peteb

How are those X-car restraints? Maurer Sohne must be confident in they're design. Sure hope they're rock solid; I hate the feeling of being held upside down (like in a Chance Inverter) when the restraint starts creaking and groaning, the blood starts rushing to your head and you think I'm dead if this restraint fails.

Phoenix at Knoebels is fun out of control not too rough airtime, much different than Nitro smooth as glass airtime. Although I do remember Lightning Loops (Arrow shuttle) at SFGADV having crazy air you could never prepare yourself for. The flat launch into the drop would just put your stomach in your throat.

Robb, Elissa, and Derek; thanks for sharing your trip with everyone. The TR's and photos were an extra treat this Thanksgiving. Never considered Vegas for a Thanksgiving destination, but now you got me thinking! Cheers!

Anybody know why the center pole with the cables and struts on Insanity were added? This wasn't there when the ride opened; looks like a little extra bracing so the arms don't go crazy.

I've always had fun on Excalibur at Valley Fair. Smooth and tosses you around just enough not to be rough and rarely has much of a line since it's entrance is back in a corner of the park. Good Arrow ride.

For me it would be El Toro and it doesn't hurt that it's only ten minutes away. I just think that it's so significantly different that we're going to see a lot of these if it's as good as the Euro versions. But I really would like to see these in addition to, not replacing the handmade traditional woodies we all love. Nothing like variety.

Seems like the ride did exactly what it's supposed to do in a power failure and that is stop and lock. Even if there was a backup generator the failsafes would stop the ride and require operator intervention since controls and sensors become questionable in blackout or brownout conditions. Hopefully the lawyers aren't lined up for this one.

Wood coasters really depend on the quality of the wood track construction (and maintenance) which is just so variable unlike steel. And then there's the rolling stock choices. That's probably why Stengel developed the new track technology that Intamin uses (Stengel has the patent application for this).

From what I have read Stengel was brought in to do the engineering work on the loop which is apparently the only smooth part of the ride, the rest is RCCA's work.

Stengel Engineering is involved in force and structural analysis for both of them so I doubt you'll ever see a rough coaster from either.

S&S Screamin Swings are fun rides; the pneumatics give it a much different feel than motor driven swing rides. Comfortable restraints. Would love to trade a pile of kiddie flats they keep adding at SFGADV for one of these (or just give us the Huss Frisbee back)

High Roller on top of the Stratosphere tower is creepy; doesn't seem like much of a ride but feels twice as fast and way closer to the edge than it really is, especially at night. It doesn't help that the trains ride crappy and wheel assemblies don't look as significant as a B&M or Intamin. If you watch the ride while on the observation deck you'll notice the track bends quite a bit and is allowed to move on the saddles a bit using shift plates. Everything else up there is scary too; all you can think about is what if something breaks; it's a long way down.

Thanks for the photos; I hope some of these rides find new homes. Heck, if I had room I'd take the Schwartzkopf.

So what's the verdict on flyers? Here to stay or we'll see a few more built and that's it (like stand-ups)?

Superman Ultimate Flight at SFGADV(B&M) is fairly smooth except for for the inverted dive in the pretzel loop which is pretty uncomfortable. Unless you are in the first car you spend most of your time looking at the ground or at the bottom of the shoes of the riders in front of you wiggling back and forth. An interesting experience, but not a great ride. Dispatches are slow; I'm not sure if the Vekoma's are any faster.

Medusa at SFGADV delivers a great ride year after year. Smooth and delivers a good punch; can ride this thing over and over. Zero G roll is awesome in the very front or the last car.

Hercules at Dorney Park- Awesome first drop when this coaster was new; riding in the back you would absolutely get thrown down the first hill since the train was already moving at a pretty good clip before the drop. Too bad the rest of the ride left you with a headache. These days I really enjoy the twisty first drops on Lightning Racer and Wildcat at Hershey Park.

Anyone been on all three makes? (or how about Arrow's one time experiment) I've been on several Intamins and one TOGO; how to the B&M compare ?

They're definitely worth a ride, but probably the only coaster types where air time could be a bad thing.

They all make me laugh, but I'll put a vote in for Slushie.

Great photos ! Never been to BGT; is the monorail still there? I'd love to see a complete catalog of all the rides Arrow has built over the years, especially everything that's not a coaster.

Most Painful- Coasters: Hercules Flat ride:Chance Inverter, Looping Starships or anything that you hang upside down in feeling like your head is going to explode or you would die if the restraint failed. Most Fun- Coasters: Phoenix Flat Rides: Wisdom Moby Dick; Doesn't look like much, but really smooth for a trailer ride, can ride over and over and just makes you giggle.

Part of what makes thrill rides thrilling is the fact that they do look scary and it's easy to think what might happen if you fell or if something broke, but the truth is that things rarely do. Another thing to remember is that these rides are built and engineered to pretty high standards and while it may seem like it's a big feat to lift and tilt a coaster in place on a track, to experienced engineers it is safely possible and not at all pushing any enginering limits.

It would be a real stretch to call Vekoma incompetent or claim their rides are unsafe; they have a pretty good safety record. Some of their rides may be rough, but that has nothing to do with the structural integrity of what they build. Disney seems to like their work; I doubt they would work with them if they were technically incompetent or built unsafe rides.

SUV sized strollers with mannerless drivers are a problem; these huge things just didn't exist years ago, nor did parents trying to bring strollers and really young kids into places parents would not have even considered 20 years ago. And the attitude you get is "well, I paid money to get in here so I'll run you over and you'll like it". It's a strange entitlement attitude, way too prevalent in the USA. What people really need to think about is mutual respect for others. We're all just out to have a good time.