Air Powered Vertical Coaster
The Air Powered Vertical Coaster is a roller coaster type introduced in the Loopy Landscapes expansion for RollerCoaster Tycoon and featured in all subsequent mainline installments. It is a steel launched roller coaster that uses an air-powered launch system to boost the train out of the station to extreme speeds.
Construction
Track consists of steel girders built upon massive supports. Trains run on classical rubber tires to give the guests a smoother ride, with up-stop wheels below the track; and are air-propelled in order to complete the track.
Special Track Elements
- Banked Curves
- Vertical Track
- Top Track
- Ground to vertical incline
- Vertical to ground incline
- On-ride photo section (OpenRCT2 and RCT3 only)
Vehicles
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Ride rating penalties
The Air Powered Vertical Coaster has the following ride rating penalty:
| Ride stat | Requirement | Ratings affected |
|---|---|---|
| Highest drop height | 34 m (82 ft) | Excitement: 75% |
Pre-built designs
RollerCoaster Tycoon 2
- Wings of Apollo
- Dragster (Time Twister expansion only, uses Hot Rod Trains)
Scenarios
- Vertical Spike (Grand Canyon)
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3
- Twin Thunder
Operating Modes
- Powered launch
Other Information
- The train is launched out of the station using an air-powered launch system. To achieve a comfortable ride, the launch speed should be carefully chosen so the train is travelling at minimum speed over the crest of the hill.
- This ride is called Air Powered Vertical Coaster in both RollerCoaster Tycoon and RollerCoaster Tycoon 2.
- This coaster can only have one train, even if the station platform is long enough to support additional trains.
- Strangely, the track requires a full circuit in order to operate but in RCT1 and OpenRCT2, this coaster can be designed like a half-pipe coaster. Be careful though, both slopes must be high enough (at least 4 or 6 pieces) in order to prevent an accident.
- Like the Reverse Freefall Coaster, Inverted Impulse Coaster, Mine Ride, and Heartline Twister Coaster, this coaster does not get the infamous "(Station) Brakes Failure" breakdown.
- In RCT2, if you build some banked curves, remember to place banked-to-normal pieces before placing the slopes. Otherwise, the ride will either not count as completed (RCT2 and RCT Classic) or crash (RCT1, RCT3, and OpenRCT2).
- The excitement, intensity, and nausea of these will always be very high or at least high.
- In OpenRCT2, the Air Powered Vertical Coaster's highest drop height penalty was incorrect in relation to the original RCT2, dividing the excitement by 2 instead of 4 if the ride did not have a highest drop height stat of at least 34 m (82 ft). This has been fixed as of the v0.4.1 release on July 4, 2022.
- The Air Powered Vertical Coaster can be more profitable than many other coasters due to its incredibly high rating multipliers, with 44 for excitement, 66 for intensity (the highest of any ride type so far in the game), and 10 for nausea. This means that it is possible to charge the maximum of $20 for a short design up until the ride turns five years old, assuming only one copy of the Air Powered Vertical Coaster is built and opened in the park.
In Real Life
The Air Powered Coaster is made by the company S&S (which bought out Arrow Dynamics in 2002). There are two notable roller coasters of this distinct type and they are HyperSonic XLC (abbr. Xtreme Launch Coaster) which was removed in 2007, and Do-Dodonpa (formerly Dodonpa, once was the world's fastest roller coaster and is currently the fastest roller coaster with an inversion) in Japan. There have been make overs of the Air powered coaster (all by S&S) and the latest remakes were ring°racer (currently SBNO) in Germany, which reached a top speed of 99 mph (135 mph in early design and testing), and Maxx Force at Six Flags Great America. However, these later models differ substantially from the original.
