The History of HyperSonic XLC

Removed in 2008. Operated 2001 to 2007.

Some rides are ahead of their time in ways that don't end well. HyperSonic XLC was the first roller coaster in the world to launch with compressed air, firing riders from zero to 80 miles per hour in under two seconds. It was a marvel, and a maintenance headache, and it did not last.

The air launch

HyperSonic opened in 2001, built by S&S Power of Utah. The company's founder had dreamed up the idea after riding a snowmobile up a near-vertical hill and wondering whether he could lay a launch tower on its side. Instead of a lift or a motor, it used a blast of refrigerated compressed air to throw the train up a 90-degree tower, over the top, and back down the other side, the whole ride lasting about sixteen seconds. It began each launch like a drag race, with a countdown light tree.

Why it's gone

As a one-off prototype, HyperSonic never ran reliably. Its air-filled tires wore out under the stress, the track cracked, and the ride spent nearly as much time down as up. After Cedar Fair took over the park, HyperSonic ran out the 2007 season and was dismantled. The air launch it pioneered, though, opened the door to the hydraulic-launch giants that followed.

Sister coasters

Only two of these machines were ever built. The other, Do-Dodonpa in Japan, pushed the same compressed-air technology even further and became, for a time, the fastest-accelerating coaster in the world.

One thing to know

It was the first roller coaster in the world to launch with compressed air, reaching 80 miles per hour in under two seconds.

HyperSonic XLC is one chapter in the fifty-year history of Kings Dominion.

HyperSonic XLC at a glance