Freefall (ride)

The Freefall is an amusement ride developed by Giovanola and marketed throughout the world by Swiss company, Intamin. Two generations of this ride were developed. First generation Freefall rides can be identified by the angled supports at the base of the lift tower. Second generation Freefall rides were identical, but the tower's base structure on those variants did not taper outward.

It was a common ride at major amusement parks until the late 1990s, when the classic freefall rides began being replaced with larger, higher-capacity Drop Tower alternatives. Since then, Freefalls have been disappearing from midways, to be replaced by the newer-technology rides such as the Intamin Giant Drop (2nd generation), Gyro Drop (3rd generation), and the S&S Power series of compressed-air tower rides.

Currently, Demon Drop at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, Free Fall (Elevador) at Beto Carrero World, Brazil, Hollywood Action Tower at Movie Studios Park, Italy, Freefall at Rusutsu Resort, Japan, Free Fall at Central Park, Japan, Free Fall at Nagashima Spa Land, Japan, Free Fall at Tokyo Sommerland, Japan are the only remaining Intamin first generation Freefall rides in operation.

The ride can accommodate up to four riders, and consists of three main sections; the loading and unloading station, the lift tower, and the drop and run-out track. Riders are loaded into a gondola type car near ground level at the station and secured with over the shoulder harnesses. The gondola is then moved backwards horizontally to the rear base of the lift tower and then climbs vertically to the top of the tower in 7.2 seconds. Once there, it slides forward and hangs over the drop track for a few seconds. Without warning, the car is released and riders drop 60 feet in less than two seconds before experiencing the deceleration g-forces as the car enters a pull-out curve which transitions the vertical fall into a horizontal brake run. As the gondola rolls through the brake run to slow down, the riders are facing the sky. Once it stops at the end of the run, a mechanism swings the top of the car down, and the gondola moves in reverse at a downward 45 degree angle to another track where it returns to an upright position. It then returns to the station in reverse traveling below the brake run track.

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