American Eagle (roller coaster)

American Eagle is a wooden racing roller coaster located at Six Flags Great America theme park in Gurnee, Illinois. It was the first wooden roller coaster designed by Intamin of Switzerland and was built in 1981 by the contracting firm Figley-Wright at a cost of $10 million. While most of the records have since been broken, American Eagle had the longest drop and fastest speeds among wooden roller coasters when it debuted and is still recognized as a top racing coaster in the United States.

History
Construction of American Eagle began in June 1980. The attraction was built with approximately 1360000 ft of lumber, 129,720 bolts, and 30,600 lbs of nails. Supports are attached to approximately 2,000 concrete footings that average 1.5 ft in diameter and are 4.5 ft deep. American Eagle was painted with over 9,000 gal of white paint and took over 20,000 man hours to build. American Eagle was designed by Curtis D. Summers, James Figley, and Leonard Wright. Marriott originally contacted John C. Allen to design the coaster, but he did not want to attempt it.

American Eagle cost $10 million to construct and opened to the public on May 23, 1981.

Queue
The queue area of the ride is located to the right of the Kidzopolis section of the park. Prior to 2006, guests would first walk through a large tent – originally used for a circus in the late 1970s – before reaching the queue. Approaching the station, the queue line splits, allowing guests to choose between riding the "Red Side" (left) and the "Blue Side" (right). Both sides offer similar ride experiences, although in 1991, 1996, 2002–2005, 2011 (August 5 – September 17 only), and for the fall of 2013, the Blue Side ran its trains backward. Guests then enter the ride platform from their track's side of the station.

Layout
After boarding is complete, the red and blue trains are dispatched simultaneously, turning 200 degrees in opposite directions from one another as they proceed toward the chain lift hill. The trains join up again side-by-side on the lift hill behind the station as they begin their ascent. Upon reaching the top, the trains slowly make their way toward the edge before careening down the first drop, reaching speeds up to 66 mph. This is followed by two smaller air time hills before traveling upward and leveling out into a set of trim brakes at the far end of the out-and-back layout.

Here, the trains are slowed as they enter a large 560-degree helix where they circle downward over a small marsh, gradually picking up speed along the way. The helix circles to the left, allowing the red train to pull away, since it is located on the inside track. The tracks finally separate upon exiting the helix at a high velocity. The blue train dips low close to ground level, picking up speed and making up for lost ground, while the red train rises up and passes over the blue train. Both trains turn right 20 degrees until they are running parallel with each other once more, though separated by the outbound tracks. The red train dips down after passing over the blue train, passing over two more airtime hills. Meanwhile, the blue train turns through the wooden supports and traverses only one hill. Both trains then rise into the massive wooden structure of the lift hill, encountering another set of trim brakes to slow them down. Each train then dives opposite each other into a final 360-degree helix. The blue train circles at a significantly smaller radius further making up ground it lost in the earlier helix. They exit the helix and ascend into the final brake run to determine the winner.

Race variables
Some races are close, but in most cases, one side finishes far ahead of the other. Several variables factor into this occurrence. One is that the two tracks are designed to operate independently of one another. They are not linked with one another, so the ride operators on each side must try and time their dispatches together. Another big factor is weight and weight distribution. A train fully loaded with riders will gain more momentum and travel faster than a train carrying no passengers at all. Also, trains with weight positioned more towards the front cars will allow the train to disengage from the lift sooner as the center of gravity passes over the apex of the hill. A final major factor is the brake pressure of the many trim brakes throughout the ride. Often, the brakes will be applied stronger to one side of the track than the other, leading many riders to believe their race is being fixed. Other factors, such as differences in track friction and wind speed, play a lesser role. All variables being equal, however, the ride is designed to end in a tie.

Characteristics
Located in the County Fair section of the park, American Eagle is a dual-track wooden racing coaster that spans almost the entire southern edge of the park. Some of the hallmarks of the coaster's out-and-back design include its 560-degree helix at the turnaround point and a 55-degree first drop that dips 20 ft below ground level. An original design feature was a set of holding brakes that would perch trains at the top of the lift hill for a brief moment to give riders a bird's-eye view of the impending, 147 ft drop. Use of the holding brakes was short-lived, however, and they were eventually removed from the track altogether.

Trains
The ride was also originally designed to run with a total of six trains; however, that number has since been reduced to four (two per track). American Eagle uses three-bench, five-car trains built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. The trains were originally designed with single-position lap bars but are now equipped with individual lap bars and seatbelts, making the trains on both American Eagle and Viper similar.

Previous world records

 * Fastest roller coaster until 1988 (7 years)
 * Largest drop on a roller coaster until 1988 (7 years) (succeeded by Shockwave)
 * Tallest wooden roller coaster until 1985 (4 years)
 * Fastest wooden roller coaster until 2000 (19 years)
 * Largest drop on a wooden roller coaster until 1989 (8 years) (succeeded by Hercules at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom)

Current world records

 * Fastest racing wooden roller coaster
 * Longest racing wooden roller coaster
 * Tallest racing wooden roller coaster
 * Largest drop on a racing wooden roller coaster

Incidents

 * September 9, 1984: Seven guests were hospitalized after two trains collided in the station.
 * September 7, 1997: Four guests were slightly injured after the second and third cars on the blue train separated and collided on the brake run.
 * May 22, 2002: An 11-year-old girl was taken to the hospital due to suffering a brain hemorrhage after riding the coaster.