is impressively broad. Among the up-and-coming products for Zamperla is its roller coaster lineup. Just recently, a new compact thriller has been announced.
Named Double Heart Lightning, this new product has some familiar elements that ACEers will begin comparing immediately. Compact multilaunch coasters have been around close to a decade, but this Zamperla installation boasts some differences. It also comes in two sizes to make the investment fit a particular park’s budget.
Many members have met Adam Sandy during his career at Ride Entertainment. Having accepted a position at Zamperla as roller coaster sales marketing director, Sandy has great confidence in the next step up for the company’s ride manufacturing process. During Coaster Con 43, Sandy worked in tandem with ACE to help launch the Double Heart Lightning reveal week through an Instagram Live segment with RollerCoaster! and ACE News Editor Tim Baldwin.
“We love the triple-launch concept; we think it is a lot of fun,” said Sandy. “We also looked at the marketplace and saw a demand in two areas. At 50 meters [164 feet], we see other manufacturers making a product of similar size, but we worked to make a model with more track and to be taller for this type of attraction. We think there is a big demand for coasters in that size and price range. We also know clients are out there who want record breakers. At 70 meters [230 feet], it is technically a hypercoaster because you’ve surpassed 200 feet. That’s a different dimension of marketability and scale. So even if you want to do something really tall, it is still a compact footprint and much less of an overall budget cost compared to a traditional chain lift coaster.”
So, what makes it different from the competition? Several things. The third launch sends vehicles up and over the top of the structure, as seen before, but the inversion rotates into an airtime maneuver high in the sky. The drop into the valley is taken at high speed with no magnetic trims, and four-passengers-wide cars position outside riders partially beyond the track.
“The signature moment is when you go over the top, and you go over an airtime hill that then twists and reverses direction into a vertical drop,” said Sandy.
Parks looking for high capacity will love the turntable option, which enables loading a second vehicle while the other is out on the course. Two trains on the 70-meter version can accommodate 955 passengers an hour. A single train can provide 690 rides an hour on the 50-meter version and just shy of 600 on the larger model.
A turntable will greatly increase the ride’s capacity.
Image: Courtesy Zamperla. View full-sized image.
Called “Lightning” vehicles, the coaster cars were introduced at the IAAPA Attractions Expo in 2019. Sandy admits that Zamperla’s earliest coasters had room for improvement, so a rethink in both track fabrication and vehicle design has made the company particularly proud of its new installations.
“These new trains can do lifts and launches, and we really said we need to create a great vehicle that we can adapt to many different thrills. With that, we have a seating restraint that is very comfortable,” Sandy said.
The Lightning trains were introduced at the most recent IAAPA Expo in 2019.
Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
Zamperla has taken a lot of time to develop the ride experience. Sandy predicted that the seat contour, lap restraint and greater control over track fabrication will greatly enhance the smoothness of the ride experience. It will also give the body greater freedom during the ride.
“I think there is a little bit of art in addition to the science in designing coaster track,” he said. The large model will have 1,650 feet of track and go 80 mph. The 164-foot model is designed for 68 mph on 1,062 feet of track.
In a final tease, it was mentioned that this was the first of three “reveals” leading up to the IAAPA Expo in November. What the other two models might look like is anyone’s guess, but if they are updated, state-of-the-art roller coasters, ACE members will be watching.
— Tim Baldwin, ACE News Editor
Image: Courtesy Zamperla. View full-sized image.
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