A bobsled roller coaster is a roller coaster that uses a track design that is essentially a "pipe" with the top half removed and has cars that are sent down this pipe in a freewheeling mode. The name derives from the great similarity to the track design used for the winter sport of bobsleigh. Most modern bobsled roller coasters are made of steel; however, the first bobsled coasters, known as Flying Turns roller coasters, were made of wood.
Flying Turns
John Norman Bartlett, a British aviator in World War I, came to North America after the war with an idea for a trackless wooden chute, full of twists like a bobsled course, with toboggan-like cars, based on a bobsled ride that operated in Europe. He had filed GB Patent 279109A for the idea in 1926.GB 279109A Google patents, Retrieved August 18, 2018 Bartlett met John Miller in 1928, and they commenced building the new ride. When the ride went into production, much of the idea was the same, but the cars looks more like monoplanes, which Bartlett designed. Miller worked on the loading station, supporting structure, braking system and incline.
On October 4, 2013, after seven years of construction, Knoebels in Pennsylvania opened the world's only modern wooden Flying Turns coaster, Flying Turns. The ride was scheduled to open in 2007, but had been delayed due to dysfunctional wheels and other issues. As there were no historic plans available, the new coaster was designed entirely from scratch.
Installations Notably, the Gerstlauer Bobsled Coaster model is not a bobsled coaster by this definition but rather an improvement on the wild mouse.
As of 2012, 21 bobsled roller coasters have been built. The roller coasters are listed in order of opening dates. Name Park Country Opened Closed Type Manufacturer Status Flying Turns Lakeside Park 1929 1930 - 1954* Wood John Norman Bartlett Removed Flying Turns Euclid Beach Park 1930 September 28, 1969 Wood John Norman Bartlett Removed Flying Turns Rocky Point Park 1931 1938 Wood John Norman Bartlett/Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters Removed Flying Turns Forest Park 1934 July 19, 1963 Wood John Norman Bartlett Removed Flying Turns Steeplechase Park 1934 September 14, 1939 Wood John Norman Bartlett Removed Flying Turns Riverview ParkFormerly Century of Progress 1935May 27, 1933 1967October 31, 1934 Wood John Norman Bartlett Removed Lake Placid Bobsled Palisades Amusement Park 1937 1946 Wood John Norman Bartlett Removed Bobsled Coney IslandFormerly Flushing Meadows Park 1941April 30, 1939 1974October 27, 1940 Wood John Norman Bartlett Removed Flying Turns HersheyPark 1942 (intended) N/A Wood Philadelphia Toboggan Co. Cancelled Screamin' Delta Demon Opryland USA† April 1984 October 31, 1997 Steel Intamin Removed Schweizer Bobbahn Europa Park April 1985 Steel Mack Rides Operating Bobbaan Efteling April 4, 1985 September 1, 2019 Steel Intamin Removed Disaster TransportFormerly Avalanche Run Cedar Point May 11, 1985 July 29, 2012 Steel Intamin Removed La ViboraFormerly Sarajevo Bobsled Six Flags Over TexasSix Flags Magic Mountain 19861984 20241986 Steel Intamin Removed ReptilianFormerly Avalanche Kings Dominion 1988 Steel Mack Rides Operating Avalanche Pleasure Beach Blackpool June 22, 1988 Steel Mack Rides Operating Munich Autobahn Kobe Portopialand April 1991 March 31, 2006 Steel Mack Rides Removed Schweizer Bobbahn Heide Park 1994 Steel Mack Rides Operating Alpine BobsledFormerly Rolling ThunderFormerly Sarajevo Bobsled Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane HarborSix Flags Great AmericaSix Flags Great Adventure 199819891984 2023 1995 1988 Steel Intamin Removed Trace Du Hourra Parc Astérix March 31, 2001 Steel Mack Rides Operating Flying Turns Knoebels October 5, 2013 Wood Knoebels Operating Montanha Russa Parque Shanghai Wood Removed * Denotes that exact closing date is not known. † The Screamin' Delta Demon was transported to Old Indiana Fun Park following Opryland's closure in 1998, but was never reassembled and eventually scrapped.
In popular culture Both the bobsled coaster and the Flying Turns coaster are buildable in the RollerCoaster Tycoon and Thrillville series of video games.
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