Flight of Fear
Flight of Fear is an enclosed roller coaster located at Kings Dominion and Kings Island. Both locations opened on June 18, 1996, as The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear, themed after the 1960s TV series of the same name. Built and designed by Premier Rides, they were the world's first launched roller coasters to feature linear induction motor technology. The Paramount Parks branding was removed in 2001, dropping "The Outer Limits" from the name.
History
began teasing a new attraction in the summer of 1995 by cutting a "crop circle" in a nearby field which featured a UFO, the face of an alien and the letter "F" written in binary. By August 1995, Kings Island had announced more details revealing that the new attraction was an indoor roller coaster to be called "The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear". Reaching a top speed of in only four seconds, it was originally described as utilizing a "laser-controlled catapult system" that would propel riders through a series of inversions in the dark. The experience would be "heightened by Hollywood-type special effects", according to Carolyn Boof who was the park's manager of marketing communications. Boof also confirmed it would cost significantly more than the $7 million that was cited in earlier reports, and that its alien theme would be based on the 1960s science-fiction TV series, The Outer Limits.Premier Rides and Paramount's Kings Dominion performed the first successful launch of the ride on the evening of April 11, 1996, proving that linear induction motors could produce enough force through the use of magnetic fields to quickly accelerate roller coasters. Each launch requires 3 megawatts of electric power, which caused frequent voltage sags to neighboring utility customers. Square D by Schneider Electric developed a complex solid-state capacitor bank to reduce the load on the electric utility.
At Kings Island, reports confirmed that the ride would be placed in the back part of Coney Mall on the other side of The Racer. Both ride locations held a media day on June 17, 1996, and opened to the public as The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear on June 18, 1996. When the rides opened, both had the fastest acceleration of any roller coaster in the world. The attraction was awarded top honors for Major Theme/Amusement Park Ride/Attraction and Technology Applied to Amusements at the November 1995 International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions trade show.
The Kings Island installation was originally located in a small subsection of Coney Mall that became known as X-Base. For years it was the only ride, but with the addition of Firehawk in 2007, the area took on its own theme of experimental flight and propulsion systems. After the park was purchased by Cedar Fair, the park dropped the Paramount branding from the ride's name in 2001, changing it to simply Flight of Fear. X-Base existed through the 2019 season, a year after Firehawk was removed. Following Kings Island's August 2019 announcement of Orion, Firehawk's replacement, it was revealed that X-Base would be updated and become known as Area 72.
Premier Rides built other LIM Catapult models from 1996 to 1999, including Joker's Jinx at Six Flags America, Poltergeist at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Crazy Cobra at Discoveryland. The two Flight of Fear rides are the only indoor versions. All share a similar layout and have the same technical specifications.
Ride experience
Layout
Riders are launched from the station, accelerating from in four seconds down a launch tunnel. The ride emerges into a "spaghetti bowl" of track inside of the tall ride building. Following the launch, the train immediately enters a cobra roll, which contains two of the ride's four inversions. The ride layout continues with a sidewinder and multiple turns. After passing through the mid-course brake run, riders spiral downward to the left, continuing to maneuver through the twisted ride structure. The train picks up speed as riders dive at the floor of the building, finally passing through a corkscrew before arriving at the final brake run.Trains
The trains on the ride originally featured over-the-shoulder restraints, but these were changed to individual lap bar restraints for the 2001 season along with the name change. Each train also originally featured six cars, but that was later reduced to five. Kings Dominion operates three trains, while Kings Island typically operates two trains despite owning four.Theme
The queue building is designed to represent an Area 51 military installation. The outside of the hangar is marked with the number 18, referencing Hangar 18 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Hangar 18 supposedly stores evidence from the Roswell crash site which serves as a base for the ride's storyline. A UFO was spotted crashing into a field not far from the park and the press along with civilians are now permitted to enter the base to view its contents for themselves.Riders enter the line through a "press area" located under an awning to the side of the building. Various announcements regarding the operation of the base and broadcasts from WERD, a fictitious radio station, are played over speakers in the outside queue area. The queue leads down a narrow tunnel, entering the hangar. The interior of the hangar contains a full-sized mockup of one-half of a UFO which appears to be complete as one of the walls of the building is completely covered in mirrors. A video is played over multiple screens explaining how the spacecraft was recovered not far from the park. While some base personnel are running tests on the vessel, others are convinced that it is a hoax and decide to allow the press in to view it. The hangar contains lighting effects which are synchronized with the video. At Kings Dominion, much of the interior of the queue building was converted into a space for the "Lockdown" Halloween Haunt maze, although much of the UFO-related theming remains. At Kings Island, the line winds around the inside of the hangar before entering the underside of the UFO up a short flight of stairs, while at Kings Dominion, the line turns directly up to the UFO and features investigation equipment and cutout of an astronaut.
The inside of the saucer features a display with alien markings and various sound effects. The queue makes a right turn and then sharp left turn into the boarding area. The loading and unloading stations are separate, so riders in the loading side of the building see an empty train returning. The loading station features "cryotubes" containing mannequins dressed in the park's souvenir clothing and wrapped in plastic to look as if they have been captured by the aliens. While the train is loading and waiting to be dispatched, a sound effect imitating a jet engine warming up is played and as the train launches, a take off sound is played. The two stations are the only parts of the ride which have much lighting; most of the ride is in the dark. As such, the ride buildings are also used to store trains and parts for other rides; the building at the Kings Island location formerly held the trains for the now-defunct stand-up coaster, King Cobra and still holds some of the seats removed from The Crypt.
The ride originally used The Outer Limits-based theming. However, after the Paramount's licensing to use the show expired, all references to the television show were removed for the start of the 2001 season. The attraction features an original soundtrack composed by Rob Pottorf and theming co-designed by Bob Dennis and David Ferguson of Paramount Parks Design & Entertainment.
Incidents
Kings Island
- At approximately 2:45 p.m. on June 2, 2014, emergency crews received a report of a fire at the ride. Smoke from an overheated electrical motor had filled the ride building. Two of the eighteen people exposed to the smoke were treated at the scene. Emergency crews cleared the building around 3:45 p.m.
- Smoke coming from a panel outside of the ride building was reported at 10:35 a.m. on June 14, 2014. The panel was the only part of the building to suffer damage; the ride was unaffected, with no flames or injuries reported. The ride later reopened around 12:15 p.m.
Gallery