Griffon (roller coaster)
Griffon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg ( Williamsburg, Virginia, United States) is a steel roller coaster from the model dive coaster manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard, which was officially opened on 25 May 2007.
It is the tallest and fastest roller coaster of its type, followed by her sister SheiKra at Busch Gardens Africa. Originally Griffon had two other names - Iron Eagle and Volture - before Busch Gardens decided on the name Griffon. Griffon has replaced The LeMans Raceway, one of the park's original attractions. She is the fourth roller coaster of its type, and the second, which was built in the USA.
Griffon was after a gripping (English: griffin ), deals with the mythological creature half lion / half eagle and not by a griffon, a breed of dog. For whatever reason, the wrong name was chosen is unknown. In the field of railway is an island region which includes some new business. This is located behind the former Left Bank Portrait shop (now Griffon Gifts), near the Grande Gourmet ice cream stand and the dessert business. The train goes splash zone in the area of the new Bistro 205 and a first drop that leads under a bridge that was built from the ground by this new range, including a Water.
Layout
The waiting guests can go directly from the queue out the first drop and Immelmann see about themselves, as well as water fountains, which generates a train when driving through the neighboring water pool.
Each train consists of three rows of ten seats. Once you're strapped in, then the entry platform away and guests can listen Now, prepare to enjoy the power and speed of the mythical Griffon (German: Get ready to enjoy the power and speed of the mythical Griffin ). After a right turn out of the station the train is running at a slope of 45 ° and a speed of about 3 m per second at 63 meters above sea level. This is followed by another right turn and the passengers see the Royal Palace Theatre. The trains will be stopped by means of a holding brake for a few seconds before they go down the 63 m at 90 ° incline and speed up to a speed of 114 km / h. The train then moves into the Immelmann before taking the left turn into the block brake. Passengers ride then a 90 ° steep, 40 m high descent down towards the Rhine and by another Immelmann. Finally, the train enters the water pool. Each train produces thereby a different water fountains pattern with a height of about 14 m. Finally, the train moves to the brake and into the station.
Driving elements
- 63 m high, 90 ° steep descent
- 40 m high, 90 ° steep descent
- Water - Splash
- 360 ° upward bend
- Onridekamera ( under the bridge )
The trains of Griffon each have three cars. In each car ten people can take side by side in a row. Passengers must be at least 1.37 m tall to ride allowed. As restraint system come shoulder strap for use.
Records
- The highest dive coaster in the world ( 63 meters ).
- The fastest dive coaster in the world (114 km / h).
- The only dive coaster in the world with several inversions.
- The first floorless dive coaster in the world.
- The first and dive coaster in the world with ten seats next to each other.
- The first dive coaster in the world with two Immelmann inversions.
Opening
Griffon was officially opened on 25 May 2007. On 1, 2 and 3 May an event was held at which only specific employees the new railway could test. On May 16, the track was opened to the press and on May 17 a special VIP event took place. On May 13, the railway was opened quietly. Here most of the day the train ran almost without stops. At the beginning of the queue was very short, but was during the day longer. From May 18 to May 25 for a kind of preview week was opened. The ribbon was cut by a child who has the same name as the web. The waiting time for Griffon was on the opening day at about five hours. The high latency largely resulted from technical problems to be able to which the railway had to be stopped. In the following weeks, the waiting time was similar to large queues from one hour to about 1.5 hours.
Griffon in the media
Griffon was shown in the show Build It Bigger Discovery Channel. The broadcast showed the construction of the second Immelmann and the sister train SheiKra.