Английская Википедия:Eejanaika (roller coaster)
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Infobox roller coaster
Шаблон:Nihongo is a steel 4th Dimension Hypercoaster at Fuji-Q Highland in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan. The ride was the world's second 4th Dimension coaster. Eejanaika is taller, faster, and longer than its predecessor, X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain.[1]
The roller coaster, designed by S&S Arrow, is a "4th Dimension" coaster, a design in which the seats can rotate forward or backward 360 degrees in a controlled spin. This is achieved by having four rails on the track: two of these are running rails while the other two are for spin control. The two rails that control the spin of the seats move up and down relative to the track and spin the seats using a rack and pinion gear mechanism.
Eejanaika has the second "え" turned upside down for the roller coaster's official spelling. Eejanaika has several meanings, but is usually interpreted to mean "Ain't it great!" According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Eejanaika is the roller coaster with the most inversion with 14, although this is disputed because 11 of Eejanaika's inversions are inversions of the seat rather than inversions of the track.
Eejanaika's tracks were initially painted red with black supports, but following the addition of Mount Fuji to the UNESCO World Heritage List as a Cultural Site in June 2013, Fuji-Q progressively repainted its tracks to the current dark brown with grey supports between 2013 and 2014. Its trains were also updated around the same timeframe.Шаблон:Citation needed
Ride experience
The Шаблон:Convert roller coaster features 14 inversions, 1 zero-g roll, a fly to lie, 2 raven turns, and a half camelback twist. Unlike X2, Eejanaika's track layout resembles a horseshoe pattern, with an overbanked turn flying just over the U-turn between the station and the lift hill.
Just before departing from the loading station, following a pre-recorded safety reminder, the loading floors are lowered and a simulated siren is sounded. Ride operators clap and chant "eejanaika eejanaika" as the train departs from the station. As the train makes a 180-degree turn onto the lift hill, the cars are rotated 90 degrees backward before rotating back 45 degrees shortly before entering the hill. After ascending Шаблон:Convert, the train enters a pre-drop. During this lift, riders are facing backwards. The first drop is Шаблон:Convert and is sloped at 89 degrees, at the base of which ride vehicles attain a maximum speed of Шаблон:Convert.
During the initial drop, the seat assembly is rotated so that riders are positioned facing the ground. Similar to X2, the seats are then rotated forward 360 degrees one to three times, simulating a front flip as the train descends the drop. The train then enters an inside raven turn, where the cars are rotated again halfway through the loop to create a "lie-to-fly" maneuver; however, unlike X2, the seat assemblies rotate backward 360 degrees, simulating a backflip, on the top of the raven turn, before riders transition to a prone position, facing forward. After exiting the raven turn, the trains traverse through a zero-g roll. The train twists clockwise for one full turn; at the same time, the seats rotate forward one full turn. This is followed by an overbanked turn and a half twist "fly-to-lie" maneuver, in which as the train twists counterclockwise one half turn, riders flip backward one half turn to return to the original position of laying on their backs. The train then enters an outside raven turn immediately followed by another half twist and half backward seat rotation. As the track levels out and the train enters the final brake run, seats rotate 90 degrees forward and riders briefly face downward before the seats rotate back to its initial starting position as the train returns to the station.[2]
Incidents
Шаблон:More citations needed section
- On August 4, 2006, brake noise caused an emergency stop, stopping operations until August 9.
- On December 13, 2007, a stopped vehicle suddenly started moving, and an employee who was inspecting work was caught between the vehicle and the rail, breaking his chest bone and sustaining a serious injury.
- On January 3, 2009, slacking of the hoisting chain of the lift caused an emergency stop, stopping operations for the day. Operations resumed the day after.
- On April 29, 2012, a bolt broke and fell from a running vehicle, hitting the forehead of a female pedestrian who was walking under the tracks, causing minor injuries. The ride was closed for two months until July 11, when Fuji-Q reopened Eejanaika with new safety procedures. Among those included closing a walkway between the tracks to the public from the torii in front of the first drop to the ride entrance (leaving only a pathway underneath the zero-g roll open), as well as the ban of wearing shoes while riding and ban of bringing audio/video equipment for the purposes of recording variety programs.[3]
See also
- Alan Schilke, the inventor of the 4th Dimension roller coaster concept
- Ee ja nai ka
Notes
External links
- Шаблон:In lang Fuji-Q Eejanaika (official site)
- Шаблон:RCDB
- ↑ Kikuchi, Sally, "Year-round playground Yamanashi", Japan Times, 4 September 2011, p. 10.
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite webШаблон:Cbignore
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
