Carolina Cyclone
The Carolina Cyclone is an Arrow Dynamics roller coaster located at Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Carolina Cyclone, built in 1980 by world-renowned (and now defunct) coaster builders Arrow Dynamics, the first roller coaster to have four inversions, two loops and two corkscrews.
| Carolina Cyclone | |
|---|---|
 The ride's consecutive loops and corkscrew | |
| Carowinds | |
| Location | Carowinds |
| Park section | Carolina Boardwalk |
| Coordinates | 35°06′15″N 80°56′37″W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | March 22, 1980 |
| Cost | $2,000,000 (about 6.7 million today) |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel |
| Manufacturer | Arrow Dynamics |
| Designer | Ron Toomer |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 95 ft (29 m) |
| Drop | 65 ft (20 m) |
| Length | 2,100 ft (640 m) |
| Speed | 41 mph (66 km/h) |
| Inversions | 4 |
| Duration | 1:30 |
| Max vertical angle | 53° |
| Capacity | 1,600 riders per hour |
| G-force | 3.5 |
| Height restriction | 48 in (122 cm) |
| Trains | 2 trains with 7 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 28 riders per train. |
 Fast Lane available | |
| Carolina Cyclone at RCDB Pictures of Carolina Cyclone at RCDB | |
Ride experience
Riders exit the station and make a tight left turn before the lift begins pulling them to the top. A small drop, along with a turn, brings the train to the largest drop on the roller coaster. Directly after the drop are two vertical loops followed by a small hill with a banked turn. As the train makes its way over the walkway it flips riders twice in a double corkscrew. These elements make Carolina Cyclone the first ever coaster with four inversions. After the corkscrews riders are taken to a near-ground helix before hitting the brake run and returning to the station.[1]
The ride was originally painted with red-orange track and black supports, and later bluish-green track w/ black supports, and later with blue track and dark gray supports. For the 2010 season, a new paint job was applied. The supports are light blue along the entire ride. The track in the final brake run, station, and from the station to the top of the first drop, is also painted light blue, but the inversions are painted yellow and the track on the first drop, turn between the corkscrews, and final helix are all painted orange.
| Preceded by Corkscrew |
First Roller Coaster With 4 Inversions March 1980–May 1982 |
Succeeded by Viper |
References
- "Carowinds Carolina Cyclone POV". TheCoasterViews. July 15, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2019 – via YouTube.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carolina Cyclone. |