Werner Stengel
Signature Projects
Alpengeist, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
Dueling Dragons, Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Florida, USA
G5, Janufusm FancyWorld, Taiwan
Goliath, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, California, USA
Incredible Hulk, Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Florida, USA
Inverted, Tampere, Finland
Katun, Mirabilandia, Ravenna, Italy
Labyrinth of the Minotaur, Terra Mitica Park, Spain
Riddler's Revenge, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, California, USA
Medusa, Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, New Jersey, USA
Millennium Force, Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio, USA
Monte Mayaka, Terra Encantanda, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Oblivion, Alton Towers, Staffordshire, England
Son of Beast, Paramount's Kings Island, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Volcano: The Blast Coaster, Paramount's Kings Dominion, Richmond, Virginia, USA
What do Bolliger & Mabillard, Giovanola, Mack, Maurer Söhne, Intamin, Premier Rides, Roller Coaster Corp. of America, Vekoma and Zierer have in common? Obviously, they're all companies in the business of creating thrill rides, but they share something else as well. Each of these firms (among many others) has relied upon the expertise of world-renowned designer and engineer Werner Stengel (pictured at left). For more than three decades, Mr. Stengel and his company have been integral to the development of rollercoasters and assorted amusement attractions in operation at parks all over the planet. His name may not be familiar, but if you're here because you love scream machines, I guarantee that you've strapped yourself into a ride that's been blessed with some of Werner Stengel's prodigious talent.
Born on August 22nd, 1936, the 23-year-old Stengel began to hone his skills at the University of Kassel, Germany, where he matriculated as an engineering student from 1959 until 1962. He continued his studies as a "Diploma Engineer" at the University of Munich from 1962 to 1966. It's a testament to his skills that before he'd even finished this program, his professional career had taken flight. In 1965, Stengel's consulting office opened its doors and that same year, the company dove into its first coaster project: Anton Schwarzkopf's compact steel Wild Cat.
Stengel continued to establish his reputation as a leading amusement engineer. During 1967 and 1968, Stengel lectured eight hours weekly on the subject of static and steel construction at the University of Munich. In 1974, he became a member of the "DIN-Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V." standards committee, developing guidelines for temporary structures and fairground amusements and establishing directives for dimensioning and construction.
By 1983, Stengel had founded a second company with Paul Morsbach. "Amusement Park Safety Consultants" was created exclusively to perform safety inspections at amusement parks in England, France, Belgium and The Netherlands, and operated until 1992.
In 1988, he became a member of the "Strain of Passengers Limit Values for Roller Coasters" research group and in 1992, he received Germany's Appreciation of Engineer Award for the "Quintuple Loop Roller Coaster," known to you and I as the awesome Olympia Looping. And 1995 saw him become a member of yet another safety-related group, the European Committee for Standardization: "Fairground and Amusement Park Machinery and Structures - Safety."
Sometimes the company is involved at the earliest conceptual stage; in other cases, manufacturers will provide Stengel with preliminary drawings. Then, using specially-developed computer software, his team refines those drawings, measuring and optimizing forces along the ride's "flight path," and conducting those stress, structural and fatigue analyses.
The manufacturer then uses the resulting data to finalize shop drawings and establish operational parameters for the ride's electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic systems. All that high-tech numbers-crunching has made an invaluable contribution to literally hundreds of amusement devices.
Partnered with various ride manufacturers, Stengel has developed over 130 different types of mini-coasters and "spin 'n spew" attractions, including such favorites as the Bobsled; Calypso; Galaxy; Octopus; Chair-O-Plane; Round-Up; Alpenblitz; Paratrooper; Enterprise; Wave Swinger; Musik Express; Pirate-Boat; Polyp; Spider; Flying Carpet; Matterhorn; Waikiki Wave; and the Super-Flip.
There's also a good chance you've taken a spin on one of the more than 35 Ferris Wheels Stengel has nurtured, with diameters ranging from 13 feet to 328 feet. Or perhaps you've ridden one of the 13 monorails... or the 9 bumper cars... or the 15 dark rides... or the 10 flume rides that Stengel has engineered.
The sheer quantity is remarkable, but the company can boast of quality, too. For instance, when it comes to the development of portable coasters, Stengel has no equal. The aforementioned Olympia Looping, the five-inversion monster of the European fair circuit, is still the only portable 5-loop coaster in the world. And the EuroStar, designed for Intamin in 1995, is another one-of-a-kind ride. This 1,150-ton, 118-foot-tall inverted coaster, with its vertical loop, heartline spin, double corkscrew and 540-degree helix, simply redefines what it means to be "portable."
Stengel has also worked in wood; the Sierra Tonante, a twister that resides at Mirabilandia in Ravenna, Italy, has benefitted from his input. And his company is working with Intamin and the Rollercoaster Corp. of America to engineer Germany's first woody, the new Wild, Wild West coaster that will open this year at Warner Bros. Movie World, in Bottrop. Themed around the upcoming Will Smith/Kevin Kline big-screen update of the classic TV series, this coaster should stand around 100 feet tall and hit speeds over 40 miles per hour.
And sure enough, when asked if the move towards even more extreme thrill rides will continue, this is what the company had to say: "At the moment, the market is requesting more of them. The next years should be pretty good for enthusiasts. The rides are becoming faster and will be bigger in dimension and height. New techniques will occur and new things will come to market with our help."