Junker is an awesome Gerstlauer Infinity coaster at PowerLand in Finland.
Junker is the park’s best attraction and it’s now one of my favorite launch coasters,
as the ride has a satisfying and diverse layout featuring 3 inversions and a bevy of forces.
So in this video, I will review Junker.
In 2015, PowerLand opened Junker, which was advertised to be “the most thrilling coaster
in Northern Europe.”
This would be the third Gerstlauer Infinity coaster and the second with a launch.
The coaster’s name is in reference to a type of plane, but it doesn’t really have
any theming outside of a single plane.
But I do like how Junker looks.
The coaster has green track and I love how it interacts with the park.
The launch runs along the midway, the top hat goes directly over the midway, and the
inversions have amazing near-misses.
The Finnish loop wraps around a bridge, the dive loop goes through an underground tunnel,
and the zero-G roll winds over the entrance to a Mexican restaurant.
The other unique thing about this coaster’s appearance is the coaster next door.
In 2020, PowerLand opened Pitts Special, another coaster themed after a plane.
But what’s odd about what PowerLand did is that Pitts Special is the exact same ride
model with the exact same paint scheme and same trains.
In fact, when Pitts Special was being built, many thought Junker was being extended.
Compare that to the Cedar Fair parks that have two B&M hyper coasters.
Those parks made an effort to distinguish the two coasters by using different trains,
different themes, and different paint schemes.
So while PowerLand’s approach was unconventional, it does make for a cool visual as you approach
the park and the two coasters appear to be one giant one.
Junker’s queue is in the back corner of the park.
The queue consists of an outside series of ramps and one switchback in the station.
The weird thing about this queue line- and several others at PowerLand- is that you have
these paddles in each switchback.
So you sort of have to go side to side as you move through the queue.
I’m not sure if these were added for distancing during covid, but they were an odd quirk found
on several rides.
Junker was running two trains, each seating 8 riders.
So I was a bit nervous what this coaster’s throughput would be.
I visited on a weekday towards the end of their summer season and the coaster had a
minimal wait all-day.
Even when the line was halfway down the outside ramp, I never had to wait more than 15-20
minutes for Junker.
And for the first hour it was a total walk-on.
The crew was almost always ready to dispatch a train once the prior one completed the course.
Part of that is how easy the restraints are to check on this coaster.
Junker has no seat belts and just clamshell lap bar restraints.
The staff does tend to push these down really hard, but that’s the standard operating
procedure with most of the Gerstlauer EuroFighters and Infinity coasters with this restraint.
I do still enjoy the restraints since you have no trouble experiencing the ride’s
forces and your entire upper body is free.
In terms of seat selection, the front and back rows felt identical in terms of forces.
The front was a little better for the unobstructed view.
I had a bigger preference towards riding on the left side of the train.
The dive drop and final two inversions were a little better on that side.
Once dispatched, you roll out of the station down this small, unbanked, curving drop.
The drop gives a tiny pinch of laterals, but then all of the sudden you are violently jolted
forwards.
The train engages the LSM launch with no hesitation.
If you’ve experienced any of these Gerstlauer LSM launches, you know they have a lot of
power.
And the one on Junker is no different.
You accelerate to 65 mph or 105 kph in less than 2 seconds.
Just to put the launch power in perspective, I rode Taiga the day before and after I rode
Junker.
I was more impressed by Taiga’s launches before I rode Junker.
Junker’s launch is that strong.
You then rise up into the 131 foot or 40 meter tall top hat and this transition delivers
a decent burst of positive Gs, which will be a common occurrence on this ride.
Junker is forceful.
The top hat offered a very cool and sustained airtime moment.
It has two distinct moments of good ejector airtime broken up by a little floater airtime.
You get launched out of your seat going up.
You then stay levitated out of your seat at the apex.
And then you get vaulted even higher on the descent.
And it’s even wilder going down since you get some great laterals as you twist to the
side.
The pullout delivers another solid dose of positive Gs and then you rise up into the
Finnish loop.
This is a dive drop immediately followed by this elongated vertical loop.
The initial rise into the Finnish loop delivers weak but very sustained floater airtime.
And you stay out of your seat for the dive drop.
While the airtime strength doesn’t increase on the drop, the laterals and whip on the
descent are insane.
Junker tries to horizontally eject you from the train.
The whip is even more pronounced on the left side of the train.
That’s followed by what feels like the most forceful pullout on the ride.
Junker pulls 4.5 Gs and I suspect this is where it occurs since I always started to
greyout here.
I regained my vision at the top of the elongated loop, where I then got some nice hangtime.
This is one of several elements that really make you appreciate the lap bar only restraints.
The other cool thing about the Finnish loop is the visual of wrapping around this elevated
bridge.
You almost always see guests standing beneath you watching Junker in awe.
The coaster has a real presence.
You then rise up into the mid-course brake run, which didn’t slow the train down one
bit.
This led to an equally crazy second half.
The twisting plunge off the brake run is pretty steep, so it offers a good pop of ejector
airtime paired with more nice laterals.
You then whip around an overbank.
In the morning, this element was a dud but once the coaster warmed up, this element became
moderately snappy.
Junker then navigates this aggressive S-hill.
You get some decent floater airtime yet again paired with very strong laterals.
Then comes the dive loop, which offers some solid hangtime at the start.
This hangtime is a little more sustained on the left side of the train.
And then the descent throws you to the side.
I love how almost every drop on this coaster offers laterals.
The pullout goes through the aforementioned underground tunnel, which is a neat visual,
and you also get another dose of solid positive Gs.
Junker then coasts through the final inversion, a zero-G roll.
On the left side of the train, I got a few seconds of sustained hangtime with a hit of
laterals.
On the right side of the train, the hangtime was a little less pronounced, but the element
felt a tad snappier.
Junker then winds around a helix over the water.
This element had no force in the morning, but it had a tiny bit of G-forces by the end
of the day.
You then hit the brake run, ending the 2822 foot or 860 meter long coaster.
Junker tracks pretty well.
The ride is comfortable thanks to the lap bars, but the train does have a little shimmy
at points.
This is something that plagues a lot of Gerstlauers.
It didn’t really detract from the ride for me, but you can notice it.
So what would I rate Junker?
I would give this coaster a 9 out of 10.
Junker is a fantastic ride.
This coaster has very little wasted track.
Most elements deliver laterals with either hangtime or airtime.
And then the transitions in between elements pile on the positive Gs.
Plus you have that intense launch at the start.
Junker is a very forceful and exciting coaster.
This coaster reminded me of a more forceful Monster at Adventureland, except you have
a launch instead of a beyond vertical drop.
Junker is easily my favorite ride at PowerLand and I think it’s one of the best coasters
ever designed by Gerstlauer.
The only one I prefer is Karnan.
So those are my thoughts on Junker, the incredible launch coaster at PowerLand.
Have you ridden this coaster?
What are your thoughts about this ride?
I would love to hear what you think down in the comments.
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