American Eagle (roller coaster) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids American Eagle
Blue side crests the hill
Six Flags Great America
Park section	County Fair
Coordinates	42°21′53″N 87°56′01″W / 42.3646°N 87.9336°W / 42.3646; -87.9336
Status	{{{status}}}
Opening date	May 23, 1981 (1981-05-23)
General Statistics
Type	Wood – Racing
Manufacturer	Intamin
Designer	Curtis D. Summers, James Figley, Leonard Wright
Model	Wooden
Track layout	Out and back
Lift/launch system	Chain
	Red	Blue
Height	127 ft (38.7 m)	127 ft (38.7 m)
Drop	147 ft (44.8 m)	147 ft (44.8 m)
Length	4,650 ft (1,417.3 m)	4,650 ft (1,417.3 m)
Speed	66 mph (106.2 km/h)	66 mph (106.2 km/h)
Inversions	0	0
Duration	2:23	2:23
Max vertical angle	55°	55°
Capacity	1800 riders per hour
Height restriction	48 in (122 cm)
Trains	4 2-Blue 2-Red trains with 5 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows for a total of 30 riders per train.
Must transfer from wheelchair
American Eagle at RCDB Pictures of American Eagle at RCDB

American Eagle is an awesome wooden racing roller coaster located at Six Flags Great America theme park in Gurnee, Illinois. It was the first wooden roller coaster designed by a company called Intamin from Switzerland. It was built in 1981 by Figley-Wright. When it first opened, American Eagle had the longest drop and was the fastest wooden roller coaster in the world! Even though those records have been broken, it's still known as one of the best racing coasters in the United States.

History of American Eagle

Construction for the American Eagle roller coaster started in June 1980. Building this huge ride took a lot of materials! Workers used about 1,360,000 feet (410,000 meters) of lumber, over 129,000 bolts, and more than 30,000 pounds (14,000 kg) of nails. The ride's supports are held up by about 2,000 concrete foundations.

It took over 20,000 hours of work to build American Eagle. The coaster was designed by Curtis Summers, James Figley, and Leonard Wright. The park originally asked another designer, John C. Allen, but he didn't want to take on the project.

American Eagle officially opened to the public on May 23, 1981.

Changes to the Entrance Area

From 1981 to 2006, the waiting area for American Eagle was inside a big tent. This tent was actually used as a circus tent before the roller coaster was built! In 2007, the tent area was changed into a children's section called KIDZOPOLIS. Because of this, the old entrance to American Eagle was taken down in 2006. A new entrance was built next to KIDZOPOLIS. The cool bald eagle statue that used to be on the roof of the old entrance is now on the new one!

Your Ride on American Eagle

When you get ready to ride American Eagle, you'll enter the waiting line next to the KIDZOPOLIS area. Before KIDZOPOLIS was there, you would have walked through the big "Eagle Tent" to get in line. As you get closer to the ride, the line splits. You get to choose if you want to ride on the "Red Side" (on the left) or the "Blue Side" (on the right). Both sides give you a very similar ride experience. However, sometimes the Blue Side has run its trains backward for a special thrill!

Starting the Race

Once you're on the train, you'll buckle your seatbelt and pull down your lap bar. Both the red and blue trains start at the same time! They make a big 200-degree turn away from each other. Then, they meet up again behind the station and begin climbing the tall lift hill side by side.

At the very top of the lift hill, the trains slowly move to the edge. Then, whoosh! You'll zoom down the first drop, reaching speeds of over 66 miles per hour (106 km/h). You'll race over two smaller hills that give you a fun feeling of air-time (that's when you feel like you're floating!).

The Big Turn and the Finish

After the hills, the trains slow down a bit on some "trim brakes" at the far end of the track. Then, you'll enter a huge 560-degree helix (that's a big spiral turn). You'll circle downward over a small marsh, picking up speed as you go. Because the helix turns to the left, the red train, being on the inside, often pulls ahead here!

After the helix, the tracks finally separate. The blue train drops low to the ground to try and catch up. Meanwhile, the red train rises up and goes over the blue train. Both trains then turn right until they are running side-by-side again, but separated by the tracks you just came from. The red train drops down and goes over two more airtime hills. The blue train goes over one hill as it twists through the wooden supports.

Finally, both trains climb into the big wooden structure of the lift hill. They slow down with a final set of trim brakes. Each train then dives into a last 360-degree helix, turning in opposite directions. The blue train makes a tighter circle here, trying to make up any lost ground. The two trains then come out of the turns and rise into the brake run to see which side won the race!

Why One Side Might Win

Sometimes the races are super close, but often one side finishes way ahead of the other. Why does this happen?

• Timing: The two tracks work separately. The ride operators try their best to send both trains at the exact same time, but it's tricky!
• Weight: A train full of riders will go faster than a train with fewer people. Also, if more weight is in the front cars, the train might start its drop sooner.
• Brakes: The "trim brakes" on the ride can sometimes be applied stronger to one side than the other. This can make it seem like the race is "fixed," but it's just how the brakes are set!
• Other Factors: Small things like how much friction there is on the track or the wind speed can also play a small part.

If all these things were perfectly equal, the ride is actually designed to end in a tie!

Cool Features of American Eagle

American Eagle is located in the County Fair part of the park. It's a wooden racing coaster with two tracks that stretch across almost the entire southern edge of the park.

One of the special things about this coaster is its "out-and-back" design. This means the ride goes out to a far point and then comes back. It has that huge 560-degree helix turn at the far end. The first drop is also really steep, at 55 degrees, and it even dips 20 feet (6.1 meters) below the ground!

When the ride first opened, it had "holding brakes" at the top of the lift hill. These brakes would hold the trains for a moment, giving riders a quick view of the huge 147-foot (45-meter) drop before they plunged down. But these holding brakes were only used for a short time and were later removed.

The Trains

American Eagle was originally designed to run with six trains in total. But now, it uses four trains (two for each track). The trains were built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. Each train has five cars, and each car has three benches, with two riders per bench. So, a lot of people can ride at once!

The trains used to have a single lap bar for everyone in a row. Now, they have individual lap bars and seatbelts for each rider. This makes them similar to the trains on another coaster at the park, Viper.

World Records Held by American Eagle

American Eagle has been a record-breaker!

Past World Records

When it first opened, American Eagle held several impressive world records:

• It was the fastest roller coaster in the world until 1988.
• It had the largest drop on a roller coaster until 1988.
• It was the tallest wooden roller coaster until 1985.
• It was the fastest wooden roller coaster until 2000.
• It had the largest drop on a wooden roller coaster until 1989.

Current World Records

Even today, American Eagle still holds some amazing records for racing wooden roller coasters:

• It is the fastest racing wooden roller coaster.
• It is the longest racing wooden roller coaster.
• It is the tallest racing wooden roller coaster.
• It has the largest drop on a racing wooden roller coaster.

Images for kids

• 

  The old entrance to American Eagle, which was once a circus tent.

• 

  The American Eagle's 127-foot (39 m) tall lift hill.