Zoomerang (Lake Compounce)
Zoomerang is the name of a boomerang steel roller coaster located at Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut. Zoomerang is one of the forty-five functioning Vekoma boomerang style roller coasters in the world. They all feature a cobra roll and a loop, but the Lake Compounce Boomerang was the first boomerang to receive a Vekoma designed train.[1] Early models used trains designed by Arrow Dynamics. In September 2007, due to paint deterioration, the ride was repainted with a new color scheme with purple tracks and teal supports.[2]
| Zoomerang | |
|---|---|
 Zoomerang's old color scheme from 1997–2007 | |
| Lake Compounce | |
| Location | Lake Compounce |
| Coordinates | 41.642960°N 72.922946°W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | June 27, 1997 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel – Boomerang |
| Manufacturer | Vekoma |
| Designer | Vekoma |
| Model | Boomerang |
| Height | 116.5 ft (35.5 m) |
| Length | 935 ft (285 m) |
| Speed | 47 mph (76 km/h) |
| Inversions | 3 |
| Duration | 1:48 |
| Capacity | 760 riders per hour |
| G-force | 5.2 |
| Height restriction | 48 in (122 cm) |
| Zoomerang at RCDB Pictures of Zoomerang at RCDB | |
Ride description
The train begins its backwards climb up the first of the ride's two 116 foot lift hills, both of which are placed diagonally towards each other. The train continues to slowly rise for thirty seconds before dropping at forty-seven miles per hour right through the station and through the coaster's first inversion, a Cobra Roll, exerting as many as 5.2 g's on riders throughout the two elements. The train then goes through a loop before ending up on the second lift section. The second lift pulls riders upwards for a few seconds, then releases, sending riders backwards. The train encounters the loop first this time, only to then go through the cobra roll once again which leads riders back through the station and partially up the first lift section again. The train then slowly lowers back down into the station, having sent riders through 935 feet of three inversions in total, both forwards and backwards.[3]
Incidents
On June 14, 2001, just a day after an employee was decapitated while weed-cutting under the coaster Boulder Dash, the sensor on Zoomerang failed to communicate properly with the rides automatic braking system, allowing the train of cars to continue on its own energy until it came to rest in a section of track 60 feet in the air, in the low point of the ride's cobra roll. Twenty-six passengers were left stranded in their seats until firefighters evacuated the ride. None of the passengers were injured. Investigators determined that the incident was caused by a sensor malfunction.[4]
References
- "Zoomerang BD". Coaster-net.com. 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
- "Zoomerang, Lake Compounce". ultimaterollercoaster.com. 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
- Marden, Duane. " (Lake Compounce)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- "Roller Coaster strands passengers". cnn.com. 2001. Retrieved August 7, 2017.