text: firehawk ( roller coaster ) firehawk is a steel flying roller coaster built by vekoma at kings island in mason , ohio . it originally opened as x - flight at six flags worlds of adventure on may 26 , 2001 . cedar fair purchased worlds of adventure in 2004 and began efforts to downsize the park . in november 2006 , cedar fair announced plans to relocate x - flight . kings island was later revealed as the destination , and it officially reopened as firehawk on may 26 , 2007 . firehawk may not have been the first flying dutchman model from vekoma , a title that belongs to nighthawk at carowinds , but it was billed as the midwest 's first and only flying roller coaster when it opened in 2001 . the notability was short - lived , as the opening of superman : ultimate flight at six flags great america two years later meant it was no longer alone in the region . in addition , firehawk 's layout is identical to batwing , another vekoma flying dutchman , located at six flags america in upper marlboro , maryland . history six flags worlds of adventure / geauga lake ( 2001 – 2006 ) while the park was still named six flags ohio , plans for a new roller coaster known as x - flight were revealed on january 4 , 2001 . six days later , six flags purchased seaworld ohio – next to geauga lake – with the intent of merging the two to create six flags worlds of adventure . the new venture advertised x - flight as the first flying roller coaster in the midwest , and it was the park 's tenth roller coaster overall – the fifth added since 2000 . the new coaster was built on a former bus parking lot , and geauga lake road had to be rerouted around the ride . regarding the design of the attraction , jake bateman , vice president and general manager of six flags worlds of adventure , said : land clearing began on december 1 , 2000 , and construction on the footers began february 9 , 2001 . x - flight was originally supposed to open in early may 2001 , but due to technical difficulties , its opening was delayed . during testing , problems were discovered with several devices including the reclining mechanism on the trains and their restraints . x - flight 's media day was eventually held on may 24 , 2001 , and the ride officially opened two days later on may 26 . cedar fair purchased the park from six flags in 2004 for $ 145 million . they announced intentions of returning the park to its roots as a family - oriented amusement park . the efforts to downsize the park eventually led to x - flight 's removal . on november 22 , 2006 , geauga lake park officials announced that x - flight was being dismantled to be sent to another unspecified cedar fair property . moving the ride would take some time , as the final sections of track and supports wouldn 't be removed until march 2007 . kings island ( 2007 – present ) on january 22 , 2007 , green vekoma track resembling the track of x - flight was spotted at kings island , a cedar fair park in mason , ohio . on february 5 , 2007 , kings island officially announced firehawk as the former x - flight roller coaster from geauga lake . construction was scheduled to begin later that month , and the opening was set for memorial day weekend later that year . x - flight 's neon green track and dark blue supports were re - painted red and steel gray , respectively . it was built in an area next to flight of fear , creating a new area named x - base which connects to nearby area coney mall . firehawk officially opened as scheduled on may 26 , 2007 . it was the first roller coaster to be introduced at the park since cedar fair purchased it from paramount parks in 2006 . the first 2 , 500 riders received commemorative firehawk t - shirts . ride experience track the steel track is 3 , 340 feet ( 1 , 020 m ) in length , and the height of the lift is 115 feet ( 35 m ) . there are approximately 300 sections of track colored red with steel gray supports . when the ride operated at geauga lake , the track was neon green with dark blue supports . firehawk has a total of five inversions - one vertical loop , two inline twists , and four 180 - degree inline twists that are each counted as a half inversion . these 180 - degree inline twists are also known as " lie to fly " and " fly to lie " elements , in which riders on their backs are flipped to face the ground or vice versa . layout once riders are seated and restrained , the train is tilted backwards into a ' lay - down ' position and dispatched . the train travels backwards out of the station , turns left and travels up the 115 - foot ( 35 m ) lift hill at a 33 degree angle . once the train reaches the top of the lift hill , it dips down into a twist ( called a " lie - to - fly " ) that turns the trains upside down into a flying position where riders face the ground . after the twist , the train travels down the first drop , reaching speeds of 51 mph ( 82 km / h ) . riders then proceed through an over banked horseshoe curve element , passing the queue area . following the horseshoe , the train enters a " fly - to - lie " element that turns riders back to a lay - down position . after the banked turn , the ride enters the 66 - foot ( 20 m ) tall vertical loop , where riders experience 4 . 3 g 's . the train then goes into another " lie - to - fly " element . following the loop , riders enter another turn and hit two consecutive inline twists . following the inline twists , the train enters the final helix followed by the final " fly - to - lie " element . afterwards , the train is slowed to a stop on the brake run before returning to the station . station the coaster features a dual station which is connected to the main track using a switch track segment ( similar to a railroad switch ) . dual - station operation allows for two trains to be loaded simultaneously for more efficient operation . this configuration existed since the ride debuted at geauga lake . trains firehawk currently operates with two trains . there are six cars with four seats in each row for a total of 24 riders per train . there were three trains during the ride 's first year at geauga lake , however only two have been used since . the third train became a parts donor for the first two . originally , riders reclined on the lift hill – rather than in the station – and returned to an upright position prior to re - entering the station . however , this was changed to occur in the station due to problems that arose during the ride 's first season . the trains feature the firehawk logo on the front colored yellow and red . previously at geauga lake , the x - flight logo was colored lime green and dark blue . incident on august 8 , 2009 , an adult male passenger was rushed to a hospital after he was found with breathing problems following the ride . he died the same evening . the hamilton county coroner 's office reported that a heart condition was the likely cause of death and ruled it natural . the ride was re - opened at 12 : 10 pm on august 9 , 2009 , after an inspection by the ohio department of agriculture – a division of the state government responsible for amusement park ride safety in ohio . they determined the ride was operating within the manufacturer 's specifications .