German theme park Phantasialand today announced plans to build the world’s longest and first launched flying coaster, to be named “Fly” (stylized F.L.Y.).
An opening date wasn’t specified, but given the announcement date, 2018 seems likely — but I’m not ruling out 2019, especially considering Phantasialand’s standard of intricate, immersive theming.
While detailed stats about the flying roller coaster are limited at this point, the park did release the following teaser video:
While exact length of Fly is unknown, to claim the “world’s longest” title, it will need to surpass the current record holder, Flying Dinosaur at Universal Studios Japan.
As far as Fly’s location in the park, Phantasialand appears to have plenty of land available:
And even if the surrounding land isn’t available, the park is known for weaving its coasters in and around other structures within the park. The Race For Atlantis ride also closed last year (located in the top left corner of the image above), which could be where the new coaster, or at least part of it, is going.
While the manufacturer is also unknown, Bolliger & Mabillard is the leader in flying roller coasters. I feel confident in assuming they are behind Fly, especially with their relatively recent foray into launched coasters. But Vekoma is also a rumored contender.
Edit: Multiple people have told us that F.L.Y. will indeed be manufactured by Vekoma. Thanks themepark-central.de and Richard Clark on twitter for the heads up! The image below, while concept art, shows a rider in a restraint that looks very similar to a Vekoma vest restraint.
Apparently Vekoma has also recently been testing a new coaster, which likely is a new model of flying coaster. So don’t worry, while it’s going to be a Vekoma flying coaster, it should be more comfortable than the old Flying Dutchman models.
FLY will be Phantasialand’s seventh coaster. The park opened two new coasters in 2016.
We’ll continue to update this post as more details become available, and hopefully Phantasialand will give some hints about opening dates (or at least what time of year they expect it).
What do you think about FLY at Phantasialand? Share your thoughts in the comments section below, and be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for any more updates!
“Phantasialand appears to have plenty of land available:”
Haha, good joke.
Anyway, the Race for Atlantis area is definitely going to be where the new coaster will be build, since that is where they announced their new themed world.