Nitro (Six Flags Great Adventure)

Nitro is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the Hyper Coaster model opened to the public on April 7, 2001. Since its debut, Nitro has consistently ranked high among steel coasters in the annual Golden Ticket Awards from Amusement Today, peaking in third place during its tenure.

Nitro
Nitro's overview with Batman the Ride in the foreground
Six Flags Great Adventure
LocationSix Flags Great Adventure
Park sectionAdventure Seaport
Coordinates40°08′8.30″N 74°26′39.74″W
StatusOperating
Opening dateApril 7, 2001 (2001-04-07)
Cost$20,000,000
General statistics
TypeSteel
ManufacturerBolliger & Mabillard
ModelHyper Coaster
Track layoutL-shaped Out and Back
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Height230 ft (70 m)
Drop215 ft (66 m)
Length5,394 ft (1,644 m)
Speed80 mph (130 km/h)
Inversions0
Duration2:20
Max vertical angle68°
Capacity1800 riders per hour
G-force4.3
Height restriction54 in (137 cm)
Trains3 trains with 9 cars. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 36 riders per train.
Flash Pass Available
Nitro at RCDB
Pictures of Nitro at RCDB

Ride experience
Nitro's entrance sign with lift hill in background

Queue and station

Nitro's queue area consists of an indoor and outdoor area followed by a long path before climbing the stairs into the station. Views from the line show the backside to Batman: The Ride and the Six Flags Great Adventure mechanical and storage area.

Nitro's station music is the remix of the Mortal Kombat theme, which can be heard during the queue and station.

Layout

After leaving the station, the train makes a left U-turn and ascends a 230-foot-tall (70 m) lift hill.[1] After cresting the top, the train drops 215 feet (66 m) at a 68-degree angle, reaching a maximum speed of 80 mph (130 km/h).[1][2] The train then ascends a 189-foot-tall (58 m) hill and dives down to the left, coasting over another large airtime hill.[1][3] Afterwards, Nitro enters a unique B&M element known as a hammerhead turn, a tight U-turn, which veers to the right.[1][3] Traveling over another camelback hill, Nitro enters its S-curve and into the 540-degree helix.[1][3] After the mid course brake run, Nitro travels over three camelback hills, followed by a final brake run before returning to the station.[1][3]

Trains
Nitro's test seat

Nitro operates with three open-air steel and fiberglass trains with individual lap bar restraints. Each train has nine cars with riders arranged four across in a single row for a total of 36 riders per train.[2]

Nitro's trains can be loaded and checked quickly, resulting in very high capacity with all 3 trains running. There are three main reasons for this:

  1. There is no "backup restraint" that must be checked. Most roller coasters have some sort of seat belt (either on the rider's lap or holding the main restraint down) that serves as a safety device in case the main restraint unlocks. Nitro previously had a backup safety restraint, which featured a black knob that extended out of the seat. The lap bar latched onto the knob to serve as a safety feature without the need for a safety belt. These were later removed because they were deemed unnecessary, as they easily disconnected and greatly interfered with loading times.
  2. Nothing needs to move out of the way before the train dispatches and after the train advances into the station. This is not the case on most of B&M's other coaster models. For example, on their flying roller coaster, the floor descends and the seats flip into flying position before the train begins to move. On floorless roller coasters and inverted roller coasters, a gate in front of the trains must swing open in addition to the floor retracting.
  3. The trains can be deployed in much quicker succession than most roller coasters. Usually, as soon as one train has crested the lift hill, the train behind it can be dispatched onto the lift.

Track

The steel track is 5,394 feet (1,644 m) in length and the height of the lift is approximately 230 feet (70 m). It was manufactured by Clermont Steel Fabricators located in Batavia, Ohio.[4] The track colors are pink and yellow, with blue supports.[3]

Nitro currently has the second steepest drop of a lifted (as opposed to launched) roller coaster in the park, behind El Toro's 76 degree first drop. The coaster previously featured signs erected on the lift hill stairs which compared points on the hill to other tall structures, such as Niagara Falls; these signs were later removed.

On-ride camera

Nitro's on-ride camera was previously located at the bottom of the second drop, but in 2006 it was moved to the bottom of the first drop. While it was briefly moved back to the bottom of the second drop, as of 2012 it has been moved yet again to the bottom of the first.

Rankings
Golden Ticket Awards: Top steel Roller Coasters
Year2001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
Ranking 14[5]4[6]6[7]6[8]5[9]4[10]3[11]3[12]3[13]3[14]3[15]3[16]4[17]5[18]5[19]5[20]7[21]11[22]10[23]


NAPHA Survey: Favorite Steel Roller Coaster
Year 2005 2006
Ranking
4[nb 1]
5[24]

Notes
  1. Tied with Phantom's Revenge at Kennywood.[24]

References
  1. "Nitro Front Row on-ride POV Six Flags Great Adventure". YouTube. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  2. Marden, Duane. "Nitro  (Six Flags Great Adventure)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  3. "Nitro". Coaster-Net. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  4. Guido, Anna (November 7, 2005). "Steel plant's business on fast track". Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on January 7, 2006. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  5. "Top 25 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 7B. August 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  6. "Top 25 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 7B. September 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  7. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 14–15B. September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  8. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 18–19B. September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2007. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  9. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 26–27B. September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  10. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 26–27B. September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  11. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 11 (6.2): 36–37. September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  12. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 12 (6.2): 36–37. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  13. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 13 (6.2): 32–33. September 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  14. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 14 (6.2): 34–35. September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  15. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 15 (6.2): 38–39. September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  16. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 16 (6.2): 36–37. September 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  17. "2013 Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 17 (6.2): 34–35. September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  18. "2014 Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 18 (6.2): 46–47. September 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  19. "2015 Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 19 (6.2): 49–50. September 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  20. "2016 top 50 steel roller coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  21. "2017 Top 50 Steel Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  22. "2018 Top 50 Steel Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  23. "2019 Top Steel". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  24. "NAPHA 2005–2011 Survey Results". National Amusement Park Historical Association. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
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