China – The Nanning Fantawild theme park is Fantawild’s 25th entertainment park in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The park was designed with a unique theme, to pay tribute to the cultures of 10 Southeast Asian nations. From its opening, the park has received 1.5 million visitors and has become a popular tourist destination in Nanning.

Standing at a height of 108 feet, the Jungle Trailblazer wooden roller coaster is the park’s center of attraction. Nanning has 85 average annual thunderstorm days. Risk of direct lightning strikes was a concern in the design of the Trailblazer. A direct lightning strike was a major fire risk as well as a risk to the structural integrity of the wooden roller coaster. The structure was also expansive and awkward. Therefore, conventional lightning rods with a limited radius of protection was not sufficient to protect it.

Mun Hean Hong Fei was awarded the project to design and install a robust system that could protect the entire structure. The result was a lightning protection system comprising of 5 HELITA Pulsar, E.S.E lightning rods. The positioning of the HELTIA Pulsar required careful analysis and calculation so as to blanket every possible ‘blind spot’ in structure. Not long after the park was opened in early 2019, the HELITA Pulsar successfully captured a direct lightning strike. The proprietary RodCheck visual strike indicator was activated. When activated, the RodCheck exposed a red indicating ring that could be viewed from afar. It signaled to the facility management team to verify the strike and perform a structural integrity check. The HELITA Pulsar system designed by Mun Hean did its job and protected the Trailblazer and patrons from the strike. The system will continue to do so for years to come and adds to the unrivaled list in Mun Hean’s lightning protection global project portfolio.