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lift with our Titan Track, we have never done anything like that before and it was an entirely new concept for our engineers and builders - although they’ve clearly done an outstanding job and everything has turned out perfectly! We dealt with bad soil, ravines, being surrounded by trees - and we had so many rainy days that it pushed the coaster production further and further because you can’t pour concrete or build up when it’s pouring down with rain. But all that having been said, there’s nothing that we can’t overcome at GCI and we have such a strong and dedicated team! We’re still faced with the challenge of getting our trains up the drive tyres in the rain, but we’ll have that worked out very soon, and as soon as it is figured out I expect more GCI rides in the future to have a steel spiral lift.
CW: Zambezi Zinger is the first ride to use your Infinity Flyer trains. Can you tell us a bit more about these? OH: Infinity Flyer trains were used because of the drive tyre system in the spiral lift and because the coaster was designed with tight radiuses (turns and curves). Infinity Flyer trains are different from our Millenium Flyers, because they can be used for tighter turns and quicker crests, faster valleys (more track in less space), as well as inversions and other thrill elements, and, of course, for a drive tyre system.
CW: Wooden coasters will always be a classic attraction - but are there any new trends emerging for this format? OH: Not only is a wooden coaster a classic ride, it is also a work of art. Any park with a wooden coaster holds it dear because of its intricate and detailed beauty and what it brings to the park because of this. My dad, Clair Hain, has always said that a wooden coaster is the main focal point of any park. However, while we all love a classic GCI coaster we are now entering an age with new, advanced, and upcoming designs and that’s going to make wooden coasters more exhilarating than they’ve ever been, with those added thrill elements like inversions with our Titan Track, and Infinity Flyer trains.
CW: What's next for GCI? Any exciting upcoming projects? OH: Other than our new ride that’s being built for Six Flags Qiddya, there’s nothing that we can release quite yet! I guess we’ll all have to wait and find out… but there will be exciting news coming soon!
ZAMBEZI ZINGER: FACTS AND FIGURES
• RIDE TYPE: FAMILY THRILL RIDE • HEIGHT: 74 FT (22.5M) • SPEED: 45 MPH (72.4 KM/H) • LENGTH: 2,428 FT • TUNNEL LENGTH: 110 FT (33.5M) • TRACK STYLE: HYBRID TITAN TRACK • RIDE DURATION: 2 MINUTES • NUMBER OF TRAINS: 2 • RIDERS PER TRAIN: 16
• FLYER TRAINS
AUGUST 2023 23
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