Batwing

A batwing consists of two inversions with an embedded direction reversal: the track arcs up into a half-loop, then at the top a half-corkscrew inverts the train and reverses direction before mirroring the half-loop back to ground level. Viewed from overhead, the track outline resembles spread bat wings. Unlike the bowtie (which has two inversions without a direction change), the batwing reverses the train's heading by 180 degrees during the element.

Batwings are a signature B&M element, found on inverted coasters including Afterburn at Carowinds and The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal's Islands of Adventure. The element produces a complex series of sensations — an upward arc, a twisting inversion overhead, and a returning sweep — that feels quite different from a standard back-to-back pair of inversions. It is visually dramatic and immediately recognisable from the ground as one of the more unusual track shapes in coaster design.