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Faster Than. . . Superman reaches speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.
(Photo: Pak Fung Wong) |
In between Hillary interviews and Martha updates, you may have caught the ads for Superman—The Ultimate Flight, the new Six Flags Great Adventure attraction in Jackson, New Jersey, billed as the very latest in the mobile torture devices also known as roller coasters. We asked Steven Urbanowicz, the author of The Roller Coaster Lover’s Companion and a man who has ridden no less than 866 coasters on three continents, including Superman—25 times in the 69 days since it’s been open—for his assessment. His verdict: Flying along a four-foot-wide, half-mile-long track that reaches heights of 115 feet at up to 50 miles per hour while strapped by the chest and ankles in the prone position is indeed super. The double pretzel loop is particularly terror-inducing, says Urbanowicz. At the peak, “you’re suddenly upside down with 78 feet between your forehead and the ground.” Um, up and away.
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