Ravine Flyer II's lift hill and final airtime hills
Ravine Flyer II is a hybrid wooden roller coaster located at Waldameer & Water World in Erie, Pennsylvania. It was ranked as the Best New Ride of 2008 by the Amusement Today magazine. Ravine Flyer II was built on the site of the park's old Ravine Flyer roller coaster, which was dismantled in 1938 after a man died on it. Initial concepts for the replacement ride were developed by Custom Coasters International in the early 1990s, further developed by Dennis McNulty several years later, then finalized and constructed by The Gravity Group, with Jeff Mason overseeing construction.
The roller coaster traverses Pennsylvania Route 832 (also known as Peninsula Drive) along its course, emulating the course of the original Ravine Flyer.[2][3]
History
Steve Gorman, general manager of Waldameer, announced in 1997 that the park would build a wooden roller coaster.[4] The ride would be named Ravine Flyer II,[5] after a defunct coaster that operated at Waldameer from 1922 to 1938.[6][7] At the time of its announcement, Ravine Flyer II was planned to be completed in 2000 at a cost of $3.5 million. The ride would cross over Pennsylvania Route 832, the main entrance to the nearby Presque Isle State Park.[8] Waldameer had previously obtained a 120-foot-long (37 m) easement allowing the park to build a roller coaster above PA 832.[4] In September 1998, Custom Coasters International (CCI) was hired to design the ride, which had been pushed back to 2001. The ride was planned to be 3,000 feet (910 m) long, with a 65-foot-tall (20 m) lift hill and 110-foot-tall (34 m) first drop.[4]
By mid-2001, the ride's construction had been delayed due to lawsuits. Brian and Antoinette Candela, who lived near the proposed coaster, claimed that the ride violated a Pennsylvania state law because it was within a "bluff recession hazard area".[5] Additionally, the Pennsylvania government planned to build a greenway and visitor center near the ride.[5] Brian Candela subsequently accused Waldameer owner Paul Nelson of bragging about his political connections, which Nelson had claimed would permit the ride's construction.[9] Local officials granted a zoning variance to Waldameer in April 2004, allowing the park to build the ride above PA 832. By then, the ride's cost had increased to $6 million, making it the most expensive ride in Waldameer's history.[10] The roller coaster's opponents relented after a court ruled in Waldameer's favor in January 2006.[11]
Meanwhile, The Gravity Group was hired to construct the ride following CCI's bankruptcy in 2002.[12] Construction for the coaster began in 2006, and continued into 2007. The ride opened on May 17, 2008.[13][7] Waldameer held an auction to select the first 24 riders, and donated some of the proceeds to charity.[7]
Characteristics
The ride is a hybrid coaster with wooden track and a steel frame.[6] It was manufactured by The Gravity Group.[14] The track contains ten airtime hills, as well as three drops measuring 120 feet (37 m), 105 feet (32 m), and 60 feet (18 m).[6] It traverses PA 832 on an arch bridge measuring 165 feet (50 m) long, making it the only ride to cross over a four-lane highway.[6] The ride is cited as being 3,061 feet (933 m) long.[15] It is the fastest wooden coaster in Pennsylvania, and it possesses the longest and steepest drop on any wooden coaster in the state.[16] Each day before the park opens, a Waldameer mechanic spends two hours inspecting the ride.[17]
The ride's trains were built by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters.[6] The passengers are secured by a seatbelt and a lap bar. There are two six-car trains, both of which can carry up to 24 passengers.[16] The ride has approximately 300,000 riders a year.[15]
Ride experience
After leaving the station, the train enters a short drop and lefthand turn to the lift hill. After climbing the lift hill, the train immediately descends the first drop, turning sharply to the right, and travels over an airtime hill as it crosses PA 832. The track curves to the left, then right, while ascending the turnaround to the top of the second major drop. The trains descends this drop into the second crossing of PA 832 over another airtime hill. This is immediately followed by a pair of tunnels enclosing two airtime hills, and an ascending turn to the left. The track travels over an airtime hill and makes a slight descending lefthand turn before traveling under the lift hill, where an on-ride photo is taken. It then traverses another airtime hill before entering the 90° banked right turn into the ravine. The track continues turning to the right, rising up out of the ravine and under the lift hill in another airtime hill. It traverses two bunny-hop airtime hills and makes a final righthand turn before entering the brake run and returning to the station.[18]
