Wild Rides

The Maximum G Force category denotes so-called gravity forces, the stress your body endures as coaster trains bottom out of hills or bank around spirals. The Great White, for example, generates a maximum G force of 4.6. That means you feel 4.6 times heavier in a pullout than you do in line for a hot dog. Shuttle astronauts, by comparison, experience only 3 Gs at liftoff. Multiply 4.6 by your weight for the G force equivalent: a 100-pound person would feel as if she weighed 460 pounds. G forces can also be zero (weightlessness) or negative (a rising sensation). The Number of Inversions category indicates how many times riders are flipped upside down.

Updated April 2003