Winning the hearts of roller coaster aficionados
Atlanta theme park is destination for thrill-seeking
Tucked away in the wooded suburbs south of Atlanta is a small family-owned amusement park that used to bring in customers thanks to humble attractions such as its Ferris wheel, bumper boats, Tilt-a-Whirl, gokart tracks, Scooby Swing, and batting cages.
But as of this year, Fun Spot America Atlanta has transformed itself into something of a destination for the nation’s roller coaster enthusiasts, with the unveiling of a marquee ride, ArieForce One.
It towers above the green landscape, its steel tracks shimmering in the Georgia sun. Its 154-foot lift hill and steep first drop are visible from Highway 85, beckoning — and intimidating — passersby.
The ride is among the newest designed by Rocky Mountain Construction, a roller coaster manufacturer that, in the past decade or so, has become one of the most innovative in the business. The company is a particular favorite among roller coaster fans who make special trips to theme parks around the country to check out the latest advancements in thrill-seeking. And Rocky Mountain Construction’s latest creation was the main reason I paid Fun Spot a visit on a recent Saturday.
Another manufacturer on the wow list is Bolliger & Mabillard, a Swiss firm focused on bold, smooth steel rides, including a new stand-up roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando. Yet another company, Intamin, has made its name with launch coasters and rides of extreme heights and speeds.
You’ll hear abbreviations of these companies — “RMC” for Rocky Mountain Construction; “B&M” for Bolliger & Mabillard — tossed around at events attended by roller coaster aficionados, including the annual CoasterMania! at the Cedar Point theme park in Sandusky, Ohio. The day before my trip to Fun Spot America Atlanta, I was among the CoasterMania! revelers who rode roller coasters built by each of these three top designers.
Events such as CoasterMania! give roller coaster nerds such as me a chance to wallow in the details of a great ride with like-minded people. We can express what’s great about the various twists and drops, discuss rumors of what’s coming up at theme parks around the world and have exclusive time to ride (and reride) roller coasters early in the morning, before the parks officially open to the public. This year, we talked a lot about RMC while in line for Steel Vengeance, one of the wildest and most ambitious coasters that the company has made.
The manufacturer has become known for taking old wooden roller coasters whose rides have gotten too rough and retrofitting them with steel tracks, keeping a lot of the wood structure and turning the rides into hybrid coasters.
Fred Grubb, who founded RMC with Suanne Dedmon, worked with engineer Alan Schilke to come up with their own brand of track for this purpose, the I-Box track. This innovation allows for creative tricks, including overbanked turns and inversions that give those on board a feeling of weightlessness.
For the recently unveiled ArieForce One at Fun Spot, RMC did not reprofile an old wooden coaster, instead building it from scratch with steel supports. The ride’s most talked-about element is its zero-G stall. Riders go upside down in an arc and feel as if they are floating for around four seconds. Fun Spot says its new roller coaster has the longest zero-G stall in the country.
ArieForce One is named after Fun Spot America’s CEO and owner, John Arie Jr., who said in a news release that the jetthemed coaster was “a tribute to my father and his passion for flying.” And, boy, does it fly. Once you make it over the lift, the ride clocks in at a relatively brief 45 seconds, but it doesn’t waste a single one.
After the first drop, the ride goes into what RMC calls a raven-truss dive. In this part of the ride, the track flips you over and sends you diving the other way. From there, ArieForce One manages to fit in two barrel rolls before concluding with four swift airtime hops that bounce you out of your seat before the too-quick end.
“I’ve seen Jesus and came back,” one frazzled rider behind me said.
So, what, exactly, is the secret to an RMC creation? What about this company has people buzzing and making treks to ride its coasters all over the country? In a video call, I spoke with Jake Kilcup, director of engineering at RMC, about the company’s design strategy and goals. Here are edited excerpts from that conversation.
Q: How long have you been with Rocky Mountain Construction?
A: I started with the company in 2009. I came in as a designer and a draftsman. I have my graduate degree in architecture. So I grew up with a fascination in homes and ended up in roller coasters.
Q: So, you were there during a pivotal time of change.
A: I came in when the company had just come up with the I-Box track concept and had just secured their first contract.
Q: How does this make a difference?
A: When we build out of plate steel, we’re not physically bending anything to the point where it’s changing shape in any way. All of those track pieces were built by hand and with clamps. So, it actually lends itself to making the smoothest roller coasters in the world.
Q: Your rides have fun elements like wave turns that put riders horizontal and zero-G rolls that twist riders upside down. Where do these ideas come from?
A: Well, Alan Schilke, who’s kind of a legend in the industry, does all the layouts for our rides. And Joe Draves is his protege. We talk all the time about how to recreate a feeling that you get from doing a certain trick on a snowboard or on skis. It’s something that most people would never do in their lives because it’s difficult and risky. And how do we get that on a roller coaster, where it’s essentially a freebie but you still get that incredible feeling?
Q: ArieForce One is a short coaster with a lot of power. What are you most proud of achieving with this ride?
A: We had some design constraints due to zoning. They were a pain at the time, but they lead to creativity that you would have never found if you didn’t have them. We have some elements that go over a building at Fun Spot, and we had a ceiling that we had to stay under, which required a very aggressive barrel roll right over the building. There’s a lot of eye candy on that ride. But I’m always looking for the more subtle surprise on each ride.
‘There’s a lot of eye candy on [ArieForce One]. I’m always looking for the more subtle surprise on each ride.’ JAKE KILCUP, director of engineering at Rocky Mountain Construction