Tripreport Thundercoaster
A very Cool Coaster!
Last Saturday I was very fortunate to be able to visit a very cold
Tussenfyd Amusement Park in Oslo. On the approach to the park you cannot
fail to be impressed by the magnificent scenery, especially in early
February with all the snow around. After entering the park the scenery
improves even further with the appearance of the “THUNDER COASTER”. One
of the first things I noticed with regard to this ride is the fabulous
curves and angles of its structure. The ride is very reminiscent of the
Prior & Church Coasters from the golden era of the 1920’s/30’s. It is a
very compact ride, which is situated on the site of a hill. This means
that the entire ride is not easily visible and as such there can be one
or two unexpected turns during the ride. The ride uses Vekoma trains,
which are almost identical to those, used on Robin Hood at Six Flags
Holland, the only exception being a foot lap bar release.
The ride can run at anything up to -10C. The day I was there it was –9C.
Once you leave the lift hill, the first drop has a tight left turn and
then you move on to what I can only describe as the best wooden coaster
drop in Europe and possibly the world. The amount of airtime from this
second drop is quite simply superb. It does not get any better than
this; you nearly have to call it a Stand Up. The rest of the ride is
also jam-packed with airtime! Unlike a lot of modern coasters there are
no dead spots. In my opinion, this is easily the number one roller
coaster in Europe. The theoretical ride time after leaving the chain to
the first station brake is 55 seconds, however the ride has already been
running at 53 seconds. After a full season who knows what this will
become.
This coaster is a major investment for the park and I have no doubt in
believing this will be a big success; I just wish it were in the UK (a
few parks should take a look). I would also like to state that
Tussenfyd has some of the best staff that I have ever met.
Regards
Tony Pycroft
Jens Uwe Kupka
http://www.henson.com/cards/images/everyday_06s.gif
http://212.227.177.77/JUK/hp_banner.jpg
http://www.hansaparkfan.de
Last Saturday I was very fortunate to be able to visit a very cold
Tussenfyd Amusement Park in Oslo. On the approach to the park you cannot
fail to be impressed by the magnificent scenery, especially in early
February with all the snow around. After entering the park the scenery
improves even further with the appearance of the “THUNDER COASTER”. One
of the first things I noticed with regard to this ride is the fabulous
curves and angles of its structure. The ride is very reminiscent of the
Prior & Church Coasters from the golden era of the 1920’s/30’s. It is a
very compact ride, which is situated on the site of a hill. This means
that the entire ride is not easily visible and as such there can be one
or two unexpected turns during the ride. The ride uses Vekoma trains,
which are almost identical to those, used on Robin Hood at Six Flags
Holland, the only exception being a foot lap bar release.
The ride can run at anything up to -10C. The day I was there it was –9C.
Once you leave the lift hill, the first drop has a tight left turn and
then you move on to what I can only describe as the best wooden coaster
drop in Europe and possibly the world. The amount of airtime from this
second drop is quite simply superb. It does not get any better than
this; you nearly have to call it a Stand Up. The rest of the ride is
also jam-packed with airtime! Unlike a lot of modern coasters there are
no dead spots. In my opinion, this is easily the number one roller
coaster in Europe. The theoretical ride time after leaving the chain to
the first station brake is 55 seconds, however the ride has already been
running at 53 seconds. After a full season who knows what this will
become.
This coaster is a major investment for the park and I have no doubt in
believing this will be a big success; I just wish it were in the UK (a
few parks should take a look). I would also like to state that
Tussenfyd has some of the best staff that I have ever met.
Regards
Tony Pycroft
Jens Uwe Kupka
http://www.henson.com/cards/images/everyday_06s.gif
http://212.227.177.77/JUK/hp_banner.jpg
http://www.hansaparkfan.de