Wikipedia

AquaLoop

AquaLoop at Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast

General statisticsTypeWater slideDesignerWhiteWater West, AQUARENAHeight17 m (56 ft)Drop16 m (52 ft)Length88.4 m (290 ft)Speed60 km/h (37 mph)Duration7 secondsG-force2.5Installations20+RestrictionsRiders must be at least 120 cm (3 ft 11 in) in height and weigh between 45 kg (99 lb) and 130 kg (290 lb) to ride.[1]

An AquaLoop is a type of body water slide where single riders are dropped down a near vertical slide and into an inclined loop. They are usually located in water parks.

History

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Austrian manufacturer Aquarena[2] developed the world's first mass-produced fully inverted looping water slide, known as the AquaLoop.[3] The slide is currently licensed and distributed by Canadian water slide manufacturer WhiteWater West.[4] There are nearly 20 AquaLoop installations around the world.[5] The first installation was at Terme 3000 water park, Slovenia in 2008.[6] Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast was the first to install more than one AquaLoop at a single location.[7][8][9] The AquaLoop uses a trap-door to release riders down a 17-metre (56 ft) near-vertical descent at a speed of up to 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph). Riders experience 2.5 Gs in less than 2 seconds.[10] The whole ride is over within 7 seconds.[11]

Ride

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An AquaLoop is launched from a 17-metre (56 ft) platform. A single rider is loaded into a launch chamber where they stand with their hands across their chest. After a countdown, a trapdoor opens and the rider immediately drops 16 metres (52 ft) inside a near vertical slide. The rider accelerates to 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph) in just 2 seconds before entering the loop element. This element is a variation of the traditional vertical loop because it lies on an angle of approximately 45°. This variation of a loop is called an inclined loop. The 165-metre (541 ft) slide is over within 7 seconds.[11][12]

Installations

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2 AquaLoop slides aboard Norwegian Breakaway.

Similar water slides

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The first known existence of a looping water slide was at Action Park in Vernon, USA, in the mid-1980s. Their water slide featured a vertical loop but was repeatedly closed due to safety concerns.[45][46][47]

More recently, ProSlide developed the SuperLOOP which features a fast, downward spiralling helix after a trapdoor release.[48] The first installation was The Wedgie at nearby WhiteWater World.[49] It was marketed as a looping water slide despite riders never actually experiencing an inversion.[50]

References

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