Flying Super Saturator

{{Short description|Roller coaster}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2017}} {{Infobox roller coaster |name =Flying Super Saturator |image =Flying Super Saturator.jpg |caption = |location =Carowinds  |section =Boomerang Bay  |type =Steel  |type2 =Suspended  |type3 =Family  |status =Removed |opened ={{Start date|2000|4|1}} |closed ={{End date|2008|08}} |replacement =[[The Flying Cobras]] |manufacturer =Setpoint USA  |designer = |model = |track = |lift =Chain [[lift hill]] |height_ft =42.4  |drop_ft =  |length_ft =1087  |speed_mph =30 |duration = |angle =  |capacity =600 |cost =$4,000,000 |acceleration = |gforce = |restriction_in=44  |rcdb_number =598  |coordinates ={{Coord|35.102710|-80.943053|display=it}} }} '''Flying Super Saturator''' was a [[water ride]] and [[suspended roller coaster]] at [[Carowinds]] amusement park, located in [[Charlotte, North Carolina]]. It was the first roller coaster of its kind, allowing riders to dump 4-gallon payloads of water on those Carowinds patrons who venture underneath the coaster's track. The ride also features numerous means for the riders to get wet as well, including water curtains, geysers and numerous ground-mounted water cannons that can be aimed by park guests at passing riders on the coaster.<ref name="Carowinds page=">{{cite web |url=http://www.carowinds.com/attractions/detail.cfm?ai_id=32 |title=Nickelodeon™ Flying Super Saturator |author= |website=Carowinds |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080903103847/https://www.carowinds.com/attractions/detail.cfm?ai_id=32 |archive-date=September 3, 2008 |access-date=June 16, 2017 }}</ref><ref name="A pocket guide to summer">{{cite news | last = Hudson | first = Jane Welborn | title = A pocket guide to summer| work = The Daily Reflector | date = June 6, 2005}}</ref><ref name="Insiders' Guide to Charlotte">{{cite book | last = Pressley | first = Leigh | title = Insiders' Guide to Charlotte | publisher = Globe Pequot | year = 2007 | location = Guilford, CT | pages = 324 pages | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zYolm8g7Hz4C | isbn = 978-0-7627-4179-3}}</ref><ref name="roller coaster guide">{{cite book | last = Urbanowicz | first = Steven J. | title = The Roller Coaster Lover's Companion: A Thrill Seeker's Guide to the World's Best Coasters | publisher = Citadel Press | year = 2002 | location = New York | url = https://archive.org/details/rollercoasterlov00stev | url-access = registration | isbn = 0-8065-2309-3}}</ref>

Located in Boomerang Bay, a water park section, the ride was manufactured by [[Setpoint USA]] and fabricated by Intermountain Lift, Inc.<ref>{{cite web|title=Amusement |url=http://intermountainlift.com/amusement.htm |publisher=Intermountain Lift, Inc. |accessdate=September 5, 2014 |date=July 30, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108130751/http://intermountainlift.com/amusement.htm |archive-date=November 8, 2014 }}</ref> It was only open during the warmer months of May through September. The roller coaster was removed in 2008 to make room for [[The Flying Cobras]], a relocated Vekoma Boomerang from [[Geauga Lake]].

==Awards and reception== [[Setpoint USA]], the company that designed and built Flying Super Saturator, was awarded the [[World Waterpark Association]]'s industry innovation award for their design and creation of the coaster.<ref name="innovation award">{{cite news | title = Setpoint receives Industry Innovation Award for Flying Super Saturator| work = PRNewswire | date = October 23, 2000| url = http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-28476761_ITM }}</ref> Two years after the creation of Flying Super Saturator, Setpoint built a similar water-themed roller coaster called [[Roller Soaker]] at [[Hersheypark]] in [[Hershey, Pennsylvania|Hershey]], [[Pennsylvania]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Kolus |first=Howard |date=May 12, 2002 |title=Soaking Up The Fun |pages=1B, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108382415/soaking-up-the-fun-2/ 4B] |work=[[Lebanon Daily News]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108296219/soaking-up-the-fun/ |access-date=August 26, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The two roller coasters were the only suspended water-coasters in the United States;{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} although [[Roller Soaker]] was the only one still operating when it closed in 2012.<ref name="Gleiter 2012">{{cite web |last=Gleiter |first=Sue |date=December 20, 2012 |title=Hersheypark will replace Roller Soaker with sprayground |url=https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2012/12/roller_soaker.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417124923/https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2012/12/roller_soaker.html |archive-date=April 17, 2022 |access-date=August 17, 2022 |website=[[The Patriot-News]]}}</ref>

Flying Super Saturator reached speeds of 30 mph. After the addition of [[Afterburn (roller coaster)|Afterburn]] in 1999, the addition of Flying Super Saturator began a several-year-long trend of family-friendly rides that were being built at Carowinds.<ref name="Coaster trends">{{cite news| last =Smith| first =Nick| title =Carowinds to soar in 2004?| work =NinerOnline.com| date =August 8, 2003| url =http://media.www.nineronline.com/media/storage/paper971/news/2003/08/08/Entertainment/Carowinds.To.Soar.In.2004-2005809.shtml}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=Elisfkc |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> This trend ended in 2004 with the addition of [[Nighthawk (roller coaster)|Nighthawk]], and signaled a return to more dramatic thrill rides at the park.

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links == *[https://web.archive.org/web/20081121083947/http://www.coasterimage.com/roller-coaster-videos/flyingsupersaturator/index.htm Video of Flying Super Saturator] {{PCW Coasters}}

[[Category:Carowinds]] [[Category:Former roller coasters in North Carolina]]