Nighthawk (roller coaster)

Steel roller coaster

The Nighthawk is a steel flying roller coaster from Vekoma located at Carowinds amusement park. The roller coaster is located in the Thunder Road section of the park. The roller coaster originally opened as Stealth at California's Great America on April 1, 2000. In 2003, Paramount Parks decided to relocate the roller coaster to Carowinds. It reopened as Borg Assimilator – the first coaster in the world to be themed to Star Trek – on March 20, 2004. After Cedar Fair purchased Carowinds in 2006, Paramount themes were soon removed from the park, and the ride was renamed Nighthawk. It is one of only two Flying Dutchman models still in existence from Vekoma.

On June 22, 1999, California's Great America announced Stealth as "the world's first true flying coaster." For Stealth to be installed, the lower flume of Logger's Run had to be altered and the Yankee Clipper had to be removed. The ride officially opened to the public on April 1, 2000. Stealth faced many issues during its run in California. The most notable of these was the electrical box, which monitored the restraints and locking devices that allowed the cars to raise and lower. It was placed on each train instead of being located in the electrical room. This created stress on the ride vehicles and components. On August 21, 2003, the park announced that Stealth would close on September 1 to make room for a new water park, Boomerang Bay (now known as South Bay Shores). The station is still located in the water park today as the queue for the water slides (Coastal Cruz, NorCal Wipeout, and Mission Falls).

In 1984, Carowinds added Smurf Island, which was a children's play area located on the island surrounded by the Carolina Sternwheeler. In the 1990s, Smurf Island was eventually closed and later demolished to make space for a new ride. On August 21, 2003, Carowinds announced a new flying roller coaster that would be relocated from California's Great America. The ride's name was not announced at the time. On January 15, 2004, it was announced the new roller coaster would be named Borg Assimilator and would be the first Star Trek themed roller coaster. Regarding the design of the attraction, Dale Kaetzel, Vice President of marketing and Assistant General Manager, said: Some modifications were made to the ride prior to opening. Park engineers worked out the prototype bugs and the electrical box was redesigned. In 2009, Nighthawk was painted with dark blue supports and yellow track. While at California's Great America, the track was painted red and white with steel gray supports. When the ride was relocated to Carowinds, the track was repainted black and green and the supports remained gray. After the name was changed in 2008, the ride was once again repainted with yellow track and blue supports. Nighthawk has a total of five inversions. It features one vertical loop, a double corkscrew, two "Lie to Fly" and two "Fly to Lie" elements. Each "Lie to Fly" and "Fly to Lie" element is counted as a half inversion. A "Lie to Fly" element is when riders are on their backs, facing the sky and they are flipped and face the ground. A "Fly to Lie" element is the opposite.

Once riders are seated and restrained, the train tilts backwards into a 'lay down' position and is dispatched. The train travels backwards out of the station, turns left and travels up the 115 feet (35 m) lift hill. 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 Riders then go through an over banked Horseshoe Curve element. 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 feet (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 go through another turn into the final "Fly to Lie" element before entering two consecutive corkscrews before making a right turn onto the brake run.

While the ride was located at Paramount's Great America, there was no theme for the ride. When it was relocated to Carowinds in 2004, it was built as the first Star Trek themed roller coaster in the world. It was renamed Borg Assimilator and the story was that "Borg crash landed in the middle of Carowinds and their ship – a giant gray and black sphere – has come to rest near the park's new flying roller coaster." After Cedar Fair bought the park, all the Star Trek theming was removed and the name was changed for the 2008 season. While in the station, the trains will recline back to the laying down position.