I finally made it and f.l.e.w. today!
Rookburgh is amazing. Truly world class in many aspects. Let me just comment on some controversal points.
Flat walls:
I've never been a passionate flat-walls complainer, but I must say I had a bit of an issue with it, looking at the pictures of the site. Now, having been there I must say this largely disappeared. The walls are fine. First, they actually look a bit less flat in real life. Second, they do not appear to be that prominent in the sense that you usually do not stare at these walls. Walking around on site, most often there is something in the foreground that catches the eye. So, I'd think, given they had a finite budget, it's invested well. The area just looks great. However, I must add that it was a cloudy day. Being illuminated in bright sunlight these walls might appear more prominent.
BTW, somewhat filthy weather seems to suit that area.
Queue:
Most of it is great but parts of it really feel provisional. Of course, to some extent it belongs to the industrial theming, so it's for sure a balancing act to hit the right tone here. Anyway, just felt that it couldn't thoroughly deliver.
Ride experience:
There were very different opinions whether this ride is actually intense or tame and I really didn't know what to expect here. Now, I think the best answer to this is: it's a flying coaster! And as such it delivers positive g-forces probably up to around 2.5 g (maybe a bit more in few spots depending on your seat). So, in this concern it is way less intense than Taron (I guess up to 4.5 g in one or two spots when it's warm) or Black Mamba (even a bit more at the bottom of the loop). However, our body is, of course, much more sensitive to positive g's in the flying position. And moreover, I suspect that this sensitivity has a larger range of variation from person to person than for the sit down position, as the individual anatomy and musculature plays a more important role.
Also, the perception of positive g's depends actually on how you hold your head. If you look down it feels stronger than if you look forward. I've played around with it. At the same time, it can be pretty exhausting to keep your head up in that position for long (in particular when re-riding). Also, due to the softness of the vests it really makes a difference if you hold fast onto your restraints or if you raise/spread your arms requiring more body tension. All in all, f.l.y. felt more demanding (and hence less re-rideable) than Taron for me. For Taron I can just relax and enjoy being thrown around in my seat. That feeling is totally absent for f.l.y. So, yeah, I think you really have to get used to it to fully enjoy the feeling it delivers. Apart from that, for what it is the layout itself is pretty strong I'd say. It's well balanced, has a good pacing, no dead spots or obvious weaknesses. Still not my favorite in the park, which doesn't come as a big surprise as I've never been a particular fan of flyers. F.l.y. hasn't changed that game (yet). Let's see if my next visit could change my mind...
