Falcon’s Flight at Six Flags Qiddiya was announced in 2019. Located at a new entertainment
complex in Saudi Arabia, Six Flags Qiddiya would be home to the world’s tallest, fastest,
and longest roller coaster in Falcon’s Flight. We knew Falcon’s Flight would be a statistical
monster, but I had no idea it would shatter the pre-existing records.
Let’s start with the height. Falcon’s Flight is being built in a valley surrounded
by giant 525 foot tall or 160 meter tall cliffs. This is like the rock quarry setting of Six
Flags Fiesta Texas on steroids. For perspective, the quarry at Fiesta Texas is just 90 feet
tall or 27.5 meters tall. These cliffs are almost 6 times larger, which is mind-boggling
to picture. And Falcon’s Flight climbs atop this cliff
mid-ride thanks to a lengthy LSM lift hill. After weaving atop the cliff, surely giving
some gorgeous and breathtaking views, riders will plummet vertically off the cliff into
a tunnel where the coaster starts leveling off- dropping the entire way back down to
the ground. That means this coaster will have roughly
a 525 foot tall or 160 meter drop. And it’s likely the maximum height will be a little
above this since the elevated section above the cliff appears gravity driven.
The current record-holder for the world’s tallest coaster is Kingda Ka at Six Flags
Great Adventure in New Jersey, which stands an imposing 456 feet or 139 meters tall. And
the drop is even shorter than that at 418 feet or 127.5 meters. That means, Falcon’s
Flight’s drop is over 100 feet or 30.5 meters taller than that of Kingda Ka and the ride’s
overall height is likely 80 or so feet taller. Falcon’s Flight will also claim the record
for the world’s fastest coaster, but by a much slimmer margin. Falcon’s Flight will
reach a top speed of 155 mph or 250 kph at the bottom of this drop. This is just 6 mph
or 9.5 kph faster than Formula Rossa at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi.
However, that blistering speed isn’t achieved by the drop alone.
Time for some nerdy physics. The ride’s gravitational potential energy
is equal to mass * acceleration due to gravity * height.
The ride’s kinetic energy is equal to ½ * mass * velocity^2.
Assuming no energy is lost to friction the potential and kinetic energy would be equal.
Therefore mass cancels out and velocity is equal to the square root of 2*acceleration
due to gravity*height. Since gravity is constant, using the height
of 525 feet, the estimated velocity is just 125 mph or 201 kph.
In reality, the coaster train will have some velocity cresting this drop and lose some
speed due to friction, but it’s a rough estimate that shows the coaster wouldn’t
pass the top speed of Formula Rossa or even Kingda Ka on its own.
This drop will have LSMs that will accelerate the train to the maximum speed of 155 mph
or 250 kph. It’s going to feel crazy getting a double acceleration from gravity and a magnetic
launch. But the stat that impresses me most is the
coaster’s length. Falcon’s Flight will have roughly 4 kilometers or 13123 feet of
track. For reference, the current record holder for the world’s longest roller coaster is
Steel Dragon 2000 at Nagashima Spa Land at 8133 feet or 2479 meters. Falcon’s Flight
will be 5000 feet or 1524 meters longer. Just to put this ridiculous length into perspective,
that would be like taking Steel Dragon 2000 and then adding the length of your average
hypercoaster onto it. Heck, not even Millennium Force and Steel Vengeance together can surpass
the length of Falcon’s Flight. Some record-breakers like Top Thrill Dragster
at Cedar Point and Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure are short, one-trick ponies.
They prioritize quality over quantity. Others like the Beast at Kings Island are
all about quantity over quality. Falcon’s Flight seems to offer the best
of both worlds. From the animation released last year, Falcon’s
Flight will start with a massive lift hill. The exact height of this lift is unknown,
but the animation shows a top speed at the bottom of the first drop of 151 kph or 94
mph. That speed puts Falcon’s Flight in the ballpark of rides like Millennium Force
and Fury 325, which suggests the initial lift alone would qualify this coaster as a giga
coaster, eclipsing the 300 foot or 91.5 meter mark.
And not only will the initial drop be massive, but it’s a twisting drop in the vein of
that of Expedition GeForce at Holiday Park or Kondaa at Walibi Belgium. Except this drop
will be roughly 75% larger. I’m salivating at the prospect of sustained airtime and laterals
on a drop of this scale. The rest of the first half differs between
the animation and artwork. The original animation showed a tiny speed hill that probably would
have taken the record for the fastest airtime hill of all time. That was then followed by
three larger camelbacks that likely would have given some glorious sustained ejector
airtime. That would then lead into a gradual step-up that led into the massive climb up
the cliff. The artwork from the resort appears to eliminate
the speed hill, going right into the three camelbacks. Except the step up is eliminated
and the third camelback doesn’t drop all the way to the ground. Instead, it leads into
the climb up the cliff. After a LSM powered climb atop the 525 foot
tall cliff, you slowly wind back and forth. That leads into the record-breaking drop.
And in the POV, there clearly is something atop the drop. Again the initial POV could
change, but it almost appears you’re being launched into the vertical drop. If a 500+
foot drop isn’t enough, why not launch into it?
The drop starts as a vertical plunge before becoming more shallow as it dives into the
rock wall. The initial plunge will likely deliver some powerful ejector airtime, especially
if it is indeed launched, and the shallow second half of the drop will allow the forces
to be more spread out for the comfort of riders. Plus, that shallow section of the drop contains
a series of LSMs to accelerate the ride to its top speed of 155 mph or 250 kph.
You then fly over a massive camelback. And massive doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Remember how the initial drop appeared to be over 300 feet or 91.5 meters tall? This
camelback absolutely dwarfs the first hill. And in the animation, you appear to rocket
over this hill in speeds approaching 70 mph or 112.7 kph. For reference, that’s almost
as fast as you take the initial speed hill on Steel Vengeance, except this hill is taller
than a giga coaster. That’s followed by another colossal camelback.
Both these camelbacks will likely give some of the most sustained airtime of any coaster
because of their sheer size and speed. That’s followed by a drawn out speed hill
over the racetrack. And at this point, you’re still traveling faster than Top Thrill Dragster
for reference. You then dive underground, hop over a tiny
hill that should give some abrupt airtime, and then speed through a massive Immelmann.
That’s followed by a fast overbank. With the speed you traverse these elements, you’re
likely going to start greying out. I honestly find it hard to believe you’d take elements
like this with that type of speed. You then hop into the brake run in what is sure to
be a contender for the world’s best roller coaster.
Again, things could change from the initial POV and artwork since the transitions were
far from refined in the original materials, but what seems to be confirmed is this coaster’s
amazing height, speed, and length. And there are a lot of great things you can do with
stats like that. So that begs the question, who would be crazy
enough to design a coaster like this? When the coaster was announced 2 years ago, everyone
immediately assumed it would be Intamin. And a few days ago, they confirmed they were in
fact the company responsible for Falcon’s Flight.
We know Intamin isn’t afraid to take risks and with a seemingly infinite budget on the
Quiddiya project, this is a once in a lifetime coaster for Intamin.
I’m still skeptical that this coaster will even open. And if it does open, who knows
how much downtime it will have. This coaster is tentatively scheduled to open
in 2023 with Six Flags Quiddiya and I hope it happens one day because this coaster sounds
too good to be true. In fact, Six Flags Quiddya in general looks
incredible with the park’s ornate appearance and unique ride lineup that will also include
a tilt coaster and a hybrid coaster, just to name a few of the proposed attractions.
Lastly, I want to state I’m aware of where this coaster is going. I can still look at
this coaster in awe. But I’m not sure if I’ll ever ride it because of its location.
And that’s a decision everyone can make on their own.
So those are my thoughts on Falcon’s Flight, the record-breaking roller coaster that is
supposedly just 2 years away. What are your thoughts on this coaster? I would love to
hear what you think down in the comments. If you enjoyed this video, I’d appreciate
it if you gave it a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a lot more
roller coaster and amusement park vidoes here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!