Superman – Ride of Steel, Steel roller coaster at Six Flags America, US
Superman – Ride of Steel is a steel roller coaster at Six Flags America in Maryland, running along a red track. The structure rises about 63 meters (208 feet), plunges down approximately 62 meters (205 feet), and accelerates to speeds of 117 kilometers per hour (73 miles per hour).
The roller coaster opened in 2000 as one of the first major installations to feature the Superman theme in its concept. Manufacturer Intamin built the track, which later received upgraded safety systems.
The ride at Six Flags America carried the Superman name from its 2000 opening, while the Darien Lake version lost it in 2007 when PARC Management took over the park and dropped the branding for copyright reasons; it was not restored when Six Flags returned in 2019. In 2016 the Maryland ride briefly offered an optional Samsung Gear VR headset, powered by Oculus, showing Superman stopping Lex Luthor's Lex Bots and their anti-gravity ray.
The ride stands 208 feet (63 m) tall and drops 205 feet (62 m) at 68 degrees, reaching 73 mph (117 km/h). Signage at the entrance states that riders must have two functioning legs, in addition to meeting the height requirement. After the July 2011 incident the park retrained staff and updated the ride's safety signage.
The layout is a mirror image of the Ride of Steel at Six Flags Darien Lake in New York, which opened a year earlier in 1999. The ride has five airtime hills, one of them twisted, and two helixes of 540 and 500 degrees. From March 2016 riders could optionally wear a Samsung Gear VR headset for a Superman-themed 3D film; the feature was later removed.
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