# Flying roller coaster
A flying roller coaster is a steel roller coaster on which riders are held in a prone, face-down position, suspended beneath or against the track so that the ride simulates the sensation of flight.[1](https://coasterpedia.net/wiki/Flying_Roller_Coaster) Instead of the seated or suspended arrangement of most coasters, the train carries passengers face-down and horizontal, with the track above or beside them for much of the course.[2](https://siddhimanakamana.com/assets/userfiles/files/zidiri.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Rider position | Riders lie prone, face-down, restrained by vest-style harnesses with ankle guards; trains tilt into the flying position after boarding.[2](https://siddhimanakamana.com/assets/userfiles/files/zidiri.pdf) • [3](https://www.towerstimes.co.uk/history/past-rides/air/) |
| First installation | Skytrak, built in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, UK, in 1991; another account places Skytrak at Granada Studios in 1997.[1](https://coasterpedia.net/wiki/Flying_Roller_Coaster) • [2](https://siddhimanakamana.com/assets/userfiles/files/zidiri.pdf) |
| First large-scale design | Vekoma's Flying Dutchman, introduced in 2000 with Stealth at California's Great America.[4](https://coastercritic.com/2010/10/05/nighthawk-batwing-roller-coaster-reviews/) |
| First B&M flying coaster | Air at Alton Towers, opened 16 March 2002, cost £12 million, 840 m long, 20 m high, 47 mph, 3G.[3](https://www.towerstimes.co.uk/history/past-rides/air/) |
| Signature B&M element | The pretzel loop, which sends riders diving face-first toward the ground.[4](https://coastercritic.com/2010/10/05/nighthawk-batwing-roller-coaster-reviews/) |
| VR conversion | Air became Galactica in April 2016, with optional virtual reality headsets added while the physical layout was unchanged.[3](https://www.towerstimes.co.uk/history/past-rides/air/) • [5](https://www.attractionsmanagement.com/pdf/AM2_06apr2016issue49.pdf) |
## Rider position and loading
The defining feature of the type is the prone riding position. On [Bolliger & Mabillard](https://www.edgepedia.org/bolliger-and-mabillard)'s flying coasters, riders board while seated in what is effectively an inverted-coaster position, place their legs into holders, and lower a vest restraint that also locks ankle flaps over the shins. The station floor then lowers and the train tilts into the flying position before dispatch.[3](https://www.towerstimes.co.uk/history/past-rides/air/)
Loading and repositioning riders this way is slow compared with conventional coasters, and a 2015 Disney patent identifies loading and unloading and then placing passengers in the prone position among the design challenges the ride type presents; that patent proposed a gravity-based flying coaster with a vertical launch.[6](https://www.dpma.de/docs/dpma/veroeffentlichungen/us8943976b2_disney2015.pdf)
## History
**Early attempts.** The first flying coaster was Skytrak, built in 1991 at the Go Kidz Go indoor playground in [Wolverhampton](https://www.edgepedia.org/wolverhampton), West Midlands, UK.[1](https://coasterpedia.net/wiki/Flying_Roller_Coaster) Another account places Skytrak at Granada Studios in 1997 and describes it as now closed; with Skytrak's closure the oldest surviving installation of the type is Batwing, built in 2001.[2](https://siddhimanakamana.com/assets/userfiles/files/zidiri.pdf)
**Vekoma's Flying Dutchman.** Vekoma introduced the first large-scale flying roller coaster in 2000 with Stealth at [California's Great America](https://www.edgepedia.org/californias-great-america).[4](https://coastercritic.com/2010/10/05/nighthawk-batwing-roller-coaster-reviews/) The Flying Dutchman model suspends riders in a prone, face-down position to simulate flight, and its trains alternate between a face-up position and the face-down flying position during the ride.[7](https://gptkb.org/entity/E810535/) Its vertical loops are conventional vertical loops, unlike B&M's pretzel loop, which sends riders diving toward the ground in a downward loop.[4](https://coastercritic.com/2010/10/05/nighthawk-batwing-roller-coaster-reviews/)
**B&M and Air.** Bolliger & Mabillard debuted its flying coaster concept with Air at [Alton Towers](https://www.edgepedia.org/alton-towers) in 2002.[1](https://coasterpedia.net/wiki/Flying_Roller_Coaster) The ride, known as Secret Weapon 5 during development, was conceived in 1994 by ride designer John Wardley, who wanted a ride simulating the feeling of flight; technological limitations delayed it for eight years before B&M manufactured the ride.[3](https://www.towerstimes.co.uk/history/past-rides/air/) Plans were submitted in August 2000, permission was granted that October, construction began in mid-2001, and the ride opened on 16 March 2002 at a cost of £12 million.[3](https://www.towerstimes.co.uk/history/past-rides/air/) • [5](https://www.attractionsmanagement.com/pdf/AM2_06apr2016issue49.pdf) Unlike Vekoma's product, the B&M flying coaster has the track above the trains, akin to an inverted or suspended coaster.[1](https://coasterpedia.net/wiki/Flying_Roller_Coaster) Air experienced reliability problems in its first months but became one of the resort's most popular rides.[3](https://www.towerstimes.co.uk/history/past-rides/air/) • [8](https://www.themeparkguide.co.uk/archive/Air)
## Later developments
In 2016 Alton Towers converted Air into [Galactica](https://www.edgepedia.org/galactica), adding optional virtual reality headsets for an interstellar theme while leaving the physical layout unchanged; guests could still ride without the headset.[3](https://www.towerstimes.co.uk/history/past-rides/air/)
The type continues to develop through hybrid designs. [Six Flags Magic Mountain](https://www.edgepedia.org/six-flags-magic-mountain) has announced Thrill Glider, described as a first-of-its-kind coaster combining flying, motorbike, and suspended coaster technologies, opening in 2027; guests board prone, face-forward hovercycles suspended beneath the track and launch multiple times to speeds reaching 50 mph through five inversions across nearly 3.5 acres.[9](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/six-flags-magic-mountain-announces-thrill-glider-the-worlds-first-thrillglider-roller-coaster-opening-in-2027-302875547.html)
## Manufacturers
Three manufacturers have produced flying coasters as catalog models. Vekoma's [Flying Dutchman](https://www.edgepedia.org/flying-dutchman) was the first large-scale design, and the company later moved to the launched F.L.Y. model.[4](https://coastercritic.com/2010/10/05/nighthawk-batwing-roller-coaster-reviews/) Bolliger & Mabillard introduced its track-above-train flying coaster with Air in 2002 and supplied the Superman: Ultimate Flight clones and Tatsu.[1](https://coasterpedia.net/wiki/Flying_Roller_Coaster) Zamperla has also been discussed among flying coaster manufacturers by enthusiasts, though its installations in the type are less documented in the sources.[10](https://coasterforce.com/forums/threads/flying-coaster-manufacturers.28678/)
## References
1. [Flying roller coaster, Coasterpedia](https://coasterpedia.net/wiki/Flying_Roller_Coaster)
2. [Flying coaster overview (Skytrak at Granada Studios, 1997), siddhimanakamana.com](https://siddhimanakamana.com/assets/userfiles/files/zidiri.pdf)
3. [Air, TowersTimes history archive](https://www.towerstimes.co.uk/history/past-rides/air/)
4. [Nighthawk & Batwing roller coaster reviews, Coaster Critic](https://coastercritic.com/2010/10/05/nighthawk-batwing-roller-coaster-reviews/)
5. [Attractions Management, issue 49, April 2016](https://www.attractionsmanagement.com/pdf/AM2_06apr2016issue49.pdf)
6. [US 8,943,976 B2, Disney flying roller coaster patent (2015), DPMA](https://www.dpma.de/docs/dpma/veroeffentlichungen/us8943976b2_disney2015.pdf)
7. [Flying Dutchman coaster model, GPTKB](https://gptkb.org/entity/E810535/)
8. [Air, Theme Park Guide ride archive](https://www.themeparkguide.co.uk/archive/Air)
9. [Six Flags Magic Mountain announces Thrill Glider, PR Newswire](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/six-flags-magic-mountain-announces-thrill-glider-the-worlds-first-thrillglider-roller-coaster-opening-in-2027-302875547.html)
10. [Flying Coaster Manufacturers, CoasterForce forums](https://coasterforce.com/forums/threads/flying-coaster-manufacturers.28678/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Parks, protected areas, and geographic heritage sites › Amusement, theme, and water parks › Titles A to G › Titles Fe to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license