Firehawk to Debut Saturday, May 26th!

[BoddaH1994]

This Saturday will be the debut of Firehawk at Kings Island! Riders will be seated four across through a half mile of track and five inversions, all while experiencing the inconceivable feeling of human flight! The new attraction will be located in the Coney Mall section of the park, next to Flight of Fear in the newly renamed X-Base area.

To celebrate the opening of Firehawk, Kings Island is giving away special commemorative Firehawk T-shirts to the first 2,500 riders each day from Saturday May 26th through Tuesday May 29th

Click here to see KICentral.com's latest Firehawk construction and testing photos.

Attraction Breakdown:

Attraction Name: Firehawk

Description: Thrill flyers experience heart-pounding excitement as Firehawk soars through more than a half mile of steel tracking. Willing adventure seekers lie down to experience this 51 mph., top-secret, all-altitude airborne mission. But they're certainly not relaxing within seconds, each pilot is facing the ground, experiencing the inconceivable feeling of human flight.

Manufacturer Vekoma International

Track Length 3340 feet

Ride Speed 51 mph.

Height 115 feet

Angle of descent 30 degrees

Inversions 5

Keep checking back to KICentral.com for the latest news, rumors, photos, and information about Kings Island amusement park!

Regards,

Ryan

[welchce]

If you watch the video they have on the Firehawk pop-up for pki.com, you can tell that the simulation is of Stealth because at the end of the video the coaster goes into corkscrews and not barrel rolls

[DropZone99]

And another video [maybe the same one] Firehawk looks just like X-Flight did over at GL, it has the same station. They just pasted the ride's video at GL and put the ride behind FoF, they try to make it not as noticeable by making the beging in black and white so you cant see that the track is green.

Actually we could be thinking of the same video, [it probably is Stealth.]

[welchce]

And another video [maybe the same one] Firehawk looks just like X-Flight did over at GL, it has the same station. They just pasted the ride's video at GL and put the ride behind FoF, they try to make it not as noticeable by making the beging in black and white so you cant see that the track is green.

Actually we could be thinking of the same video, [it probably is Stealth.]

I did see that commercial with the black and white X-Flight but I am talking about ... http://www1.cedarfair.com/KingsIsland/Firehawk/intro.html

[DropZone99]

Oh, okay.

I was getting confused there for a while.

And by the way that video is pretty neat.

[welchce]

Yeah, I don't know how long that has been on their site. I just noticed it today.

[DropZone99]

Ive seen it once before today, about 3 weeks ago.

This is off topic but does Avatar: The Last Air Bender count as a roller coaster???

[PKIVortex]

Yes and no. Kings Island counts it as a Rollercoaster. But RCDB does not.

1. Racer

2. Fairy Odd Coaster

3. The Beast

4. Vortex

5. Adventure Express

6. Little Bills Giggle Coaster

7. Top Gun

8. Flight of Fear

9. Face/Off

10. Son of Beast

11. Reptar

12. IJST

13. Avatar

14. Firehawk

I didn't want to double post, but over at URC someone said Firehawk will only be using 1 train this weekend? They also said they didn't see the other train on the track on Sunday. I saw both trains on the track on Friday.

[DropZone99]

I hope all trains are running Saturday, well atleast two, so we can see the dural loading station at work.

=]

[Kenban]

Ive seen it once before today, about 3 weeks ago.

This is off topic but does Avatar: The Last Air Bender count as a roller coaster???

No because it never actually coasts. The ride is powered during the entire duration of its cycle and is not dependent on gravity so it is not considered a coaster.

EDIT: You know when I wrote this the whole gravity thing made sense at the time. But I realized it was a mistake just a few minutes later. With todays launched coasters its not really a requirement. But the ride has to coast at some point which Avatar never does.

[PKIVortex]

KI counts it as one though.

[BoddaH1994]

I didn't want to double post, but over at URC someone said Firehawk will only be using 1 train this weekend? They also said they didn't see the other train on the track on Sunday. I saw both trains on the track on Friday.

At this time we have not gotten official word as to whether it will be running one or two trains. Fortunately we do know that they are both in their respective stations (at least they were Saturday).

[Jasper]

In the words of The Great One, The Rock, FINALLY....Firehawk WILL OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!!!!!! IF YA SMELLLLLLLLL WHAT Kings Island...IS COOKING!!!

[welchce]

Who all here is planning on being there Saturday morning and what time are you getting there? I might just have to show up.

[RWildman424]

I asked somewhere else, but no one responded, so I'll ask again. Has anyone seen the seats move in and out of loading position. Thats one complicated system and that maybe why there is only one car on the track. Maybe one didn't work right. I just thought that if anyone had seen this, it could put that idea out of my mind. Right now, thats one think that I think will take time to work out. I hope I'm wrong.

[BoddaH1994]

I asked somewhere else, but no one responded, so I'll ask again. Has anyone seen the seats move in and out of loading position. Thats one complicated system and that maybe why there is only one car on the track. Maybe one didn't work right. I just thought that if anyone had seen this, it could put that idea out of my mind. Right now, thats one think that I think will take time to work out. I hope I'm wrong.

There are two cars on the track, and no, the cars have maintained a laying position.

[CoastersRZ]

Actually, on Sunday, they had one of the trains parked on the storage track. The other one was parked on the lift. But I think that was due to them doing some work in the station, and not necessarily any indication that the ride will only open with one train.

[BoddaH1994]

Actually, on Sunday, they had one of the trains parker on the storage track. The other one was parked on the lift. But I think that was due to them doing some work in the station, and not necessarily any indication that the ride will only open with one train.

We saw the ride at different points of the day. I know that when they were cycling it, they had both trains in the station, but afterwards one wasn't in the station... probably either at the bottom of the lift or on the transfer track. Both are pretty much out of eyeshot.

[Dane]

Kings Island, Ohio – NOW YOU CAN FLY!...at Kings Island beginning Saturday (Memorial Day Weekend) as the park celebrates its 35th anniversary with the much-anticipated opening of Firehawk, the park’s 14th imaginative roller coaster.

Firehawk, the innovative flying roller coaster, propels riders 115 feet in the air and through five inversions at speeds of more than 50 mph – all while the riders are facing the ground, giving them the inconceivable experience of human flight.

To celebrate the opening of Firehawk, Kings Island is giving away special commemorative Firehawk T-shirts to the first 2,500 riders each day from Saturday May 26th through Tuesday May 29th.

The new Firehawk roller coaster is located in the Coney Mall themed area of the park. After boarding the coaster, riders are lowered backward to begin their ascent up a 115-foot-tall lift hill, only to be flipped over and jetted at top speeds through ½ mile of steel track over the course of 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

[Vortex]

I didn't want to double post, but over at URC someone said Firehawk will only be using 1 train this weekend? They also said they didn't see the other train on the track on Sunday. I saw both trains on the track on Friday.

At this time we have not gotten official word as to whether it will be running one or two trains. Fortunately we do know that they are both in their respective stations (at least they were Saturday).

The red FareHawk train was on the transfer track Sunday. Yellow train was parked on the lift hill. If Kings Island was smart for the opening they would use both trains and stations.

[The Interpreter]

Of course the park is smart. I can assure you they want this thing open and to maximum capacity just as much as, if not more than, you do.

[welchce]

Exactly because the shorter the guests wait in line, the more rides they can go on, the more fun they have, and the more likely they are to come back again.

[CoastersNSich]

One thing I'm curious about is if there will be a place to hold loose articles. When it was X-Flight at Geauga Lake, you couldn't leave loose articles in the station, though there were lockers at the ride's entry plaza. I hope this changes for the better at Kings Island.

[CoastersRZ]

I don`t recall seeing any lockers outside of the ride area for Firehawk. That is a very valid issue. I know that when the ride was up north, you were not allowed to enter the line with any loose articles. There aren`t exactly any lockers close to Firehawk. I guess the closest are the ones by Tomb Raider: The Ride? Or perhaps the ones over by Viking Fury. Not exactly convenient for guests jetisoning loose articles before embarking on a flight aboard Firehawk.

[The Interpreter]

Exactly because the shorter the guests wait in line, the more rides they can go on, the more fun they have, and the more likely they are to come back again.

Not to mention that, with very limited exceptions, guests standing in line aren't available to be buying merchandise, food and games. A beverage, perhaps, but not much other stuff.

As for loose articles, at Carowinds, the operators have plastic dishpan type bins that you are required to empty your pockets (and loose glasses) in to. Lockers would certainly be more convenient for the guests...but the ones at TombRaider get very little use.

Then again, the BEST solution would be like at Islands of Adventure by Hulk, where the lockers are FREE for 90 minutes. Or at least they were last time I checked.

[BoddaH1994]

For those of you who haven't ridden, loose articles aren't as big of a deal on Firehawk as they would be on Tomb Raider, for example. Of course, I encourage you to secure all loose articles as directed, but things such as your cell phone and other reasonably sized pocketable items should be fine if kept on you.

[The Interpreter]

Yes and no. Anything in your front pockets, in particular, is NOT a good idea. There is a lot of pressure (not uncomfortable, but a lot) put on your thighs. People with keys, in particular, could find themselves even getting bruised and even cut. I've known this to happen to several people who ignored the instructions. In the first year at Six Flags, they actually patted some guests down who appeared to have things in their front pockets.

And without cargo pockets, even things in your back pockets aren't safe from flying out. It is, after all, a flying coaster.

[flightoffear1996]

So where are things safe at?

[welchce]

I remember that my brother lost his cell phone on Stealth but I can't recall where it was being held. So it's probably the best idea to secure all cargo. However, I usually feel uneasy about leaving stuff at the station since anyone could just walk up and take it.

[Ki Man]

As was stated before, just follow the instructions! There are bins to safely put your things in. I can't remember if I put my things in my cargo pockets or the bins, but I usually just have my camera, wallet, and cell phone with me. Those always go in pockets. (On BORG Assimilator) So I am really looking foreward to Firehawk, especially for theming or grass in the following years.