Gerstlauer: Explained
Gerstlauer is a relatively young German amusement ride manufacturer, famous for their compact,
yet thrilling, roller coaster models.
The company was founded in 1981, by Hubert Gerstlauer,
a former employee of Schwarzkopf Industries.
Interestingly enough, it’s Hubert’s ties with the Schwarzkopf company that led to the
production of Gerstlauer roller coasters and other theme park attractions.
Since their formation, the manufacturer has successfully installed over 80 roller coasters
worldwide, the majority of which were constructed within the last 5 years.
The founder of Gerstlauer, Hubert, left Schwarzkopf Industries in 1981, to found his own company,
The business itself was created to produce pneumatic, electrical, and control equipment
for most of the rides constructed by the Schwarzkopf company.
However, in 1992, Schwarzkopf Industries declared bankruptcy, and ceased the production of roller
coasters and other rides.
At this point in time, Hubert Gerstlauer purchased the former Schwarzkopf facility,
and began the production of their own amusement park attractions.
As the company has developed over time, so too has it’s range of products.
In 2007, the name of the organisation was changed to Gerstlauer Amusement Rides,
a better reflection of the services on offer.
The first roller coaster produced by the German company came in the form of G’sengte Sau,
a Gerstlauer bobsled coaster.
The model resembles that of a widely produced non-spinning wild mouse, featuring many of
the same tight twists and turns.
However, unlike these models, the bobsled coaster offers more creative layout options,
through the use of banked drops, and compact helix elements.
As a result, Gerstlauer modified the well loved wild mouse coaster to offer a more thrilling
ride that suits all members of the family.
The ride's manufacturer quickly went onto diversify its selection of attractions,
by introducing a family coaster model.
Like many other roller coaster manufacturer’s, Gerstlauer’s family coaster offers an exciting
layout with a moderate thrill level.
The rides often feature a large number of curves and banked drops, through which a long
train navigates.
The model was quickly succeeded by the introduction of the Junior Coaster, what is essentially
a smaller version of the family coaster, designed specifically for younger children.
The success of these two similar ride experiences has been fairly limited.
However, with the introduction of FireChaser Express, and recently Pégase Express,
the Gerstlauer Family Coaster has seen a spike in popularity.
Both of these attractions offer ride experiences with relatively large drops, tight turns,
and backwards launches.
It seems that the company has become the go-to for creating large scale family coasters.
In 2003, coupled with the introduction of the Junior coaster, the manufacturer debuted
what is arguably their most iconic roller coaster model.
Gerstlauer’s Euro-Fighter quickly put the company on the map, offering large thrills
in a compact and affordable form.
The prototype model, Vild-Svinet, was the world’s first roller coaster to feature
a drop angle greater than 90 degrees.
Since then, the German company has continued to push limits, creating a world record holding
roller coaster with maximum drop angle of 121 degrees.
At the time of it’s introduction, the Gerstlauer Euro-fighter was quite revolutionary.
The model features a vertical lift hill, which carries riders on their backs to the highest
point of the ride.
The smaller Euro-fighter trains seat only 6 or 8 guests,
but therefore allow for a more nimble ride experience.
These factors have made the coasters ideal additions for smaller parks, as well those
with little space for new rides and attractions.
Since 2003, a large range of Euro-fighters have been constructed around the world;
ranging from large scale thrill coasters such as Takabisha at Fuji-Q Highland,
to story driven immersive experiences like Mystery Mine at Dollywood.
Only a single year after the debut of Gerslauer’s most iconic roller coaster model,
the company introduced yet another popular attraction, the spinning coaster.
At this point, the manufacturer took a different approach to the design of it’s spinning
cars, compared to other companies in the past.
All Gerstlauer spinning coasters feature singular trains that seat 4 riders, in two rows of two.
These rows face each other however, leading to an intimate ride experience with the guests seat opposite.
In principle, the layouts featured within the spinning model
are similar to those of the bobsled coaster.
Both feature banked drops, as well as many tight twists and turns.
Naturally, the spinning model focuses on the free rotation of the trains as they navigate the layout.
Therefore, the experience often consists of many helix elements, in the hopes that riders spin quickly.
After the construction of several new attractions for a variety of theme parks,
Gerstlauer introduced two new roller coaster models.
Firstly, in conjunction with an external manufacturer of wooden theme park attractions,
Gerstlauer produced Mammut, a wooden roller coaster.
The unique attraction offers a smooth and exhilarating, yet family friendly, ride experience.
It’s unknown whether Mammut was a one of a kind construction, or a roller coaster model
on offer, due to the partnership of two manufacturers.
Nevertheless, the ride debuted alongside Gerstlauer’s second new introduction, its launch coaster.
This model utalises LSM technology, as well as small 6 seat trains,
to propel riders to a high top speed quickly and efficiently.
Both of the two launch coasters produced so far feature distinct top hat elements, as
well as a compact Euro-fighter like layout.
However, the launch coaster quickly become obsolete, as only a year after it’s debut
Gerstlauer introduced launches to it’s Euro-fighter model.
The first came in the form of Fluch von Novgorod, a Euro-fighter featuring both a LSM launch,
as well as a vertical chain lift hill.
Since then, the company has continued to integrate launches into other models,
rendering the standalone launch coaster useless.
Aiming to expand and improve on the capabilities of the Euro-fighter, Gerstlauer introduced
the Infinity coaster, what it considers to be an unlimited amount of fun,
combined with innovative technology.
The infinity coaster model is a more versatile and customisable attraction,
which still maintains the compact nature of its predecessors.
Unlike the Euro-fighter, which features a singular train length, the infinity coaster
can seat anywhere between 8 and 32 riders, arranged in rows of 4.
On top of this, the rides can feature both LSM technology, as well as the iconic vertical
lift hill, seen on other Gerstlauer roller coasters.
With the introduction of the Infinity coaster, came the major shift towards a lap bar design.
The model ships with lap bars as standard, offering a comfortable and spacious ride experience.
The first debut of the model came in the form of The Smiler, in 2013.
The Smiler broke records for featuring 14 inversions, the most of any single coaster worldwide.
It also features two lift hills, one of which is vertical.
Alongside the Smiler came Karacho, a launched infinity coaster, utilising the more widely
seen 8 person trains.
The reception to Gerstlauer’s latest roller coaster model has been positive,
resulting in numerous installations at various theme parks.
The infinity coaster has seemingly replaced the custom Euro-fighter, by offering higher
quality thrills and a better ride experience.
However, multiple versions of the stock Euro-fighter layout continue to sell to smaller theme parks,
and those with limited space.
Due to Gerstlauer’s small number of roller coaster models, it’s often quite easy to
establish their rides from other manufacturers.
The company's family orientated roller coasters utilise a flat, dual rail track design, featuring
a triangular lattice.
While on the larger scale thrill attractions, the track is triangular in shape, formed by
a third spine rail.
Between the three rails are further triangular lattices, providing added strength to the track.
Gerstlauer are also a manufacturer of roller coaster trains for a variety of clients.
They have produced numerous wooden roller coaster trains for a range of attractions
constructed by Custom Coasters International, as well as S&S.
The company also provided hybrid roller coaster trains to Rocky Mountain Construction for
their first two large scale projects.
On top of this, Gerstlauer manufacturers a range of flat rides and other theme park attractions.
Most notably, the german company produces Giant Ferris Wheels, in a range of sizes.
The manufacturer has also sold a large quantity of Sky Fly flat rides, a popular attraction
in which guests can control their rotation as they navigate the skies.
This means that rides can undergo an intense experience with multiple inversions, or a
casual and scenic flight.
Gerstlauer also offers an alternative tower-based version of the ride, with a higher maximum capacity.
Another unique attraction under the company's product range is the Kiddy Racer, an extremely
small scale children’s roller coaster.
The tiny ride has been a huge success, resulting in 10 models being sold around the globe since 2014.
It’s quite clear that Gerstlauer, as a manufacturer of amusement rides and attractions,
is becoming a more popular choice for theme parks worldwide.
The majority of the company’s roller coasters and flat ride models are enjoyed and loved by many.
This is especially true of the manufacturer’s infinity coasters, which have all gained praise
from the theme park enthusiast community.
Hopefully Gerstlauer continues to innovate and direct some aspects of the industry,
by providing a newer, and larger range of amusement products.
Thank you for watching, and I’ll see you all next time.
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