X-Flight (Six Flags Great America)

X-Flight
X-Flight train going through the "Keyhole"
Six Flags Great America
Park section	County Fair
Coordinates	42°21′55.57″N 87°56′1.63″W / 42.3654361°N 87.9337861°W / 42.3654361; -87.9337861Coordinates: 42°21′55.57″N 87°56′1.63″W / 42.3654361°N 87.9337861°W / 42.3654361; -87.9337861
Status	Operating
Soft opening date	May 12, 2012 (2012-05-12)
Opening date	May 16, 2012 (2012-05-16)
Cost	$12–15 million
Replaced	Splashwater Falls Great America Raceway
General statistics
Type	Steel – Wing Coaster
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Model	Wing Coaster
Track layout	Twister
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	120 ft (37 m)
Length	3,000 ft (910 m)
Speed	55 mph (89 km/h)
Inversions	5
Duration	1:15
Height restriction	54–78 in (137–198 cm)
Trains	2 trains with 8 cars. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 32 riders per train.
Flash Pass available
Must transfer from wheelchair
X-Flight at RCDB Pictures of X-Flight at RCDB

X-Flight is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. Designed and built by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened as the fourth Wing Coaster in the world and the second in the United States on May 16, 2012. It replaced both the Splashwater Falls and Great American Raceway attractions. The 3,000-foot-long (910 m) roller coaster features barrel rolls, high-speed drops, and a signature fly-through element, where the train narrowly misses a support structure – designed to look like an air traffic control tower – as it passes through an opening known as a keyhole element.

X-Flight was announced on September 1, 2011. Six Flags Great America was the first park to announce plans for a Wing Coaster in the United States. Land clearing started in September 2011 on the former site of Splashwater Falls and the Great America Raceway. The first pieces of the track began to arrive in early October. 127 Caissons (footers), ranging from 30 feet (9.1 m) to 77 feet (23 m) were dug into the ground. On January 27, 2012, the final piece of the lift hill was topped off. The trains for X-Flight arrived at the park on March 2, 2012. In a Chicago Sun-Times article in February, the park said they expect safety tests to start in early April. X-Flight opened for "Xclusive season pass holders" on the weekend of May 12 and opened to the public on May 16.

After departing from the station, which resembles an airplane hangar, the train immediately begins to climb the steep 120-foot (37 m) chain lift hill. Upon reaching the top of the lift hill, the train enters the first element of the roller coaster, a Dive Drop. This element is similar to the Dive Drop's found on The Swarm at Thorpe Park and GateKeeper at Cedar Point and consists of the train rotating 180 degrees into an upside down position before descending back to the ground. During this drop, the train reaches its top speed of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h). At the bottom of the first drop, riders get their picture taken. After the train exits the first drop, the train then enters a zero-g-roll before going through a cloud of fog. The train then makes a slight left turn before entering an Immelmann loop followed by a right turn over a pond. The train then leads into the second zero-g-roll over the main entrance of the ride. Following the roll, the train makes a left turn before going through an Inline twist. During this element, which is known as a keyhole, riders go through an actual airplane control tower (which was retrieved from O'Hare International Airport), giving the illusion the train will hit the tower. After going through the tower, the train goes through another near miss keyhole surrounded by a cloud of fog, before exiting the twist and making a tight right turn, passing by Demon's corkscrews and last turn, before making a slight left upward turn leading into the brake run. The train then makes a 180-degree left turn into another set of brakes before entering the station. One cycle lasts about 1 minute and 15 seconds.