The Flying Cobras
History
In early October 1995, Geauga Lake was allowed to build a roller coaster over 125 feet (38 m) with help from Geauga County community. Officials agreed not to enforce an 80-foot (24 m) height limit and the park had dropped two lawsuits.
At the time, the park had just been sold to Premier Parks. Geauga Lake's new owner would spend $9 million on attractions for the 1996 season. Two rides would open that year, with one being a Vekoma Boomerang coaster named The Mind Eraser and the other being an Intamin river rapids ride named Grizzly Run.
The Mind Eraser originally had a turquoise track and white supports. In 2004, Geauga Lake was sold to Cedar Fair and the coaster was renamed to Head Spin.
After Geauga Lake closed in 2007, Head Spin remained standing but was inactive in 2008. Later that year, an announcement stated that Head Spin would be relocated to Carowinds, where it reopened as Carolina Cobra on March 28, 2009. It was built in an area of the park called "County Fair", which was formerly housed by Flying Super Saturator, a roller coaster that was dismantled after the 2008 season.
On August 18, 2016, Carowinds announced the expansion of County Fair for the 2017 season, which included the refurbishment of Carolina Cobra. It was renamed The Flying Cobras to pay tribute to the classic air shows that were once seen at the Carolina County Fair. It also received a new paint scheme with blue track and white supports.
Ride experience
The Flying Cobras is one of over 50 Boomerang coasters installed by Vekoma around the world, but it is the first roller coaster to feature the company's re-designed MK-1212 trains. After dispatching, the train is pulled backwards up the 116.5-foot (35.5 m) lift hill. After that, riders are dropped 108 feet (33 m) down, fly back through the station and into a cobra roll element. The riders then are taken through a 360-degree vertical loop and are sent up a second 116.5-foot (35.5 m) hill. The riders pause, and are sent down to do the full circuit again backwards.
Incidents
On October 18, 2009, Carolina Cobra's second lift hill failed to catch, resulting in a rollback that couldn't make it back through the second set of inversions. The passengers were able to exit the ride onto a nearby platform. All of the passengers were taken to first aid. Seven of the riders were released back into the park; the eighth was taken to a local hospital and examined. No serious injuries were reported.
References
- ^ "Township OKs roller coaster". News-Journal. October 4, 1995. Retrieved December 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Geauga Lake's 119-year history". 22 September 2007.
- ^ Marden, Duane. "Head Spin (Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
- ^ Stevenson, John (October 9, 2017). "Inside an Abandoned Geauga Lake with Photographer Alice Heart". Coaster101. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
- ^ "Carowinds 2009: Carolina Cobra". NewsPlusNotes. 10 September 2008.
- ^ "The Carolina Cobra is getting a makeover with a new name and theme for 2017. Under its new name, The Flying Cobras, it will pay tribute to the classic air shows that one would see at a Carolina County Fair". Facebook.com. Carowinds.
- ^ "Carowinds Coaster Breaks Down with Passengers on Board - Charlotte News Story - WSOC Charlotte". Archived from the original on 2009-10-20. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
External links
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