Takabisha

Takabisha
The record-breaking, 121° drop of Takabisha.
Fuji-Q Highland
Coordinates	35°29′07″N 138°46′48″E / 35.485340°N 138.779958°E / 35.485340; 138.779958Coordinates: 35°29′07″N 138°46′48″E / 35.485340°N 138.779958°E / 35.485340; 138.779958
Status	Operating
Opening date	16 July 2011 (2011-07-16)
Cost	¥3 billion (€26 million) ($28.5 million)
General statistics
Type	Steel – Launched – Euro-Fighter
Manufacturer	Gerstlauer
Lift/launch system	Linear motor launch, chain lift hill
Height	43 m (141 ft)
Length	1,000 m (3,300 ft)
Speed	100 km/h (62 mph)
Inversions	7
Duration	2:40
Max vertical angle	121°
Acceleration	0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in 2 seconds
Height restriction	130 cm (4 ft 3 in)
Takabisha at RCDB Pictures of Takabisha at RCDB

Takabisha (高飛車, Takabisha^?) is a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter steel roller coaster located at the Fuji-Q Highland theme park in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan. It is famous for having a drop angle of 121° – the steepest coaster in the world. The Japanese name Takabisha translates to "high-handed" or "domineering" in English. The name is a pun, in that the three kanji in the name literally mean "high fly car".

On 11 May 2011, Fuji-Q Highland announced to the world that they would be opening Takabisha – the world's steepest roller coaster. Testing for the ride began around the 8 June 2011 with media and special invited guests being able to ride Takabisha one month later. The ride officially opened to the public on 16 July 2011.

Takabisha is a custom Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster. The 1,000-metre (3,300 ft) ride begins with a sudden drop into pitch black darkness before entering a slow heartline roll. In just two seconds, the car is launched by linear motors down a 63-metre (207 ft) long tunnel to a speed of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). It then exits out of the station building and directly into a large inverted top hat. Immediately following the exit of this inversion the car goes into a banana roll, corkscrew and then two airtime hills. The ride is slowed on a set of block brakes and returns into the station building. The track then turns a sharp 180° turn to the right before going back out of the building and onto the vertical chain lift hill. This hill takes riders up to a height of 43 metres (141 ft). Once at the top, the car slowly inches towards the record-breaking 121°, beyond-vertical drop. Once the car is released from the top of the hill, it hurtles back down towards the ground and enters a dive loop, an inline loop and finally the seventh inversion, an immelmann loop. The whole ride is over within 2 minutes.