Super Ride

A new roller coaster is coming to town- and it’s touted as the tallest, fastest and most technologically advanced thrill ride yet.

“Superman- The Escape” at Six Flags Magic Mountain will be magnetically driven. Riders will board aerodynamically designed cars and accelerate to 100 mph in seven seconds. Then the car will shoot up a 41-story tower- providing an unprecedented 6.5 seconds of weightlessness- and freefall backward down the tower, again hitting 100 mph.

“One hundred miles per hour in this industry is like breaking the sound barrier,” said Magic Mountain project manager Jim Blackie. “No one’s had the guts to do it before.”

Officials of the Valencia amusement park decline to say how much they’re spending on the ride, but admit it’s more than the $11 million spent on the “Batman” roller coaster in 1994. They’re banking it will attract plenty of thrillseekers when it opens on June. 1, following a month of testing.

“It will leave an indelible memory,” said Paul L. Ruben, North American editor of Park World, “People are either going to love it or hate it, but they’re not going to forget it.”

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Moving the Roller Coaster

Designed in Switzerland, the Superman ride is electro-magnetically powered, unlike traditional rollercoasters that gain their speed by gravity.

* Going Up: Rare earth magnets, able to conduct large amounts of electric current, are mounted beneath each car. Linear synchronous motors attached to the track come on in sequence, creating magnetic fields that increase the car’s speed using the force of magnetic attraction and repulsion.

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1. Electricity activates linear motors on track.

2. Motors create magnetic fields that pull the car forward by attraction.

3. Magnetic fields also repel the car- mounted magnet, increasing speed.

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Coming Down: As the car falls backward, the magnets work in reverse as a braking system. Oversized wheels help reduce the rolling friction between car and track.

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Ride Facts

* Number of cars: two

* Persons per car: 15

* Capacity: 1,800 riders per hour

* Speed: 100 mph

* Acceleration: O to 100 in 7 seconds

* Duration of Ride: 30 seconds

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Large wheels roll along top of track

Linear Motor Housing

Guide Bar

Linear Motor Housing

Track

Seating for 15

Lower wheels grip bottom of track

Sources: Six Flags Magic Mountain, Universal Studios, Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm. Researched by STEPHANIE STASSEL / Los Angeles Times