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What is the most surprising airtime moment you’ve experienced in your enthusiast career?

When riding Katun at Mirabilandia for the first time in the back row i had 3 unexpected airtime moments:

- The first drop had long, sustained floater airtime (i didn't watch any review before riding Katun and from the pov it didn't look like it gave any airtime so i wasn't expecting anything there).

-The small dip out of the turn before the cobra roll had a really unexpected pop of floater airtime that started sideways and ended straight.

-The drop out of the mid course brake run had a snappy pop of strong floater airtime because i didn't get trimmed.

 
For me, this is really difficult because with experience, you just know where to expect it - from looking at the layout before, or simply as you come into an element. It's very rare to get an airtime shock. I guess that's why this topic is important :)

Hyde said:
Steel Force (Dorney) Third Airtime Hill - This is a double dip hill headed into the turnaround helix; there is a specific, loooooong sustained floater airtime hill here. I'm trying to recall exactly where I was sitting in the train, as that was most likely a culprit, but it was quite pronounced!
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Oh yes. I was expecting "Big One Bland", but it was so much fun. It's not the greatest coaster or the greatest airtime, but it was just really lovely. Rode it loads of times, just because it was so "pleasant" :)

There's a steel coaster that's bugging me. You get ejector if you're sat at the back coming off the MCBR. Can't for the life of me remember what ride though. It must be one I've ridden a few times for it to stick though.

The best I can remember though was Boulder Dash, and it's why it rates so highly for me. You can see the airtime hills at the end, and they give an expected amount of airtime. There's one section though on the mountain. The coaster suddenly turns and drops at the same time, the flojector is awesome, but it's so utterly unexpected. You can't see it coming or plan for it. The coaster is moving at such a lick as well, it's hard to anticipate where you are to be ready for it. So it was an almost constant surprise.
 
I know this might seem like a strange one given that there are no elements on the ride whatsoever that would even look like they create airtime, but I’m actually going to nominate The Swarm at Thorpe Park for this. Airtime is far from the ride’s strongest feature, but I’ve got to say, that final roll over the station really flings me out of my seat every time; it almost feels like an odd kind of “inverted airtime” sensation, and it’s amazing!

You also get some really nice out-of-your-seat action on the first drop and the zero-g roll, but I’d personally say that feels like hangtime as opposed to out-and-out airtime.
 
For me it was on Oziris in Parc Asterix.

That little moment after the vertical loop when the track goes straight for a bit before entering the immelmann was totally unexpected airtime for me. For a brief moment i thought I was falling.

Yukon Striker has the same moment after the loop.
 
First time i rode great American scream machine at SFOG, back row in 2019. Even after starting the ride off getting jack hammered to death, it’s that drop after the second turnaround that gives some incredible and very unexpected quality airtime. Wasnt surprised to recently see eltororyan claim during a Q&A that that exact airtime moment was his single favorite airtime element he’s ever experienced. It honestly makes the spinal realignment from the rest of the ride worth it.
Also, opening weekend for Orion. First ride ever, front hill and you hit that speed hill...you can’t find that type of flojector airtime on any other ride. First time I hit that, I found myself kicking my legs rapidly like speedy Gonzalez. From then on, I refer it as the Speedy Gonzalez hill.
The true standing airtime you got off the drop on Shockwave SFOT after the loops and a not so snug lap bar.
Lastly the ‘expected but unexpectedly incredible’...the finale on magnum in the magic seat (seriously, bring the thigh pain....I don’t care...so worth it) and the first drop and immediately into the camelback on el Toro back row. Every enthusiast must experience those two rides before they die.
 
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I knew Shambhala had airtime. It's a B&M hyper, after all, how couldn't it?
Did I know the hill after the ampersand had ejector? No, of course not! And I loved it because of that.
 
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Big Dipper at BPB has one pop of painful ejector in the back when cresting the fourth hill. I recorded my phone accelerometer readings for a uni project, and that hill consistently produced -2g during each ride.
 
When I rode Raptor at Garda land in the back row I experienced some delicious unexpected Airtime. It really caught me off guard and I remember it to be pretty strong, more like ejector airtime but that might have been because it really surprised me.
 
I think any enthusiast is now aware that Colorado Adventure has lots of airtime if you sit in the back of the train. But when I first rode it, years ago, I was completely unaware of this and was so surprised with how often I was flung out of my seat! Are mine trains normally allowed to be this thrilling? Haha!
 
GENEZY said:
When riding Katun at Mirabilandia for the first time in the back row i had 3 unexpected airtime moments:

- The first drop had long, sustained floater airtime (i didn't watch any review before riding Katun and from the pov it didn't look like it gave any airtime so i wasn't expecting anything there).

-The small dip out of the turn before the cobra roll had a really unexpected pop of floater airtime that started sideways and ended straight.

-The drop out of the mid course brake run had a snappy pop of strong floater airtime because i didn't get trimmed.

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Across a lot of B&M Inverts, there are definitely a number of hidden airtime gems tucked between the inversions!
 
Hexis said:
I think any enthusiast is now aware that Colorado Adventure has lots of airtime if you sit in the back of the train. But when I first rode it, years ago, I was completely unaware of this and was so surprised with how often I was flung out of my seat! Are mine trains normally allowed to be this thrilling? Haha!
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Ditto!! So much fun.
 
Mine's a bit of an obvious one, so obvious in fact that it could be deemed kinda weird. It was Taron.
I mean, durr, everyone knows Taron has airtime. It's sort of famous for it. But those two ejector hills - you know the ones I mean, there's one in each half, the twisted ones that bank from right to left - they still caught me completely off guard. If you haven't ridden Taron, they're kinda like Rita's big airtime moment, but much better and without the awful OTSR's and with spacious trains and elevated seating that gives your whole body room to be flung upwards. With arms and legs flailing around like a broken puppet, I actually felt the exact moment the lap bar saved my life. If it wasn't there I probably would have landed somewhere near Berlin. The first hill was bad enough, but to get you again with the second hill is just insane.
Perhaps not the strongest airtime I've ever experienced, nor the longest, but it definitely stands out in my memory as the most surprising airtime I've felt.
S'good. 👍
 
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Howie said:
Mine's a bit of an obvious one, so obvious in fact that it could be deemed kinda weird. It was Taron.
I mean, durr, everyone knows Taron has airtime. It's sort of famous for it. But those two ejector hills - you know the ones I mean, there's one in each half, the twisted ones that bank from right to left - they still caught me completely off guard. If you haven't ridden Taron, they're kinda like Rita's big airtime moment, but much better and without the awful OTSR's and with spacious trains and elevated seating that allows your arms and legs to be violently hurled upwards. Seriously, I was flailing around like a broken puppet, I actually felt the exact moment the lap bar saved my life. If it wasn't there I probably would have landed somewhere near Berlin. The first hill was bad enough, but to get you again with the second hill is just insane.
Perhaps not the strongest airtime I've ever experienced, nor the longest, but it definitely stands out in my memory as the most surprising airtime I've felt.
S'good. 👍
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The right hand back row seat actually scared my other half off riding for the rest of ERT! I came off the next train to see him sat on the benches looking pretty pale :D We'd ridden a couple times during the day, but not at the back. He said he could feel the gap between the seat and the lapbar, and it felt like he was gonna get squeezed out the seat through that gap
 
MIne would have to be the first drop on Skyrush in the back row. I wasn't expecting that much ejector air off the first drop. The only time I yelled expletives on a coaster.
 
jay37415 said:
MIne would have to be the first drop on Skyrush in the back row. I wasn't expecting that much ejector air off the first drop. The only time I yelled expletives on a coaster.
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I was going to say the same. I had no idea what was coming on that drop and my hands when straight to the restraints for the first time in years.

Colorado Adventure as well, everyone goes on about it but you don't expect it to have that much airtime.
 
Hi guys. Airtime is a moment of coasters that many enthusiasts crave, and while you expect airtime in certain places on many coasters, sometimes that amazing burst of airtime can just hit you right out of the blue when you’re least expecting it! On the flip side, however, there are sometimes elements where you’d expect a pop of airtime, and it just doesn’t materialise.

So my question to you today is; of all the roller coasters you’ve ridden, which have had some of the most surprising airtime moments, where that amazing airtime hits when you’re least expecting it, and which have had some of the most surprisingly airtime-less elements, where you’ve been rared up for an amazing burst of airtime but have just gotten nothing?

I’ll get the ball rolling with my answers…

Most surprising airtime moments
  • Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit - non-inverting loop: This element doesn’t look like it should provide an awful lot of airtime, but you’re yanked out of it with surprising force! This was one of my earliest experiences with airtime, and this was a really excellent moment, in my opinion; it definitely surprised me!
  • Icon - Various: Icon has an absolute plethora of amazing airtime moments, in my opinion, but in terms of surprising ones, I’ll limit it down to a couple. Everyone might rave about Icon’s top hat, but I have to say that that probably isn’t my most surprising moment of airtime on Icon, as great as it is! For me, the most surprising airtime moments on Icon are the curved drop into the second launch (doesn’t look like it would provide much airtime, but you get absolutely thrown out of your seat!), that straight drop about midway through the second half of the ride (do you know the one I mean, where it’s a straight drop in between the plethora of rapid turns? Even though that drop isn’t particularly big or steep, the airtime there is surprisingly strong!) and that sideways banked airtime hill towards the end of the ride, just as you’re approaching the brake run (that one really throws you sideways with some surprisingly strong negative g’s!)! All 3 of these are really great at catching you off guard with amazing airtime when you’re least expecting it, and they are one of the many things that I love about Icon!
  • Wicker Man - Various: Now this is one that I would never have expected to be including based on how it rode in 2018 (I only remembered 1 or 2 fairly mild airtime moments from my first ride, and that was in row 10!), but lately, it’s become an absolutely furious airtime machine! Every drop seems to throw you over with strong ejector, and the reason I included it is because in the back row especially, the ride now gives really great airtime on many small hills or turns that don’t look like they’d be ripe for giving airtime; to give some perspective, even the small hill with anti-rollbacks on it leading into the 180 degree u-turn was a surprisingly great little airtime moment on my last ride!
  • The Swarm - Final in-line twist: Now I’ll admit I’m slightly sceptical about calling this airtime, but I don’t know quite what else to call it, because Swarm’s final inversion just absolutely flings you out of the seat with really surprising negative g’s! It’s quite possibly becoming one of my favourite moments of the ride, and I’d certainly love in-line twists a lot more if they all rode like that!
  • Shockwave (Drayton Manor) - Zero-g roll: I did always wonder how a zero-g roll would ride on a standup coaster, and I’d have to say that it rides surprisingly well, and like Swarm’s last inversion, it gives a surprising burst of inverted airtime! While Shockwave overall is not exactly one of my favourite rides, this inversion was an excellent surprise airtime moment that really threw me out of my seat with surprising force when I was least expecting it, and was undoubtably the highlight of the ride for me!
Most surprising airtime-less moments
  • Colossus (Thorpe Park) - Airtime hill: This hill looks like it should ride really well on paper; it’s quite long, quite low, and the train goes through it at a surprising pace. However, this is sadly one of those moments where you’re rared up for a great pop of airtime, and nothing happens; I don’t know if I’m just always seated in the wrong rows for stuff to happen on it, but every time I’ve ridden, I’ve stayed firmly in my seat over this element, with no airtime being felt whatsoever.
  • Big One (Blackpool Pleasure Beach) - Various: While the Big One is not exactly known for being an airtime machine, and wasn’t really built to provide airtime, you’d think that with the height and decent size hills, you might get at least some airtime. However, on all 3 rides I’ve had on Big One, I’m afraid I’ve stayed firmly in my seat throughout, even towards the back, which is traditionally thought of as a more airtime-filled seat on rides. Again, maybe I’m just riding in the wrong rows, and Big One wasn’t really built for airtime, in fairness, but I can’t help but feel a nagging feeling of slight disappointment whenever I crest Big One’s hills.
But what ride moments have been surprisingly airtime-filled or surprisingly airtime-less for you?
 
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