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EastCoastn07

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Everything posted by EastCoastn07

  1. Because if I'm not mistaken, behind Hulk, DD had one of the highest operating times of any B&M in the world? And with that much operating time comes a highly fatigued machine that was mostly only designed to operate for a certain lifetime.
  2. For what it's worth SFDK Superman has slightly slower acceleration than Phobia. Phobia is more along the lines of Sky Scream at Holiday Park.
  3. I'm pretty sure "squinching" is only for correcting 3D images while moving. And unless they paid royalties to Universal, they wouldn't be able to utilize it because Universal has a patent on that method that is valid for another 4-5 years.
  4. This happens a lot more than you'd think on coaster constructions. I know of companies that had to ship truck loads of shims because of tolerances being out of whack during installation. Usually, a column coming up short is 100% more manageable than a column being too long (cutting and re-welding in the field is a PITA). It's pretty common that your column will come up short by a few millimeters. If there is still a gap after they torque the bolts, the erector will put a shim in that make up the gap. But by the looks of that gap, they are probably re-fabricating the spool. I'm pretty sure there's only so much space you can make up with shims from a structural stand point, and that gap looks pretty big.
  5. You'd be surprised at how many people still manage to get cell phones, cameras, etc. on the rides even with all the new security.
  6. Also False From the beginning, both USD and USS were always designed to have Revenge of the Mummy - both with track layouts virtually identical to USF To be fair, even though USD and USS share(d) the same track layout as USF, the show for USS is pretty different than the USF version. USS isn't about riding the movie like USF is and there's a lot of things Universal improved upon. Whether or not USD was going to be the same show as USF is up in the air since it was never built, but I can guarantee the track for Dubai was not used in the Singapore version.
  7. I thought I read somewhere that some of the track for UAE's Revenge of the Mummy was actually manufactured and delivered to the construction site before the project stalled. So I feel like it's possible that some of the Hulk track for UAE could have been made already. Of course, they're different coasters and manufacturers though, so who knows? I don't even know if the story about Mummy is true- just read about it on another theme park site. Dubai Mummy became Singapore Mummy False.
  8. Other than Intamin, I don't think any major manufacturer provides LSM launch systems in-house. Intrasys is pretty much the go to company for these types of systems and I know for a fact they have provided them to at least Vekoma, Premier, Mack, B&M, and Zierer.
  9. I'm not typically one to be a Debby Downer, but this is pretty underwhelming announcement. I don't care what kind of "records" this thing breaks, no matter how you look at it, Sheikra did most of what this coaster does 10 years ago. The lack of a tunnel, water splash, or theming in general kinda kills the excitement of this coaster for me.
  10. We don't actually know if it's a 3D ride yet. They've given zero information, really. Just speculating, that's all. There will be some 3-D elements in the attraction. At least that's what I've been hearing.
  11. Most coasters in general use sensors only around block areas (Near lifts, brakes, etc.). It is a rare occurrence for sensors to be used midway through a ride (cost is a big factor, and they aren't really necessary). There probably was not a sensor in that area, so the train wasn't detected. So unless maintenance overrode the error, there is a good chance that they overlooked the train and switched the train dial thinking an operator accidentally touched it. I don't think you understand how a block system works. A coaster is split up into block zones such as a lift, mcbr, launch, etc. Each block zone has a number of sensors that detect when a train is entering and exiting a block zone. For instance, on a MCBR there would typically be a sensor at the beginning and end of the brake run to know that the train is exiting the previous block and entering the next. The PLC will keep track of this up until the next block zone when it will flag another sensor and let the PLC know that the train has left that block zone and the next train is free to proceed. If that train doesn't flag the next sensor, the train behind it is told to stop at the next previous stopping point before the next block to ensure there is no collision. Just because there are no sensors in the batwing does not mean the PLC doesn't know where this train is. All the PLC needs to know is that a train has entered a certain zone and whether or not is has left yet. If the reports of the train stopped on the lift are true, that means the PLC did in fact know that the stalled train never left the block zone after the lift and was told to stop. Just about every roller coaster in existence follows this principle. Some more advanced rides like you would find at Disney/Universal utilize hundreds of these sensors to track ABSOLUTE position of every vehicle on the track. This is a more advanced (and costly) way of creating block zones. Also, from my experience I've seen some coaster control systems utilize a timer for block zones. Basically what happens is the designer will dictate how long they would typically expect a train to be within a certain block zone and add some sort of additional time on top. If a sensor isn't flagged within this amount of time after flagging the previous sensor, it would typically throw a fault in the system and bring the ride to a stop. This is the way a system knows whether or not a sensor is failed and is another safety measure put into place into ride systems.
  12. I know Robb touched on some of what I'm going to say, but I figured I'd give my two cents given my background working with amusement rides. I am leading to believe that this was a human error issue, especially if the rumor that the loaded train was on the lift for a few minutes prior to the incident. From personal experience, I know that there are ways to clear a block while you are in maintenance mode. Usually there's no second alarm that will warn you about doing so because with Maintenance Mode all bets are off. You are basically disabling a lot of the systems that are put in place to prevent an operator from doing something stupid with the ride. This is why there is a special key needed to place the coaster in this mode and you SHOULD never operate in maintenance mode with guests on because you never know what can happen. Keep in mind that when a coaster is in Maintenance Mode it is expected that there is a fully trained technician at the control panel and there doesn't need to be levels upon levels of safety systems to ensure ride safety compared to when a 18 year old kid is operating the ride. If the rumor is true that the loaded train was on the lift for a few minutes prior to the incident, I'd like to think that the unloaded train valleyed and a technician cleared the block to allow the train on the lift to proceed. I don't care what kind of reputation Gerstlauer has, I can guarantee you that the commissioning process for a control system would not allow some crazy fault to occur to make this happen. Weeks of testing is performed on simulating fault conditions and seeing how the system responds to them, and surely block zone monitoring is tested! This coaster is in Europe and I can tell you from personal experience the approval process of rides in Europe is very very strict. I do not believe this incident was the fault of the ride manufacturer but that's just my opinion as of right now. Also, for those saying that a sensor could have been set off by a bird or some other object, I will tell you this. I can guarantee you that there is not a single coaster built in the last 10 years that has used a photo eye for a safety critical sensor on the ride. I would go as far as saying that all modern coasters use inductive proximity sensors to monitor the positioning of the ride vehicles and those require a piece of metal to "flag" the sensor and tell the system that it's been contacted. So unless there is a bird out there made of metal that flew within 3-5mm of a ride sensor, I can guarantee you that this was not caused by an object incidentally setting it off. I think this goes back to what someone said about how this would never happened at a REAL amusement park. I'm pretty sure if a vehicle was stuck on the lift for several minutes and required technicians to troubleshoot the issue at Disney or Universal, they would have most definitely evacuated the vehicle before restarting the ride cycle.
  13. I seriously hope they have a new **attraction** in the pipeline after the success of jurassic world. This seems more like "we need synergy since the movie is on the heels of being released". What success are you speaking of? The movie hasn't even released yet. Now, if the movie comes out and it makes 2 billion dollars, I'd put my money on them developing some sort of new attraction to follow the film and any others in the future.
  14. I think people need to realize that whatever fee Universal has to pay to Disney to use their IP is insignificant compared to the cost of having to redo an entire land. This isn't Six Flags or Cedar Fair, Universal isn't just going to take out all the Marvel IP and try to re-use what they can under some new IP. If Universal was to ever re-theme the area, it would most likely be a complete overhaul. Do I see Universal using the Nintendo opportunity to rid itself of Disney IP? No I don't. Hulk is by far one of the most popular and efficient attractions and I don't think it really fits the Nintendo IP. The Nintendo attractions will be family attractions, not high speed roller coasters. Quite frankly I don't ever see Universal tearing out Hulk so I think that idea is completely out the window. There are many other areas around both parks that need to be revamped and one of those will most definitely be the area that Nintendo takes over, not Marvel Super Hero Island.
  15. Nintendo most likely would never have agreed to this partnership unless Universal had something really special planned. Stay tuned!
  16. You're saying Uni is going to spend $10-$20 million on a 16 year old ride? Do you know how wear on wood vs. wear on steel works? Do you know or understand what fatigue is?
  17. The B&M has less supports because their box track is beefier than the Vekoma track. What they saved in cost of columns was probably offset by the added cost of the stronger track. I'm very curious to see the train for this thing though. I wonder if its a brand new train or just a 2-3 car Banshee train...Does anyone happen to know the price this coaster ran? Even though it's pretty small, I'm guessing it cost a pretty penny.
  18. It's a reach guard to prevent people from touching things they shouldn't be touching and potentially injuring themselves.
  19. I had the opportunity of riding Deep Space with and without the trim brake and I can say that there's not much difference between the two ride experiences. The speed (and force) differences aren't very noticeable.
  20. Release date was just announced...January 10th! Source: http://nolimitscoaster.de/index.php?page=news&newsentry=20131231155335#news20131231155335
  21. Regardless of how scary it seems, per ASTM standards seat belts aren't required as long as the restraint has a redundant locking system. I'm not familiar with the RMC trains, but I do know any coaster with negative g's requires this so I would assume these trains are no different.
  22. Why are saying stupid stuff? The park maintains the trains per Gerstlaure specs. RMC built the track. They do not operate the ride, inspect the trains, nor perform maintenance on the ride. Please don't start something. I'm just trying to say that people saying RMC are safe just because they didn't make the trains are wrong. Let me be clear that I'm not pointing fingers at anyone, but they are still the manufacturer of the ride and contracted out to get the trains made so there is still some accountability there. EDIT: If it turns out it was something maintenance failed to catch, it's a whole different story. But I'm just saying its way too early to say RMC is safe even if they didn't make the trains.
  23. I know RMC didn't design the trains, but they still put the trains on their coaster so they definitely assume some liability for the accident. It might not directly be their fault, but when this lady's family decides to sue (and you know they will, rightfully so), Six Flags and RMI will definitely be the main parties charged. RMC is the primary manufacturer and SFI is the operator of the ride. I'm not a lawyer, but after that I would assume Gerstlauer would be thrown in as well. In the end, RMC might not be the party responsible, but I guarantee they will be brought to court. They'll have to prove they weren't the main party responsible but I would assume they would hold some liability since it is their coaster regardless if they made the trains or not.
  24. What you are describing here is a train getting broken in. A new train straight from the factory is going to run moderately slower than say, one with 500+ cycles on it. That's just how these trains behave, especially when you're talking about wheels with brand new bearings in them. However, this has nothing to do with how the ride is designed, but rather the behavior of brand new components in the vehicles. There is a very good reason why some companies like B&M and Intamin install Nylon wheels on their vehicles at the start of testing, and slowly swap them out with urethane wheels until they achieve the speeds they are looking for. Nylon wheels have a significantly lower rolling friction associated with them than urethane wheels, so using them helps with a new train running slower at the start of testing. It does not look like Full Throttle has any nylon wheels on its vehicles. Another big factor is the amount of weight in the vehicle. From the looks of it, only the front car is loaded with dummies, amounting to about 1000 pounds in load. Higher loaded trains typically run faster due to several reasons, one major one being air drag. As an object's mass increases, the effects of air drag reduce. It's also a lot harder to stop a moving vehicle when it has a large mass due to inertia/momentum. Put another 2000 pounds of dummies in that vehicle and I guarantee it will be running faster. From personal experience, you are much more likely to valley a roller coaster with an empty train than a fully loaded one.
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