Flying Dutchman (Efteling)

Infobox roller coaster
name= Vliegende Hollander


caption=
location= Efteling
section= Ruig Rijk
coordinates=
type= Steel
type2=
type3=
status= Open
opened= 1/4/2007
manufacturer= Kumbak Coasters
designer= Karel Willemen
model= Water coaster
track=
lift= Chain lift
height= 73.82
drop=
length= 1377.95
speed= 43.5
inversions= 0
duration= 3.43 minutes
angle=
capacity= 1900
cost= € 20.3 million
acceleration=
gforce= 0.2-2
restriction= 47.3
rcdb_number= 3291

The Flying Dutchman (or "De Vliegende Hollander" in Dutch) is a combination of a Water coaster and a dark ride in amusement park Efteling in the Netherlands. It should have gone operational on April 16 2006 Easter, exactly 328 years after the disappearance of the legendary Dutch merchant The Flying Dutchman; due to construction problems the opening was postponed to April 1, 2007.

The legend and the attraction

Willem van der Decken, a captain of the Dutch eastindian corporation VOC, the first limited company, is a wealthy trader in command of the fastest ship of the VOC, named the "Hollander" (Dutchman). But greed takes control of him and secretly he starts practicing piracy. He recruits his crew from orphanages.
On Easter 1678, despite a heavy storm blowing into port, he sets sail for the Dutch East Indies. When all despair for this lack of fear for God, he proclaims: "I will sail, storm or not, Easter or not, prohibited or not. I will sail, even into eternity!" (old Dutch: "Ik zal vaeren, storm of gheen storm, Paesen of gheen Paesen, verbod of gheen verbod. Ik zal vaeren, al is het tot in den eeuwigheid!").
Against the wind he sailed toward damnation.The house of van der Decken is part of the scenery for the queue line. After walking through this abandoned house the queue continues down into so-called 'smugglers' tunnels', where van der Decken's treasure can be seen hidden behind a small door. The tunnel ends in the cellar of a pub in 17th century style. In the harbor, under a dark clouded sky the coaster ride begins. The 14- person barge goes into open sea where it meets a holographic ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman, and dives under its bow into the Underworld. The barge is then towed to a height of 22,5 meters. Here, it halts, and a ghostly voice is heard stating: "You shall sail into eternity!" (Old Dutch: "Gij zult vaeren, tot het einde der tyden!") Doors open and the barge shoots in a curved declination through a tunnel. After this some airtime in a bunnyhop and a 85 degree horseshoe. A steep fall and a left curve bring the barge back into the water. A special technique allows for variation in the size of the “splash”, thus preparing the ride for winter opening .

Music

The music was composed by René Merkelbach and consists of 16 parts that are synchronous with the ride. The Prague philharmonic orchestra performed the music for the recording

References

* [http://www.wonderlijkewcweb.org Fansite]
* [http://www.efteling.nl Company information]
* [http://www.dvhe.nl Flying Dutchman Website]
* [http://www.rcdb.com/id3291.htm Rollercoaster Database]