Silver Bullet (Knott's Berry Farm)

Silver Bullet General [[File:|link=|center]] ' ' Park Knott's Berry Farm Location Buena Park, California, USA Status Operating Operated Operated December 7, 2004 - Opened December 7, 2004 Opening Cost Height restriction Statistics Manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard Builder Designer Type Steel Type Model Inverted Riders per train 32 Riders per hour Lift/launch system Height 146 feet Drop 109 feet Top speed 55 mph Length feet Dimensions feet x feet Duration 2:30 Inversions 6 Steepest drop 40 Maximum g-force 3

Silver Bullet is a Bolliger & Mabillard inverted roller coaster located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. It is the first B&M inverted coaster to feature an over-banked curve, and the first ever inverted rolled coaster to implement mangnetic brakes. At 3,125 feet long, it is also the longest inverted coaster on the West Coast. It is filled with sand to reduce noise, and has a rare B&M maintenance orb car that allows for track inspection over Reflection Lake.

Design

The park claims the Silver Bullet has "6 and 1/2" inversions, but this is false, as an over-banked curve doesn't count because it doesn't fully-invert riders.

Trains

2 trains with 8 cars per train. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 32 riders per train.

Ride Experience

The ride stars with a 90 degree right turn before climbing the 150 foot (46 m) chain lift hill. The signature B&M pre-drop follows, then a 180 degree swooping first drop, unusually wide for B&M rides. Riders then enter the massive 105 foot (32 m) loop and round an over-banked turn (the 'half' element marketed). Riders then speed into a cobra roll, wich towers over the ride's entrance. Riders are then flipped through a zero-g roll and a helix to the left. The ride then drops down slightly, and then enter the first corkscrew, wich flips over to the left. Riders then turn slightly, before entering the second corkscrew, this time to the right. The ride finale is a 450 degree helix to the left that runs up into the brake run. A small, slightly banked U-turn follows, before entering the block brakes, and finally the station.

In popular culture

• The ride features prominently along with other Knott's Berry Farm rides in the opening credits of Knocked Up, in wich many of the central characters are seen riding it. Actor Jay Jay Baruchel has an actual fear of roller coasters; his pleas to be let off Silver Bullet as the ride pulls into the station are real.
• The ride was the second round of the dis-continued Cartoon Network game-show, BrainRush, wich took place at Knott's Berry Farm and involved players completing missions on different rides. This is the average ride, having some tie breakers and appears for a decent amount of time.
• The ride is featured on McGraw Hill's California Algebra Readiness Textbook.
• The post-human fate of the ride is shown in the episode "Holiday Hell" of the History Channel's second season of Life After People: The Series; Silver Bullet will corrode and fall to the ground after 100 years, mainly due to the sand attracting moisture in the track.
• The ride was featured on an episode of the hit-reality competition series America's Next Top Model, which features the models having to capture a good photo for a challenge while on the ride.