Few coasters have lived as many lives as The Flying Cobras. This Vekoma Boomerang at Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina has operated under four names in two states: born as The Mind Eraser at Ohio’s Geauga Lake in 1996, renamed Head Spin in 2004, relocated south to become Carolina Cobra in 2009, and finally rechristened The Flying Cobras in 2017 as the centerpiece of the park’s County Fair section.
Key Stats
| Type | Vekoma Boomerang (steel shuttle coaster) |
| Opened at Carowinds | March 28, 2009 (originally opened May 10, 1996 at Geauga Lake) |
| Height | 116.5 ft (35.5 m) |
| Drop | 108 ft (33 m) |
| Track length | 935 ft (285 m) |
| Top speed | 47 mph (76 km/h) |
| Inversions | 3, each traversed twice |
| Ride time | 1:48 |
| Max g-force | 5.2 g |
| Capacity | 760 riders per hour |
| Height requirement | 48 in (122 cm) |
Four Names, Two Parks
The ride began as part of a $9 million 1996 investment at Geauga Lake under new owner Premier Parks, opening as The Mind Eraser with turquoise track and white supports. When Cedar Fair bought the Ohio park in 2004 it became Head Spin, and after Geauga Lake closed for good in 2007 the coaster stood dormant for a season before being trucked to Carowinds. It reopened there on March 28, 2009 as Carolina Cobra — the first new coaster of the Cedar Fair era at Carowinds — on the plot previously occupied by the Flying Super Saturator.
In 2017, as part of the County Fair expansion, the ride was refurbished, repainted blue and white, and renamed The Flying Cobras in tribute to the barnstorming air shows once seen at Carolina county fairs.
Ride Experience
The train is pulled backwards up a 116.5-foot lift hill, then released for a 108-foot drop that fires it through the station into a cobra roll, followed by a 360-degree vertical loop. It coasts up the second 116.5-foot spike, pauses, and runs the whole circuit backwards. Three inversions each way means six upside-down moments per ride, with forces peaking at 5.2 g — territory usually reserved for the highest g-force coasters.
A Vekoma First
When it reopened at Carowinds in 2009, this became the first roller coaster anywhere to carry Vekoma’s redesigned MK-1212 trains — a smoother-riding replacement for the notoriously rough old Boomerang stock, later rolled out across the more than 50 Boomerangs operating worldwide.
FAQ
Is The Flying Cobras the same ride as Carolina Cobra?
Yes. Carowinds renamed Carolina Cobra to The Flying Cobras for the 2017 season, with a new blue-and-white paint scheme and an air-show theme for the County Fair area.
Where was The Flying Cobras before Carowinds?
At Geauga Lake in Ohio, where it ran as The Mind Eraser (1996–2003) and then Head Spin (2004–2007) before the park’s closure sent it to Charlotte.
How tall and fast is The Flying Cobras?
The lift spikes stand 116.5 feet tall, the first drop is 108 feet, and the train hits 47 mph — both forward and backward.
Photo: Jeremy Thompson via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)