Thunderbird is a steel roller coaster, located at Holiday World, in Santa Claus, Indiana, USA.
The ride opened to the public as the first launched wing coaster in America, accelerating
guests from 0 to 97kmh (60mph) in 3.5 seconds.
On top of this, it became the first LSM-launch coaster constructed by Swiss roller coaster
manufacturer, Bolliger and Mabillard.
The attraction itself debuted on the 25th of April 2015, at the cost of 22 Million USD.
Interestingly, Thunderbird is themed to just that, the legend of the mythical thunderbird
The ride’s story is set in 1620, involving the Mayflower, the English ship that transported
the first Pilgrims to America.
As they neared the end of their long journey, a mighty storm struck.
The ship was capsized, taking it hundreds of miles off-course.
As all was lost, a huge bird appeared from the sky.
The Thunderbird, a creature whose wings created thunder and eyes flashed lightning, rescued
the ship, launching it through the sky towards the New World.
It’s this experience that the ride aims to recreate.
As guests walk up to the attraction, they are greeted by a farm like setting.
The ride’s station building resembles a large barn, while several outbuildings can
be seen scattered around the area.
Once guests have traversed the queue line, they board 1 of 2 ride vehicles, each of which
seat 20 guests, in 5 rows of 4.
As the trains seats visitors over the sides of the track, each row is separated into 2
groups of 2.
At this point, riders move forwards and enter a showroom.
A screen of mist is blown in front of the train, while guests hear the sound of thunder,
all before launching directly out of the station.
The trains emerge from the barn and accelerate towards the first inversion,
a 43m (140ft) tall Immelman.
Riders slowly navigate the top of the element and plummet towards Thunderbird’s second
inversion, a vertical loop.
The trains then climb above one of the park’s other roller coasters, the Voyage, before
traversing an overbanked turn, followed by a sweeping descent.
Guests complete a similar, leftward facing element, leading to yet another inversion,
a zero-G roll.
The trains navigate a banked S-hill, plough through a broken barn, and traverse an upward
270 degree helix.
This leads riders directly into the 4th and final inversion, a in-line twist, which takes
place through the top of the barn structure.
At this point the ride experience comes to an end as the trains enter the final brake run.
Throughout the thrilling flight, guest navigate a total of 3,035 ft. (925 m) of track, in
approximately 46 seconds of ride time.
Because of this, the attraction has a theoretical capacity of roughly 1140 riders per hour.
Despite Thunderbird being Bolliger and Mabillard’s first LSM launch coaster, the ride is actually
the company's second launched attraction.
In 1999 the Swiss manufacturer debuted the Incredible Hulk at Universal Studios Islands
of Adventure, their first launch coaster, utilising a tyre propulsion system.
Interestingly, however, the Hulk’s launch wasn’t built by Bolliger and Mabillard themselves,
leading Thunderbird to become the company’s first ever launch coaster to be constructed
entirely in-house.
Because of this, the ride is quite unique.
Many claim it to be the world’s best wing coaster, due to it’s fantastic launch and
relatively intense layout.
On top of this, the attraction has showcased B&M’s ability to construct launched variations
of their well-known models, leading to the question: ‘Would you like to see more launched
Bolliger and Mabillard roller coasters in the future?’
What’s your opinion?