Banana roll A banana roll is an inversion element similar to an elongated cobra roll and is named after its shape. Unlike a cobra roll, the banana roll only inverts riders once. The element first appeared on
Takabisha at
Fuji-Q Highland in 2011, and it also appears on
TMNT Shellraiser at
Nickelodeon Universe and
Steel Curtain at
Kennywood.
Batwing A
batwing is a heart-shaped roller coaster element that features two inversions. The train goes into a reverse sidewinder, followed by a sidewinder. It is the inverse of a
cobra roll. Like other inversions, this element has different names depending on the roller coaster's manufacturer. It is most commonly known as a batwing, which is the term used by
Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M).
Afterburn at
Carowinds and
Montu at
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay are two examples that feature this element. It was first marketed as a Kamikaze Kurve by
Arrow Dynamics during the construction of
Orient Express at
Worlds of Fun, which opened in 1980. Arrow would later refer to the element as a boomerang in future projects, such as the defunct
Great American Scream Machine at
Six Flags Great Adventure. One variation of the batwing is known as a
bowtie, where the entrance and exit of the inversion are in the same direction.
Dragon Mountain at
Marineland of Canada is the only coaster to feature this element, according to the
Roller Coaster DataBase.
Bent Cuban eight A bent Cuban eight is a double inversion element that features two "bent and twisted" Immelmann loops that are connected back to back. Designed by
Maurer Rides GmbH, the element only appears on two X-Car roller coaster models from the company, including
G Force that was at
Drayton Manor Theme Park. (can be seen near the middle)
Butterfly A
butterfly is sometimes found on
Vekoma roller coasters. A butterfly begins like a vertical loop, but as the track goes up, it twists 45 degrees to one side or the other, and then when it is headed down the track twists back. The maneuver is then repeated but in reverse. It is essentially the same in construction as a batwing or boomerang except for the coaster exiting the construct traveling in the same direction as it began. An example of this is found on
Goudurix in
Parc Astérix in
Plailly,
France, or
Blue Hawk at
Six Flags Over Georgia.
Cobra roll The
cobra roll is a roller coaster inversion that resembles the shape of a
cobra head when flaring its hood. The element consists of two half
vertical loops facing the same direction joined by two half corkscrews that each twist in opposite directions. As the train completes the first half loop, it turns perpendicular into a half corkscrew, completing a first inversion. This is immediately followed by another half corkscrew that twists in the opposite direction into the other half vertical loop, completing a second inversion. The train exits the cobra roll traveling in the opposite direction from which it entered. Vekoma's
Boomerang was the first model to incorporate a cobra roll, and the first Boomerang installation was
Sea Serpent at
Morey's Piers in 1984.
Corkscrew A
corkscrew inversion resembles a helix that rotates riders 360 degrees perpendicular to the track. It was named for its resemblance of a
corkscrew tool used to remove bottle corks. Unlike
vertical loops, riders face forward for the duration of the inversion. The corkscrew was the first modern-day coaster inversion element. It first appeared in 1975 on
a roller coaster with the same name at
Knott's Berry Farm, designed by
Arrow Dynamics. The element was well-received and became a staple of many early roller coasters that inverted riders. Corkscrews commonly exist in pairs, where the end of one leads straight into the next. Another configuration involves
interlocking corkscrews, where two corkscrews are intertwined, with each crossing over the other's track. Both
Nemesis Inferno at Thorpe Park and
Medusa at Six Flags Great Adventure feature interlocking corkscrews.
Bolliger & Mabillard introduced a variation of the corkscrew that they call a
flat spin, where riders are quickly snapped through the inversion at varying speeds, as opposed to a standard corkscrew that rotates riders at slower, constant speeds.
Cutback A
cutback is an inversion similar to a corkscrew, except the second half of the element is reversed. The train exits the inversion in the opposite direction from which it entered.
Arrow Dynamics debuted the feature on
Drachen Fire at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in 1992. It can also be found on other coasters such as
Twisted Timbers at Kings Dominion,
Steel Curtain at Kennywood Park, and
Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster at Six Flags Fiesta Texas.
Dive drop A
dive drop (also known as a
wing over drop) is a roller coaster inversion in which a half-inline twist is performed at the top of a lift hill, leading into the initial drop. Examples that feature this element include
The Swarm at
Thorpe Park,
X-Flight at
Six Flags Great America, and
GateKeeper at
Cedar Point.
Dive loop A
dive loop, or diving loop, is a roller coaster inversion whose inspiration was taken from a
stunt plane maneuver. It is the reverse of an Immelmann loop, where the track twists upward and to the side followed by a dive toward the ground in a half-vertical loop. This element is commonly found on B&M and Gerstlauer roller coasters. Arrow and Vekoma feature a similar version of the inversion they call a reverse sidewinder, which can be found in Arrow's Cyclone at Dreamworld in Australia and Vekoma's Blue Hawk at Six Flags Over Georgia.
Finnish loop A
Finnish loop consists of a twisted dive followed by a vertical loop. It was first used by Gerstlauer at Power Park's Junker in 2015.
Heartline roll (left) versus a heartline roll (right) A
heartline roll, also known as a
barrel roll, is a 360-degree roller coaster inversion that rotates at the center of the train on one axis. The focus of the element is keeping the train moving in a straight
line, which is accomplished by having the track change in elevation – rising and falling – throughout the inversion. From the rider's point of view, the rotation occurs near the chest, hence the name "heartline roll".
Colossus at
Thorpe Park notably features five heartline rolls. In a similar element known as an
in-line twist, the track remains at the same elevation throughout the inversion, producing a different point of rotation that is either above or below the rider's point of view.
Immelmann loop An
Immelmann loop is a popular inversion found on many B&M roller coasters. In an Immelmann loop, riders enter a half-loop followed by a half twist, and then exit the element traveling in the opposite direction making a 180-degree turn. The inversion is similar to a sidewinder which exits closer to 90°, or perpendicular to the entrance point. An Immelmann loop becomes a dive loop if the entrance and exit points are reversed. The name "Immelmann" comes from the
Immelmann turn, an aircraft maneuver named after the
World War I German fighter pilot
Max Immelmann. Immelmanns are commonly found as the first element on B&M
Dive Coasters. A notable example is
Valravn at
Cedar Point, which has an Immelmann loop immediately following the first drop.
Inclined dive loop An
inclined dive loop is essentially a dive loop that has been tilted. Instead of exiting vertically, an inclined dive loop exits at an angle. The only two examples are on
Hydra the Revenge at
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom and
GateKeeper at
Cedar Point.
Inclined loop An
inclined loop, also known as an oblique loop, is a 360° loop that has been tilted at an angle. It is not entered vertically, like a vertical loop, or horizontally like a helix. Instead, it is usually entered at an angle between 45° and 80°. Inclined loops can be found on B&M
stand-up roller coasters, B&M
Wing Coasters, and B&M
Floorless Coasters. Examples include:
Rougarou at
Cedar Point;
Riddler's Revenge at
Six Flags Magic Mountain; and
The Swarm at
Thorpe Park.
In-line twist An
in-line twist is a roller coaster inversion in which the rider performs a 360-degree roll. The in-line twist is often found on
flying coasters and
wing coasters, such as
Galactica at
Alton Towers,
Batwing at
Six Flags America,
Superman: Ultimate Flight at
Six Flags Over Georgia,
Firehawk at
Kings Island,
Manta at
SeaWorld Orlando,
Raptor at
Gardaland and
The Swarm at
Thorpe Park. It can be confused with a heartline roll, also known as a barrel roll. In a heartline roll the center of the train rotates on one axis so the height of the average rider's heart never changes, whereas during an in-line twist the train rotates around the track and there is usually little to no elevation difference in the track. It can also provide hangtime.
Norwegian loop A
Norwegian loop is an element made out of two elements: a dive loop, then an Immelmann; forming an inversion that looks like two side by side loops. This element is similar to the flying coasters pretzel loop, except that the train goes through a twist when entering and exiting the loop. It may also been seen as a normal loop entered from the top. It was first introduced on
Speed Monster in
TusenFryd,
Norway (hence why it is called a "Norwegian" Loop). Other examples of a Norwegian Loop can be found on
Hersheypark's roller coaster
Fahrenheit and
Helix at
Liseberg.
Pretzel knot A
pretzel knot is an element similar to the batwing, except the entrance and exit of the inversion is formed differently. In a pretzel knot, the twisted formation of the element's entrance and exit resembles a pretzel shape as opposed to a batwing's heart shape. The defunct
Moonsault Scramble at
Fuji-Q Highland was the first coaster to feature this element. The second was
Banshee at
Kings Island. It consists of a downward half loop and upward half loop. The entrance and exit points of the loop overlap at its peak forming a shape resembling a pretzel.
Raven turn A
raven turn is a half-inversion which looks like half a loop followed by a drop and then levels out near the same height as it began. The raven turn is only usable on either flying roller coasters or
4D roller coasters at the moment and has only been used on three 4D coasters and one flying coaster. The general term raven turn refers to any inversion that follows the design described above; however, there are two types of raven turns. Assuming the train is going round the half-loop first, an inside raven turn is where the rails are below the train at the start whereas an outside raven turn is one in which the rails are above the train at the start of the element.
X² at
Six Flags Magic Mountain,
Eejanaika at
Fuji-Q Highland, and
Dinoconda at
China Dinosaurs Park are examples of raven turns.
Roll over This element, known as a
roll over on roller coasters built by Vekoma, is an inversion featuring two half loop halves, connected by two opposite-facing half inline twists. This inversion can be found on the most
Vekoma SLCs.
Sea serpent The
sea serpent is a roller coaster element with two inversions similar to a cobra roll, but the train enters and exit in the same direction. Examples featuring this element include Vekoma's
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith located at
Disney's Hollywood Studios and
The Smiler at
Alton Towers.
Sidewinder A sidewinder is an inversion element where riders enter a half-loop followed by a half-corkscrew, and then exit the element perpendicular to the direction in which they entered. The element is commonly found on Arrow and Vekoma roller coasters. It is similar to the Immelmann loop, with the exception that riders exit in a different direction usually 90 degrees from the entrance point. When travelled in reverse it is simply a Reverse Sidewinder.
Twisted horseshoe roll A
twisted horseshoe roll is an inversion element that begins with a corkscrew that leads into a 180-degree banked turn and ends with another corkscrew that rotates in the opposite direction as the first. Two roller coasters that feature this element are
Maverick at
Cedar Point (United States) and
Blue Fire at
Europa-Park (Germany).
Vertical loop is one of the world's tallest and largest at A
vertical loop is one of the earliest and most common
roller coaster inversions in existence. It is a continuous, upward-sloping section of track that eventually completes a 360-degree turn, inverting riders halfway into the element. It moves them slightly left or right of the starting point. They are ellipses in the shape of an oval or teardrop. Early roller coaster designs attempted to incorporate circular vertical loops, resulting in massive
g-force that had dangerous effects on riders. The modern vertical loop was first implemented on
Great American Revolution, which opened at
Six Flags Magic Mountain in 1976.
Arrow Dynamics designed several roller coasters with
interlocking loops, including
Loch Ness Monster at
Busch Gardens Williamsburg (1978) and
Orient Express at
Worlds of Fun (1980). This element consists of two perpendicular vertical loops that are intertwined, with one wrapping inside the other.
Zero-g roll A
zero-g roll or
zero-gravity roll is a roller coaster inversion where the track twists 360 degrees as it rises and falls in elevation, usually at the crest of a hill. The element gets its name from the weightless effect of zero
g-force that a rider experiences during the inversion.
Zero-g stall A
zero-g stall or
zero-gravity stall is an inversion where the track twists 180 degrees during ascent, and at its crest, remains inverted for a short section of track. It then twists another 180 degrees during descent, usually in the opposite direction of the initial twist. Similar to a zero-g roll, riders experience a feeling of weightlessness during the short inverted section. The stall element is commonly found on
Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) installations including
Goliath and
Wildfire.
S&S has also included this element in Kennywood's
Steel Curtain. ==Visual elements==