Falcons Flight

Falcons Flight is a launched roller coaster located at Six Flags Qiddiya City in Qiddiya City, Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia. Manufactured by Intamin, the steel coaster opened on December 31, 2025, as the tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster in the world surpassing Top Thrill 2, Formula Rossa, and Steel Dragon 2000, respectively. Featuring a height of 163 m and an elevation change of 195 m, Falcons Flight opened as the world's first exa coaster.[1]

History

Conception

On April 7, 2017, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman officially announced the Qiddiya City mega project, an entertainment, sport, and cultural destination designed to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative.[2] Included in the announcement was the involvement of the original

Characteristics

Statistics

Falcons Flight uses the natural cliffs near the park to attain a peak elevation change of approximately 195 m throughout the course of the ride. Its height, which is the maximum distance between the structure and the ground directly below that structure, is 163 m measured at ride's largest camelback, which also features a 158 m drop. Its track is 4250 m long, and the coaster reaches a top speed of 250 km/h[14] The coaster's footprint is large enough that it can be viewed from space.[15]

The coaster runs with six trains, each of which seat fourteen riders across four cars in rows of two; the front car only has a single row while the others each have two.[14] Falcons Flight's station features a dual loading bay, with two separate tracks and platforms to increase throughput.[8]

Falcons Flight utilizes three linear synchronous motor (LSM) launches, each of which propels the train to sequentially higher speeds. The second launch ascending the cliffside will accelerate riders to just over 160 km/h, while the final launch on the descent aids the train in achieving its maximum speed.[16] The launches are made up of more than 700 LSM modules, about six times the amount used on VelociCoaster at Universal Islands of Adventure, another launched roller coaster constructed by Intamin.[10][17]

Design

Falcons Flight – dubbed by Intamin as an Exa Coaster – has been designed to withstand both the high speeds incurred and harsh desert climate. The trains feature lap bars and curved windshields at the front of each car, protecting riders from airborne sand at high speeds. The train's chassis is fully machined [10] with no welding involved and includes rims designed to improve cooling. The wheels were custom designed for the coaster, measuring 16 in in diameter and being among the largest ever committed to a coaster (although marginally smaller than those found on Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point).[18] Falcons Flight's trains also include thirty-five programmable and individually controllable light modules, allowing for enhanced spectator visibility at night.[10]

location	Six Flags Qiddiya City
section	City of Thrills
coordinates	24.5875°N, 46.33333°W
soft opened	December 30, 2025
opened	December 31, 2025
type	Steel
type2	Launched
status	Operating
manufacturer	Intamin
model	Exa coaster
lift	LSM
height m	163
sigfig height	4
drop m	158
sigfig drop	4
length m	4250
sigfig length	6
speed km/h	250
sigfig speed	4
angle	90
restriction cm	130
virtual queue name	GoFast Pass
virtual queue status	Available
rcdb number	21315
custom label 1	Elevation change
custom value 1	~195 m
custom label 2	Trains
custom value 2	6 trains with 4 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 7 rows for a total of 14 riders per train.

History

Conception

Industry involvement

Construction

Characteristics

Statistics

Design

Records held

External links

References