Air

Air is a flying rollercoaster built in the Forbidden Valley area of the Alton Towers Theme Park. It was manufactured by Swiss company Bolliger and Mabillard. The Ride cost £12 million and opened on 16th March 2002. What makes this type of rollercoaster unique is that the riders are in the prone position for the duration of the ride to give the sensation of flight.

History
The concept of a flying rollercoaster had been around a few years before Air opened to the public but had never been done to a good standard. John Wardley was the creator of the ride and worked for many years just tring to work out how to give people the sensation of flight. Alton Towers wanted anthor "World's First" rollercoaster to add to the park after the success of Nemesis in 1994 and Oblivion in 1998. In 1997, The Beast was removed from Forbidden Valley. This left space for Air to be built. Eventually, John and the people at Bolliger and Mabillard had a solution. Planning permission was granted in 2000 and construction of Air began at the beginning of 2001. During construction, the ride was known under the codename of Secret Weapon 5 (SW5). This codename system had been used in the past at Alton Towers with SW3 being Nemesis and SW4 being Oblivion. This system is still being used today with SW6 being TH13TEEN and SW7 being the new rollercoaster for 2013. In early 2002, the testing phase began. This type of ride is one of the most technologically advanced rollercoasters in the world. For some time, the ride was tested with water filled dummies. The first human riders were the designers and manufacturers. Air finally opened to the public on 16th March 2002.

The ride suffered from reliability issues in the first few months of operation. However, these how now been eradicated and breakdowns are rare. Air is one of the most popular rollercoasters at the park. This is down to the fact that it is different to a conventional rollercoaster and that is is a good step up from small coasters to the big thrill rides.