Part 2 of the blog for the coaster class of 2009 continues the discussion imposed in part 1. The good part on this is most of these are new, and there weren’t any big removals to speak of, making this a bit more positively influenced than the USA’s. Along with the big players such as B&M and Intamin making a mark, there have been a few surprises abroad as well.

The first big addition thrives in Italy in Mirabilandia. With a name inspired by the countless Apple gadgets out there, iSpeed definitely gave Intamin something to boast about. Starting out as any normal accelerator would, with a launch at 0-74.6 mph in 2.2 seconds, then ascending a 180 ft. top hat, it then feeds into a centrifuge of high speed turns, low lying air hills, 2 high speed rolls, which many thought Intamin wouldn’t attempt from how they had to remove Maverick’s, and an extremely high banked turn (kind of a inclined Immelman). With formula one styled trains and a racing inspired station, it was the closest a guest could get to actually being behind the wheel of a real race car.

Speed was on the minds of many as the race track at Nürburgring built a coaster as part of their Formula One heritage, being their fiftieth anniversary of holding such races. With a landmark expansion, they went for another mark in the speed records, building Ring Racer. S&S Power had already built speedy attractions before, with Kings Dominion’s Hypersonic XLC and Fuji-Q’s Dodonpa, both of which utilize compressed air technology to propel trains to blistering speeds in an instant. Ring Racer continues this method to blast trains from a standstill to over 134 mph in 2.5 seconds, which surmises to being the fastest coaster in the world (and the 2nd fastest acceleration). From the end of the launch pad, it continues into a 165 ft. raised s-curve and helix before completing its short journey.

A newcomer to the launch brigade came in the form of Mack. Usually known for their smaller coasters, such as their wild mice, water coasters, and spinning coasters, this time, they pulled the wraps of what appears to be a Intamin Accelerator. However, Europa Park’s Blue Fire is a Mack through and through. Things start with a bang with a launch to 62 mph. After a 124 ft. u-turn maneuver, a vertical loop, twisted horseshoe roll and an inline twist round out an overall impressive ride, being Mack’s first major launch coaster. Looks like Intamin, S&S and Premier have some company.

A major entity utilized in the British front was beyond vertical drops. The major player to use this was an oddity in naming, Mumbo Jumbo at Flamingoland. This S&S el Loco sports a 112 degree drop, the steepest in the world. The rest of this steel vortex is something similar to Steel Hawg at Indiana Beach, a twisted ascent following the first drop, an outside banked turn, a twist and drop and an inclined inline twist. The black and orange steel structure is not a predominant figure at the Yorkshire located park.

Thorpe Park took things a step further, not on stats, but in theming, with their introduction of Saw: The Ride. Riders board the 8 passenger cars, only to be drawn into a maze of seemingly tortuous drops and turns, including an enclosed heartline roll. Finally exiting the compound the car pitches vertical as it lifts 100 feet into the sky. The black box track then takes a dip 100 degrees into a maelstrom of twisted mayhem including 3 inversions, giving the Saw franchise something to physically experience outside the big screen.

Perhaps the most innovative coaster of 2009, perhaps ever, is the S&S Free Fly known as Tranan. Though only 65 ft tall with maneuvers similar to a flyer, and hardly a barn burner, it uses a unique suspended method of keeping riders parallel to the ground while the train rotates around them, through all sorts of banked turns and twists. The figure eight course utilizes the train features well as guests glide through the air.

Intamin came through with yet another launch coaster this year. Located at Miragica in Italy, Senzafiato was a different trend for Intamin to attempt, being that of family friendly launch coasters, with similar aspects to Premier’s Backlot trio. For a small, young park, a small launch at 50 mph into a small series of air hills, turns, and curving dives is perfect, and shows that size isn’t everything.

Another GCI overseas was another way for the wood coaster designers to go in another direction. El Toro of Freizeitpark in Germany was made to intertwine with rides, sporting two tunnels under a nearby log flume. Also new in this design was more linear areas of track, whereas, a good portion of the ride is done in straighter sections instead of having every inch between the lift and final brakes being curved in some way. Even the first drop is rather straight compared to GCI’s other coasters. The final coaster in the Class of 2009 International Addition comes in the form of a rather unique coaster. Nothing too special about it as it’s more of a family coaster with pretty easy going drops, turns, and only 45 ft. tall. Hardly a notable coaster in any standard. What makes Familieachtbaan in BillyBird Park in the Netherlands a noteworthy mark this summer was its power system. Specified as a ‘green’ coaster, it utilizes solar power as well as guest driven cross trainer exercise bikes as a source of energy as opposed to only running off the main power grid of the park. Obviously, this saves the park a bit of money and may possibly be a step in a direction for parks of the future to have a smaller carbon footprint.

With the 2009 coaster year all reviewed, make sure to return to Coaster-Net.com next week as I review the future, the upcoming coasters of 2010!