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The new American Flyer lift is now open!
A Leitner-Poma high-speed 6-person chair with bubble enclosures is set to replace the high-speed quad known as the American Flyer lift, offering a more comfortable ride and a 33 percent increase in uphill capacity. The new lift will primarily serve the easy and intermediate side of the resort’s unique naturally-divided terrain and also will provide expedited access to Copper’s advanced high alpine bowls.
January 10
The American Flyer is up and running! We look forward to seeing you soon.
January 1
Unexpected complications related to the lift automation software have caused delays to the opening of American Flyer. We expect these programming malfunctions to be resolved within days and allow the project to get back on schedule. The technology being used for Flyer, which is the world’s longest bubble chair, is state-of-the-art. As with any new technology, it is critically important to Copper Mountain staff and Leitner-Poma that all components of the equipment are fully vetted before opening the lift to our guests. As soon as we feel confident that the lift will operate reliably on a daily basis, the American Flyer will be opened for everyone to enjoy.
December 28
Testing with the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board began today. This process can take anywhere from 3 days to a week so look out for more information about an opening day soon! Learn more about the Tramway Board here: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dora/Tramway
December 22
December 20
From Copper Mountain's President and General Manager Dustin Lyman.
December 18
Fun facts about the American Flyer!
December 17
Check out footage of chair placement and the system operations that take place in the terminal.
Also, we sat down with Jon Mauch of Leitner-Poma and asked him some of your questions. Check out the Q&A here: Interview with Leitner-Poma
December 16
We caught up with Justin Knight of Knight Equipment Company, one of the only companies in the world that is able to complete a chairlift ropeway splice.
December 15
Splicing is complete and the chairs are being placed on the ropeway! As for terrain, all connections between villages are now open.
December 12
Splicing is underway!
December 10
Here's the latest on the American Flyer from Dustin Lyman, President & General Manager of Copper:
November 25
The American Eagle is SO close! The Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board is on site completing load tests and inspections. The Leitner-Poma crew is now focused on splicing the cable and getting Flyer up and running. As soon as we have any additional updates at all, you'll be the first to know! Keep an eye here or on Copper's Facebook and Instagram, @coppermtn.
November 13
As you may or may not have heard by now, the American Eagle and the American Flyer lifts will not be opening on Opening Day, Friday, November 16. We are waiting on two crucial parts (one for each lift) that are expected to arrive this week. Stay tuned for updates as to when they will open.
With that in mind, our crews alongside Leitner-Poma have been working so hard! The Flyer terminal has been up and the haul rope is going in this week. What's really exciting is that the American Eagle and American Flyer are the first two lifts in all of North America to run on direct drives versus a complex gear system.
We will still be opening on Friday, November 16 with access to the mountain via Super Bee! Learn more here.
October 9
The Black Hawk helicopter returned to put in all towers, crossarms (the horizontal arms on top of the towers) and sheaves (the wheels attached to the crossarms.) They are all assembled! Here are some fun facts:
- The cable is 19,700 feet long with a diameter of 52mm. That equals out to 160,000 pounds.
- There are 182 chairs each weighing 1,600 pounds with a total of 292,000 pounds.
- There are 27 towers in total. Each tower, crossarm and sheave was placed separately resulting in 115 pick up and drop offs by the helicopter.
October 5
The bottom terminal of Flyer is up!
September 26
Towers are being backfilled and all bottom terminal materials are staged at the base. Towers are being assembled in the Far East Lot and are nearly ready to fly! Concrete was poured for both the Eagle and Flyer in early September. See the footage here.
September 3
The bubble chairs are here! Bull wheels and other equipment has also arrived. Look out for the pouring of concrete via helicopter this week.
August 21
The walls are coming along nicely! Lift tower digging and concrete pouring continues down the hill so expect to see lots of construction activity in Center Village very soon.
August 2
Placement of the lift towers begins.
July 24
Construction on the top terminal has begun. A foundation is being poured and the size of the building to come is impressive. You can see the construction workers for scale.
July 11
The towers were flown out via helicopter and it was quite the sight to see! This part of the operation was done in just few hours. Digging for the new towers has already begun.
June 25
Excavation has begun to build a structure that will be located at the top terminal. This structure will be used to house the chairs overnight and during the summer months to preserve their condition.
May 23
The chairs, cables and terminals have been removed.
