The concept of ‘free-falling’ was introduced by famous philosopher and physicist Galileo Galilei by showing that an object as light as a feather and a coin with significant mass, both will fall at the same speed under the influence of gravity.
Free fall rides operate on this basis. The riders are taken up to the highest point and let to ‘free-fall’ under gravitational force, 9.8 m/s2 (or commonly denoted as 1 G). The fall is truly a sensational and dramatic moment where riders feel their guts plunge farther into their bodies along with the sensation of being dropped ruthlessly towards Earth!
Free Fall Ride @ Six Flags
Six Flags is an amusement park in Georgia. Is has two other branches; one in Texas and another one at St. Luis. The first generation Free fall ride was built here and was popular until the advent of Drop Towers, which people found to be more exciting than this particular ride.
The ride here consists of an L-shaped base, for stability. Over this is the massive ride track, curved at the base, towering a height of 90 ft (27.4 m). The riders hop on to the enclosed ride car at ground level and start the scary ascend. This is followed by an even more scarier yet exuberant descend straight down!
The tracks are curved at the bottom to decelerate the speed of the car, to avoid injury to the passengers. The ride lost its popularity after couple of tragic accidents.
Tallest Free Fall Ride
Now-a-days with improvement in technology and people’s voracious capacity for more thrilling rides, new generation free fall rides have come up throughout the country. But the best and most sought after of all is the Big Shot ride at the Stratosphere Las Vegas casino tower. It stands 1081ft high (329m) but drop height is only 160 m for safety reasons. It drops at 45 mph and can create acceleration of ~ 4 Gs (4 times 9.8 m/s2).
And the fastest free fall rides is the The Giant Drop. The dropping speed is 135 Km/hr (84 mph) and lasts for 5 dreadful seconds. Pleasantly gut wrenching, isn’t it?!
Terminal Velocity Free Fall Ride
Going a step further, there is this one of a kind free fall ride situated in Extreme World, Wisconsin, where you are taken up to a height of over 100ft and allowed to fall to the Earth with absolutely no attachments to break your fall!
But you will be fitted with a CFF – controlled free fall harness to make sure your falling posture is correct. Once you are left to fall, you accelerate to about 70 mph (112.65 Km/hr). You hit a soft cushiony net to nullify the impact. So you feel nothing but a floating sensation.
Do you have the guts to try new dares?! If you are nodding, then make sure you have a strong heart to get on these rides. Happy falling!