As Stealth prepares to lose its crown of Thorpe Park’s tallest – and probably the UK’s fastest – rollercoaster, we take a closer look at the ride.
Built in 2006 by Intamin, Stealth is very much the smaller cousin of Kingda Ka, the world’s tallest ride.
Stealth reportedly caused Thorpe Park to reach full capacity – 15,000 people – several times during its opening year.
The Tussauds Group – then a year away from being taken over by Merlin Entertainments – had to consult the Civil Aviation Authority on the ride’s 205-foot height.
At its opening, Thorpe Park claimed Stealth’s acceleration to be 0 to 80 mph in 2.3 seconds.
In later years, it signage claims it reaches 80 mph in 1.8 seconds – seemingly the current fastest acceleration in the world.
Retro
18 years after its opening, Stealth’s simple premise still offers one of the best pops of adrenaline available in the UK.
The ride is loosely themed to 1950s era speedway racing, with the control room looking like a diner.
And it is now becoming somewhat retro in reality: a dying breed of hydraulic launch rollercoasters.
This type of launch effectively sees wire cable wrapped around a drum and then suddenly released.
After each launch, the system needs to be refrigeration cooled to prevent overheating.
And the design is not without PR-risks.
Several cable snaps have been reported to various rides over the years, but Stealth has had no high-profile incidents to date.
Linear induction motor (LIM) and linear synchronous motor (LSM) systems tend to be the favoured technology in use these days.
Holy grail and passage of rights
A ‘rollback‘ is something of a holy grail among theme park enthusiasts, while the ‘blind launch’ could be a passage of rights.
The former is subject to chance, or minor malfunction. It’s perfectly safe, and quite thrilling to the sadistic thrill-seeker.
Meanwhile, a blind launch is almost something of an urban legend.
Here, the system’s countdown sounds and lights can apparently be turned off by the operator on request.
It tends to be gifted rarely, as anyone other than a hardened rollercoaster fan might be considerably shocked without warning.
Or occasionally, the pre-launch effects may simply fail to work and a blind launch is given unintentionally.
Stealth made the news in 2017 when youths scaled its 205 feet at night when the park was closed.
Stealth cost £12 million in 2006, or close to £20 million in today’s money.
That is more than Hyperia is costing Thorpe Park – £18 million – to dethrone Stealth as the fastest rollercoaster in the UK.
Thanks to the past work of Ben Sampson and Niall Firth for some of the trivia incorporated into this article.