Being
turned upside down in total darkness without any warning is something that has
never particularly appealed to me, which is why I skipped Flight of Fear on my
previous visit to Kings Dominion.
However, on the second visit I decided to give it a go and am glad that
I did. The entire ride takes place inside
an unprepossessing building designed to look like a military fort. Like Volcano the Blast Coaster, Flight of
Fear has separate areas for unloading and loading the train, so that riders on
the loading platform see a completely empty train. Once the train is loaded and cleared for
dispatch, it’s launched from zero to 54 mph almost instantaneously, with no
preamble or period of anticipation.
(This is a linear induction motor launch coaster.) The riders go zooming
off into the darkness with little idea of what awaits them. What awaits them is a pretty wild ride with
four inversions, the first of which is a cobra roll. The other two are a sidewinder and
corkscrew. Inbetween these are multiple
twists and turns. The corkscrew comes up
after the first brake run, following a downward curve. Although there is faint illumination at
times, allowing the riders to see some of the turns, there is no illumination
during the inversions. These take place
in total darkness and I must say that going through a cobra roll in the dark
was a really freaky experience. I
should mention that the restraints consist only of a lap bar and seat belt that
fastens on the far side of the seat but does not go across the rider. Even so, it works. Flight of Fear is a novel and vastly
entertaining coaster. 4 ½ out of 5
stars. For more information about rides
at Kings Dominion, visit www.kingsdominion.com
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