Takabisha

Takabisha (高飛車, Takabisha) is a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter steel roller coaster located at the Fuji-Q Highland theme park in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan.[1] It is famous for having a drop angle of 121° – the former steepest coaster in the world before being replaced by TMNT Shellraiser at American Dream in New Jersey.[2][3] The Japanese name Takabisha translates to "high-handed" or "domineering" in English.[4] The name is a pun, in that the three kanji in the name literally mean "high fly car".

Takabisha
Takabisha's record-breaking 121° drop.
Fuji-Q Highland
LocationFuji-Q Highland
Coordinates35.485340°N 138.779958°E / 35.485340; 138.779958
StatusOperating
Opening date16 July 2011 (2011-07-16)
General statistics
TypeSteel – Launched – Euro-Fighter
ManufacturerGerstlauer
Model1000
Lift/launch systemLinear motor launch, chain lift hill
Height43 m (141 ft)
Drop42 m (138 ft)
Length1,000 m (3,300 ft)
Speed100 km/h (62 mph)
Inversions7
Duration1:52
Max vertical angle121°
Acceleration0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in 2 seconds
G-force4.4
Height restriction125 cm (4 ft 1 in)
TrainsSeveral trains with a single car. Riders are arranged 4 across in 2 rows for a total of 8 riders per train.
Takabisha at RCDB

History

On 11 May 2011, Fuji-Q Highland announced to the world that they would be opening Takabisha – the world's steepest roller coaster.[5][6][7] Testing for the ride began around 8 June 2011[8] with media and special invited guests being able to ride Takabisha one month later.[9] The ride officially opened to the public on 16 July 2011.[3]

Ride

Takabisha is a custom Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster. The no 1,000-metre (3,300 ft) ride begins with a sudden drop into pitch black darkness before entering a slow heartline roll. In just two seconds, the car is launched by linear motors down a 63-metre (207 ft) long tunnel to a speed of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). It then exits out of the station building and directly into a large corkscrew. Immediately following the exit of this inversion the car goes into a banana roll, another corkscrew and then two airtime hills. The ride is slowed on a set of block brakes and returns into the station building. The track then turns a sharp 180° turn to the right before going back out of the building and onto the vertical chain lift hill. This hill takes riders up to a height of 43 metres (141 ft). Once at the top, the car slowly inches towards the record-breaking 121°, beyond-vertical drop. Once the car is released from the top of the hill, it hurtles back down towards the ground and enters a dive loop, an inverted top hat and finally the seventh inversion, an immelmann loop.[5][8][10][11] The whole ride is over within 2 minutes.[1]

Records

When Takabisha opened on 16 July 2011 it gained the Guinness World Record for the steepest roller coaster made from steel.[2] It officially took the world record from Fraispertuis City's Timber Drop S&S Worldwide El Loco roller coaster, which had gained the record only two weeks earlier.[12][13] Timber Drop's record was set at 113.1° while Takabisha's drop measures at an angle of 121°.[12]

See also

References
  1. Marden, Duane. "Takabisha  (Fuji-Q Highland)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  2. Steepest roller coaster made from steel Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Guinness World Records. Last accessed July 2011
  3. Schneider, Kate (11 July 2011). "First look at world's steepest roller coaster the Takabisha". The Australian. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  4. "Denshi Jisho — Online Japanese dictionary". Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  5. Fuji-Q Highland (11 May 2011). "Guinness Record Pending Steepest Drop At 121° – A New Roller Coaster" (PDF). Press Release. Japan National Tourism Organisation. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  6. "Takabisha, World's Steepest Rollercoaster, To Open In Japan (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  7. Midena, Kate (16 June 2011). "Japan builds world's steepest roller coaster, Takabisha". News.com.au. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  8. Qneighbor (11 June 2011). "Takabisha-test-run.mp4". Video. YouTube. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  9. "World's steepest roller-coaster opens in Japan". The Telegraph. 8 July 2011. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  10. purplefinale (8 July 2011). "TAKABISHA onride 1 (front row) 高飛車". Video. YouTube. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  11. "Takabisha - Gerstlauer Amusement Rides". Gerstlauer. July 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  12. TechCrunch (12 July 2011). "Takabisha: Japan Gets World's Steepest Roller Coaster (Videos)". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  13. Marden, Duane. "Timber Drop  (Fraispertuis City)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
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