the cars of the roller coaster’s train and strap in As the train moves into position riders see what they’re in for The ride’s 456 foot 140-m peak lies ahead Green steel seems to soar forever into the sky Kingda Ka is named for a Bengal tiger The ride itself is like a jungle cat waiting to pounce An automated voice warns riders to hang on The train’s brakes release with a hiss Riders wait with no idea when their train will take off Some roller coasters use the first hill to pick up speed which they use for the rest of the ride Not this one Kingda Ka starts by accelerating In an instant the train shoots forward pressing riders back into their seats They are rocketed to 128 miles per hour 206 km h in just 3 5 seconds Some riders scream in delight as the train reaches its top speed It then starts to climb the hill 90 degrees straight up 6
Kingda Ka speeds toward the first hill The train banks to its side as the steel twists toward the top As it crests the hill riders are held in place by the restraints Just as soon as the train reaches the top it shoots back down It twists around as it plummets toward the ground Riders are pressed down into their seats with many times the force of gravity Kingda Ka then crests one more hill that is 129 feet 39 m tall That’s tiny in comparison to the first hill But just a few decades ago this hill would have 7
made it the tallest roller coaster in the world Roller coasters have come a long way in the last 50 years In a little over 50 seconds the ride is over There are few other places on Earth where riders can go to such extreme heights and speeds in such a short time For many the nerves that come with anticipation are worth it THE SCIENCE OF THRILLS Kingda Ka is a major attraction at Six Flags But it’s just one READY FOR LAUNCH Kingda Ka’s trains are launched with the help of eight hydraulic motors Nitrogen gas is first compressed inside a chamber Once the chamber is opened the gas rushes out and pushes fluid through the motors These motors then spin and pull a cable hooked onto the train At peak power this system makes 20,800 horsepower A normal car engine makes approximately 175 horsepower Kingda Ka hurtles riders up and down a steep giant hill 9
