Assembling Falcon’s Fury’s Massive Counterweight

As you can imagine, lifting 32 people 335 feet in the air would require a great deal of energy and power. Our friends at Busch Gardens Tampa sent us a few behind-the-scenes photos of the giant counterweight that will play a large part in lifting riders high into the sky.

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Although the tower itself is mostly complete, assembling the counterweight is a task in itself: “Starting today, hundreds of lead blocks are being loaded plate by plate, 150 pounds at a time to create this counterweight.”

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“Once fully constructed, the counterweight will total 68 tons and be loaded inside Falcon’s Fury.”

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Seen above are the 150-pound lead plates stacked like pancakes.

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All Photos © Busch Gardens Tampa

Think of the counterweight acting like a giant elevator: “This unit will counterbalance the ride vehicle, similar to how an elevator operates, to create the force to pull riders nearly 300 feet up Falcon’s Fury.”

It’s all downhill from there.

Falcon’s Fury is expected to open this spring, anchoring the brand new Pantopia area.

Don’t forget to read our trip report from the day at the park earlier this week.

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