The Bolliger and Mabillard wing coaster is one of the most picturesque roller coasters
in existence. A wing coaster type of steel roller coaster is unique in that rides ride
next to the coaster track, meaning riders have nothing above or below them.
Arrow Dynamics and S&S had previously developed fourth dimension coasters with rotating wing
seats. And Intamin used a version of wing seating on Furius Baco, the launched accelerator
coaster at PortAventura in Spain. But in 2011, B&M debuted their own wing coaster
with Raptor at Gardaland. Since then, B&M has built a total of 13 different wing coasters-
4 in the United States, 4 in Europe, and 5 in China. I unfortunately have not made it
to China to ride that country’s wing coasters, as rides such as Parrot Coaster and Falcon
combine the size of Gatekeeper with the theming of Merlin’s wing coasters. But I have been
fortunate enough to have ridden every B&M wing coaster in the US and Europe, so today
I will rank those B&M wing coasters that I have ridden.
8) X-Flight at Six Flags Great America- At the bottom of this list is X-Flight, one of
the most compact wing coasters. One of the biggest criticisms of B&M wing coasters is
that these coasters lack the intensity of some of B&M’s earlier loopers, most notably
the company’s inverts. And that’s X-Flight’s biggest flaw. I love the wingover first drop
and the sustained hangtime on the barrel roll through the control tower, but X-Flight feels
like it crawls through the layout. 7) Raptor at Gardaland- Raptor has a similar
flaw to X-Flight. It’s another wing coaster that feels ridiculously slow. But Raptor has
a major advantage- the theming. Raptor’s entire area is extremely well themed and the
giant theming elements create some breathtaking near-misses. In some ways, it’s sort of
a good thing Raptor crawls through its layout so you can appreciate these theming elements
more fully. But in my opinion, this is the least intense of the wing coasters.
6) Wild Eagle at Dollywood- The first wing coaster to open in the United States has a
fantastic location atop a hill. Wild Eagle is an extremely imposing looking coaster.
But despite it being a wing coaster, Wild Eagle’s layout feels more like that of a
standard B&M floorless or sit-down coaster. Gone are the wingover drop, slow barrel roll,
and near-misses. Instead, you have a traditional drop and a familiar sequence of inversions
in a vertical loop, zero-G roll, Immelmann, and corkscrew. In the back row, Wild Eagle
is decently forceful. The first drop gives some fantastic floater airtime and I do start
to greyout on the loop, but it just utilize the wing seating as much as the coasters above
it on this list. 5) Swarm at Thorpe Park- The second wing coaster
is the perfect mix of theming and elements. In a nutshell, this is a taller, faster version
of Raptor. Swarm has as many near-misses as Raptor, but you traverse these elements with
a bit more speed. I also think Swarm has a better sequence of elements with the wingover
drop in particular standing out. This was the first wing coaster to feature the wingover
drop, and that’s one of the most exciting elements on any wing coaster. It’s really
cool transitioning from the hangtime at the top to strong positive Gs at the bottom.
4) GateKeeper at Cedar Point- The largest wing coaster when it debuted, GateKeeper is
a beautiful attraction. The coaster’s location alongside the beach, massive elements, and
interaction with the front gate are what make GateKeeper special. So why number 4? GateKeeper’s
pacing between elements isn’t as strong as the three coasters ahead of it on this
list and I am not a fan of this coaster’s lackluster finale.
3) Flug der Damonen at Heide Park- One of the smaller wing coasters, Flug der Damonen
has some solid theming in the station and great pacing. You start with one of those
excellent wingover drops and then fly over a speed hill that delivers better airtime
than a lot of hills on B&M hyper coasters. From there, you cruise through a forgettable
Immelmann, but every element afterwards hits. I love the hangtime on the corkscrew and one-of-a-kind
demonic knot, the latter of which feels like two off-axis zero-G rolls. And you also have
this surprising wave turn towards the end that delivers another hint of airtime.
2) Fenix at Toverland- By just a hair, I give edge to Fenix as the best wing coaster in
Europe. I think Fenix is just as well paced as Flug der Damonen and has similarly great
elements, but I think the theming and presentation of Fenix is a smidge better. I was stunned
just how well themed the queue was and how detailed the dragon animatronic was. In terms
of the sequence of elements, you start off with another dive drop, speed hill, and Immelmann,
but Fenix then rips through this intense low-to-the-ground turn. It’s easily the most intense moment
of any wing coaster. You then go through a floaty zero-G roll and a sneaky s-hill with
a little airtime. 1) Thunderbird at Holiday World- The lone
launched wing coaster has easily the best pacing of all the wing coasters. Unlike the
other wing coasters which have a few slower sections, Thunderbird rips through the layout
with a considerable amount of speed. That starts with the great launch which was a a
lot more forceful than I expected. That’s followed by two decently forceful inversions,
two turnarounds with some great visuals, and a fantastic finale with two floaty inversions,
a funky s-hill, and some near-misses. Plus, Thunderbird gives a fantastic night ride as
the back half of the layout is in almost total darkness.
What are your thoughts on the B&M wing coasters? Do you have a favorite? I would love to hear
your comments down below. If you enjoyed this video, I’d appreciate it if you gave this
video a like and subscribed for more roller coaster countdowns and videos here at Canobie
Coaster. Thanks for listening!