Thursday, June 27, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
The roller coaster under construction at New York-New York will incorporate a unique design feature that should draw coaster enthusiasts from all over the world.
The resort's Manhattan Express ride includes a heartline twist and dive maneuver that will produce a sensation similar to what a pilot experiences when performing a barrel roll.
"It's like being swung around by your ears," said Brian Fauth, public relations director of the American Coaster Enthusiasts and an ACE member for 16 years.
A heartline roll occurs when the center of rotation becomes the same as the passenger's center or gravity.
"It's a true inversion," said Walt Davis, vice president of Togo International Inc., the Cincinnati-based manufacturer of the Manhattan Express. "Your body knows it's upside-down. Unlike the loop and corkscrew of the standard and inverted coasters, where positive G-forces push riders into their seats, the Togo heartline actually delivers negative G's. The heartline roll and loop center around the passenger's heartline, so the negative G's produced lift the riders from their seats, creating a suspended feeling."
The heartline twist and dive are the centerpiece of the Manhattan Express ride.
Prior to reaching that portion of track, riders will climb a 203-foot lift hill, drop 144 feet at an estimated 67 mph and shoot into a vertical loop.
After emerging from the C-shaped twist, riders will coast through a series of tight curves and a 540-degree spiral. At the end of the 4,777-foot track, the coaster will disappear through the casino roof and return to a station inside the resort.
The ride should take about four minutes and the 16-passenger trains will be capable of serving 1,010 riders per hour.
New York-New York officials say the coaster is designed to embody the nostalgia of the heyday of Coney Island. Height and speed characterize the first half of the ride while the second half incorporates the looping, spinning maneuvers.
Only one other roller coaster in the world -- Togo's Viper at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey -- incorporates a heartline twist. The Manhattan Express adds the dimension of the inversion and diving out of it.
Togo and Clearfield, Utah-based Arrow Dynamics, which built Primadonna's Desperado and Circus Circus' Canyon Blaster, have been competing to deliver a coaster capable of a barrel-roll inversion. Arrow's "pipeline" design is expected to be available this year, but no theme park has announced a purchase.
ACE's Fauth, who visited Las Vegas last fall before construction began on the Manhattan Express, said new coasters are usually heralded by his club and that hundreds of enthusiasts are likely to make a trip to Las Vegas just to ride.
New York-New York, a 2,035-room resort, is being built by a partnership of MGM Grand and Primadonna Resorts. The resort is expected to open in December.
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