New Middle Eastern Rollercoaster Is Set To Smash Existing Records
A record-breaking roller coaster is under development in the Middle East and will travel at more than 155 miles per hour.
Here is some good news for those daredevils who love nothing more than to ride the highest and fastest rollercoaster. Dubbed “Falcon’s Flight,” this new rollercoaster will be the main attraction at Six Flags Qiddiya outside of the capital of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. With the theme park opening in 2023, this record-breaker will travel at more than 155 miles per hour and is set to break existing records for speed, height and track length.
Record-breaking rollercoaster in Saudi Arabia
A press release was issued by the Qiddiya Investment Company, which is partnering with the US company, Six Flags to build the park. The Falcon’s Flight coaster will also travel across 2.5 miles of track.
Riders will get to experience the thrill of diving over a vertical cliff into a 525 foot deep valley and achieve unprecedented speeds of 155 miles per hour. This is thanks to the use of magnetic motor acceleration (LSM) technology.
According to the press release, “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.”
The coaster is set to take up to 20 passengers at a time on a three-minute-long ride that offers panoramic views over Six Flags Qiddiya. The experience is said to be one for only true thrill seekers. You’ll see why in the video at the end of this article.
About Six Flags Qiddiya
The Falcon’s Flight rollercoaster is not the only attraction at Six Flags Qiddiya. The park will feature 28 rides and attractions across six themed lands. Visitors get to experience the City of Thrills, Steam Town, Discovery Springs, Valley of Fortune, Twilight Gardens and Grand Exposition.
Rather appropriately, the Falcon’s Flight rollercoaster will form part of the City of Thrills, alongside the Sirocco Tower, the world’s tallest projection tower. This attraction is definitely not for those with a fear of heights!
Construction on the Six Flags Qiddiya park started in 2018 and it is located 40 minutes from the city of Riyadh.
The Falcon’s Flight was designed by Intamin, a company headquartered in Liechtenstein. The company has been creating theme park attractions for more than 50 years and is responsible for many of the world’s most famous rides.
Ironically, among these is the current holder of the world’s fastest rollercoaster title, the Formula Rossa at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. That coaster travels of speeds of up to 149 miles per hour.
As for the current world’s tallest steel-made rollercoaster, that is also an Intamin project. Kingda Ka can be found Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey and stands 456 feet tall.
When it comes to the current longest rollercoaster in the world right now, that is the Steel Dragon 2000. The coaster was developed by D.H. Morgan Manufacturing and can be found in Japan’s Nagashima Spa Land amusement park in Nagashima, Kuwana. As noted in the Guinness Book of World Records, the coaster spans 1.54 miles.
Now daredevils just need to be patient until Six Flags Qiddiya and Falcon’s Flight open in 2023. Hopefully the COVID-19 pandemic will be thoroughly in our rear view mirror by then!
Get an idea of the Falcon’s Flight ride in the video below.