Kingda Ka
| Kingda Ka | |
|---|---|
 Kingda Ka | |
| Six Flags Great Adventure | |
| Location | Six Flags Great Adventure |
| Park section | Golden Kingdom |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | May 21, 2005 |
| Cost | $25,000,000 USD |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel – Launched |
| Manufacturer | Intamin AG |
| Designer | Werner Stengel |
| Model | Accelerator Coaster |
| Track layout | Out and Back |
| Lift/launch system | Hydraulic Launch |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Duration | 28 sec. |
| Max vertical angle | 90° |
| Capacity | 1400 riders per hour |
| Acceleration | 0 − 128 mph in 3.5 seconds |
| Kingda Ka at RCDB | |
Kingda Ka is a steel roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, USA. It is currently the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, claiming the title from Top Thrill Dragster in Cedar Point. It opened on May 20, 2005 as part of a new area of the theme park called the Golden Kingdom, which also includes a new tiger exhibit, "Temple of the Tiger". It is the first roller coaster ever to go faster than 200km/h (125 mph).
The ride
After the train has been locked and checked, it slowly advances out of the station to the launch area. The train goes through a switch track which allows 4 trains on two tracks to load simultaneously. Once the train is in position, the hydraulic launch mechanism rockets the train from 0 to 128 miles per hour (204.8 km/h) in 3.3 seconds. At the end of the launch track, the train climbs the main tower, twisting 90 degrees to the right before reaching a height of 456 feet (139 m). The train then descends 418 feet (127 m) straight down through a 270-degree spiral, usually reaching 120+ mph at the bottom of the drop. Finally, the train climbs the second, 129 foot hill, producing a moment of weightlessness before being smoothly brought to a stop by the magnetic brakes. The train then makes a U-turn and enters the station. The ride lasts 28 seconds from the start of the launch to the end of the brake run, but has an "official" ride time of 50.6 seconds.
It is possible (but rare) for a train to roll back - to fail to reach the top of the tower - so Kingda Ka includes retractable brakes on its launch track that will bring a train rolling backwards down the tower safely to a stop. After a rollback occurs, the train will be brought back to the station where the riders have the choice of getting off or riding again. Many coaster enthusiasts look forward to being in a rollback, but many non-enthusiasts may not realize that this is completely safe, despite the presence of warning signs.
Kingda Ka features two on-ride cameras. One is placed shortly after the beginning of the launch, the other is at the end of the brake run, resulting in "before" and "after" photographs. Since both cameras are located on the right side of the track, riders intending to purchase their on-ride photo are advised to sit in the right-hand seat.
It is hard to know exactly when Kingda Ka's launch will occur. When the signal to launch is given, the train rolls back slightly to engage the catch car, then the brakes on the launch track retract. The launch will occur five seconds after the "hiss" sound of the brakes retracting. Previously, Kingda Ka's horn sounded before every launch, but it has been turned off because of noise complaints from nearby residents. The horn now sounds only when Kingda Ka first launches after being idle for a certain period of time. Kingda Ka is not unique in this aspect, as every modern coaster has a similar warning system that is used in this manner for safety reasons. Kingda Ka's launch mechanism is capable of launching a train every 45 seconds, resulting in a capacity of 1400 guests per hour.
Station and trains
Kingda Ka's station has two parallel station tracks with switch tracks at the entrance and exit. Each of the station's tracks accommodates two trains, so that each of the four trains has its own station. Each train only loads and unloads at its own station; it does not go to any others. During operation, the trains on one side are loaded while the trains on the other side are launched. This system works extremely efficiently as long as all four trains are running and there are no significant delays in loading and checking the trains (which happens very rarely). It also results in a very fast-moving queue before the station, but a long wait inside the station, especially if waiting for the front row. An employee directs riders in line to go to a particular side of the station, but riders will then be able to choose the front or rear train. The four trains are color coded for easy identification: green, dark blue, light blue and orange. These four colors are also used on the seats and restraints.
Two operators load, check and dispatch each train, and one launches the trains. Kingda Ka's trains seat 18 people, with two per row. The rear car has one row, while the rest have two. The rear row of each car is positioned higher than its front row for better visibility. The trains do not have official names, only numbers.
The dark blue train is currently out of service, awaiting new parts from Intamin. This was the train being launched when 2005's major malfunction (see below) occurred, and problems stemming from this malfunction were discovered in the train's off-season rehab. Throughout the 2006 season, Kingda Ka only ran two trains. The teal and green trains ran from the start of the season until late July, and the teal and orange trains ran for the rest of the season.
Kingda Ka's over-the-shoulder restraint system consists of a thick, rigid lap bar and two thin, flexible over-the-shoulder elements. Because the over-the-shoulder portions of the restraint are not rigid, the hand grips are mounted to the lap bar. This type of restraint feels like a lap bar restraint, while still providing the safety of a traditional over-the-shoulder restraint.
These restraints use a hydraulic locking system (rather than a ratchet) which allows them to be pulled down to any position; when "locked", they can move down to any position but not up. In contrast, a ratchet-based restraint only locks at each "notch", and will often be too loose or uncomfortably tight. Like those of most other coasters, Kingda Ka's restraints are also held down by a belt in case the main locking system fails. In order to speed up loading, riders are asked to secure their own restraints if they are able to. The minimum height restriction is 54 inches, the same as most other major coasters. In addition, it is actually possible for a rider to be too tall to ride Kingda Ka - if you are tall enough that your head is entirely above the seat, you would not be able to ride as the launch could give you whiplash. This is extremely rare, there was reportedly only one rider in the entire 2006 season who was too tall to ride.
Each of Kingda Ka's trains has a panel behind the last row of seats that covers an extra row of seat mounts. These panels could be removed for the installation of additional seats at some future time. This modification would increase the capacity of each train to from 18 to 20 guests and the hourly capacity of the coaster from 1400 to 1600 guests per hour. Kingda Ka's station is already set up for this modification; it has the entrance gates for the currently nonexistent row of seats.
While this modification has not yet been done, the trains were slightly modified for the 2006 season - the nose of each train got a new coat of paint, covering over the large "Kingda Ka" decal as well as the train numbers, and the non-padded portions of the restraints are now bare metal rather than painted orange. Due to aviation safety concerns, the tower is equipped with three dual strobe lights.
The queue area
Kingda Ka's queue starts well before the actual entrance arch. The queue passes by an ice cream stand, then goes under the entrance arch. It then enters a long switchback area, where a DJ is sometimes present to entertain the guests in line. After the switchback area, the queue passes by the lockers and then into the station. At this point, an employee will direct guests to a particular side of the station. Each train's station has a separate line for the front row.
Before 2005's major malfunction, Kingda Ka's queue area was much larger. It started at the main entrance arch, went under the launch track, traveled through two large switchback areas, and split into separate queues for each side of the station. Most of the entire queue used to be set in the ride's infield. Due to the parts that came flying from the launch track during its first malfunction, the park or state, perhaps both, felt it would be safer to have guests stay as far away from the track as possible at all times. The current main entrance to the station was previously the "fastpass" entrance.
Ka's queue wait can reach almost six hours on some days, so it is recommended that guests eat, use the restroom, and have some sort of snack before entering the line. There is very little shade in the queue, so it is not recommended to wait in an excessively long wait on hot summer days. It is not uncommon for some guests to pass out due to heat in the switchbacks.
Kingda Ka's major malfunctions
On June 6, 2005, less than a month after its grand opening, a bolt failure caused the liner inside the trough that the launch cable travels through to come loose and create friction against the cable. The friction caused the train to not accelerate to the correct speed. The rubbing of the cable against the inside of the metal trough caused sparks and shards of metal to fly out from the bottom of the train. The engine, as it is designed, attempted to compensate by applying more force to the cable to attain the 128 mph (206 km/h) launch speed.
The brake fins that rise up into the braking position go up on a timing pattern, independent of the launching mechanism. The fins are mounted in steel supports that are connected to actuators that raise and lower the fins into the desired position. There are four braking zones, and each zone has about 24 individual brake fins. The fins actually caught up to the launching train as the timing pattern of the rising fins was faster than the accelerating train. The magnetic brakes began to slow the train in the launch area, and the engine tried to compensate even more, and dragged the train through the brake zones. The catch car released, but the train was still in the brake zone and came to a complete stop at the bottom of the hill.
This malfunction occurred when no passengers were aboard during a routine morning test run. No injuries or deaths occurred. Damage occurred to the launch cable (frayed and needed to be replaced), engine (minor routine damage to seals), and brake fins (many needed to be replaced). The brake fins in the launch section are mounted in such a way to keep fast moving trains from moving backwards into the station, but a fast moving train being pulled forwards caused an unexpected stress on a number of fins that bent them forward. Not all of the fins need to be replaced, but there were more damaged fins than Six Flags had replacements, and had to be special ordered from Intamin. In addition, Kingda Ka had to be re-inspected. Kingda Ka started testing on July 21, 2005. It reopened on August 4, 2005, with the queue area modified so that it no longer ran under the launch track. [1] The dark blue train was being launched when the malfunction occurred. It was used for the rest of the season, but major problems requiring replacement parts were discovered when the train was inspected during the off-season. Consequently, this train remained disassembled throughout the 2006 season.
Interesting facts
- As impressive as Kingda Ka may be, it is worth noting that it is not the first of its kind. While Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm was the first hydraulically-launched coaster, Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point (the coaster which formerly had the title of "fastest" and "tallest" prior to the completion of Kingda Ka) is the most similar in design. All of these coasters were manufactured by Intamin. The most notable difference between Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster is that Top Thrill Dragster lacks Kingda Ka's second hill; it instead has a flat brake run. Kingda Ka's tower is 36 feet (11 m) taller than Top Thrill Dragster's, and its launch is 8 mph (6.5 km/h) faster. Another notable difference is that Kingda Ka lacks Top Thrill Dragster's "christmas tree" starting lights, making it hard to know exactly when the launch will occur.
- Kingda Ka is different from Xcelerator in that, like Top Thrill Dragster, it lacks Xcelerator's double banked turns near the end of the ride.
- The downward spiral actually twists slightly less than 270 degrees, because the second hill is angled back toward the station rather than parallel with the launch track. On the other hand, Top Thrill Dragster's brake run is parallel to its launch track, so it spirals a full 270 degrees on the way down.
- It is less than one foot taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza, however the original height of the pyramid was 481 ft. - 25 ft. taller than Kingda Ka.
- It is 151 feet (46 m) taller than the Statue of Liberty, including its pedestal and base. Interestingly, the Statue itself (not including its pedestal and base) is that exact height - 151 feet tall.
- At the top of the first hill, riders feel negative G force, its intensity varies with the speed of the launch.
- At the bottom of the first hill, riders experience 3-4 times the normal G force on earth.
- The ride never operates in the rain, even a slight drizzle, due to the potential hazards of traveling through the rain at 128 mph.
- The ride's launch is almost double the speed of the launch of the park's Batman & Robin: The Chiller (70 miles per hour or 110 km/h).
- The hydraulic launch motor is capable of producing 4,000 horsepower (3 MW) peak.
- Kingda Ka is visible from the NJ 37 bridge connecting Toms River, New Jersey to Seaside Heights, New Jersey, 21 mi (34 km) from Six Flags Great Adventure.
- Kingda Ka is briefly visible directly ahead when passing exit 8 on Interstate 195.
- Kingda Ka is almost double the height of Nitro, the second tallest roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure (230 ft or 70 m).
- Kingda Ka's second hill is higher than the highest points of the park's Rolling Thunder, Batman: The Ride and Skull Mountain. The second hill is also only 13 feet (4 m) shorter than the highest point of Medusa.
- One of the park's tigers, a rare golden tabby bengal tiger cub, was named after the coaster.
- The skylines of Philadelphia to the left, New York City to the right and Atlantic City to the back-left can be seen from the top of the tower, although one would most likely not have time to see them while on the ride.
| Golden Ticket Awards: Best Steel Coaster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Year | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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