ROLLER COASTER MADNESS: `EXPERT' RIDERS TRY OUT THE LATEST AT SIX FLAGS

A wild-eyed teen-aged roller coaster enthusiast I am not.

I am a mild-mannered newspaper reporter and mother of four who is 35 years old. Honest.

So why, I asked myself as I dropped my notebook, pen, press pass, film and eyeglasses into the basket, was I climbing aboard Six Flag's newest roller coaster -- Mr. Freeze.

"I must be nuts," I thought as the metal harness clamped over my shoulders.

Locked in the seat to my left was Greg Kissee, a card-carrying roller coaster enthusiast and my newfound best friend. Not only was he calm about the ride ahead, he was looking forward to it.

"Isn't this great?" he asked as the motor revved. "Now remember, keep your eyes open."

At that moment we were launched through the start tunnel of Mr. Freeze, from zero to 70 mph in about 4 seconds. We were pulling 4.5Gs. The space shuttle, when it launches, pulls about 3Gs.

We headed up the "top hat" loop. I kept my eyes shut tight.

But as we went through the "wing over" I peeked at the track whizzing by. "This isn't so bad," I thought.

Then we started up the "tower." The tower took us 23 stories straight up, where we hung for a second or two, weightless, before we did the whole ride again in reverse.

We slammed back into the station and jerked to a stop. The entire ride lasted about 45 seconds.

"So what did you think?" asked Greg.

Adrenaline was pumping. My heart was racing. My legs were just a little wobbly. But I smiled and said, "It was great."

I wasn't lying.

On Thursday Six Flags St. Louis opened the ride for about 60 Midwest members of the American Coaster Enthusiasts group and media representatives from the region to promote it.

Among ACE members, called ACErs, is Kissee. By the time for our 11 a.m. interview, he had ridden Mr. Freeze a dozen times.

"This is kind of a different experience," Kissee said after our ride. "The launch, zero to 70, is very thrilling and very, very fun."

Kissee should know. He has ridden every roller coaster within 10 hours of Springfield, Mo.

He was at Six Flags last summer and walked through Mr. Freeze, but the ride didn't open last year.

Lee Stellhorn, corporate engineer for Six Flags St. Louis, explained that the delay was due to "performance issue," not safety concerns.

Unlike most roller coasters, which use gravity to generate power, Mr. Freeze uses linear induction motors. This is the same technology used to propel the bullet train.

The motors, Stellhorn said, generate heat. Last year, as the day progressed and the motors heated, the ride would slow, by 3 to 5 mph. Not enough to cause a safety concern, Stellhorn said.

"But it wasn't up to Six Flags standards," he said. Additional motors were added and wait in reserve until the main motors begin to heat up.

"This way, every guest gets exactly the same ride," Stellhorn said.

Mr. Freeze is the first roller coaster to use linear induction motors for a thrill ride. The motors push the train along the track. Even in the tower, when gravity could take over, motors push the cars back down and through the loops.

Mr. Freeze is the nation's most technologically advanced roller coaster, said Paul L. Ruben, North American editor of Park World, the international magazine for the amusement park industry.

Ruben is also an expert on roller coasters.

"This roller coaster is one benefit of the end of the Cold War," he said. "The technology was originally developed to launch satellites for Star Wars."

And Ruben was pleased with the performance.

"Now I know how a drag racer feels," he said. "The launch is a world-class experience."

In fact, Ruben was ready to ride again. "I'll probably go about a dozen times or so," he said. "I'll ride my brains out, to the brink of nausea."

Ruben advised me that the second trip through would likely be even more exhilarating.

"Open your eyes," he encouraged. "Fully half the ride experience is visual. The other half is changing G-forces."

Besides, Ruben said, the roller coaster is the safest ride in the park. Statistics show that riding a roller coaster is safer than playing billiards or using a toothpick.

"You are locked in the car. The car is locked to the track," he said.

ACE members counted their trips on Mr. Freeze by the dozens. Even the "wimpy" friends of ACErs rode six or seven times.

I rode three times before I returned to my senses and headed home. My head throbbed a bit, but I didn't really care. It had been a great ride.

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Write ACE, P.O. Box 8226, Chicago, Ill. 60680.