QueerRudie

The only thing to replace a Schwarzkopf Looper... is ANOTHER Schwarzkopf Looper! SCR64.BMP Introducing...DoubleLooping from Anton Schwarzkopf.

I couldn't agree more with this: There have been more than a few flights I've taken where the parent's attitute is "It's a baby. They Cry. Get over it." while the rest of the plane is in misery as the child screams louder than the engines. Behaved children are OK by me- but as Elissa said: Kid Licence to fly- A-OK!

Very interesting, Griff- But I must ask you this: How in hades do you see ANYTHING through your hair????

You're right- I stand corrected in my own stupidity... How could I forget them???? I keep thinking of the lovely gem that was lost at Portopioland (DoubleLoop- with the insane drop)- and that BMRX is now English.

Once again, epic, epic goodness- all around. The food porn is obscene... and more than a little eye-candy for the audience at hand. BUT... The Domo-fication of the tour is sadly lacking! Only ONE Domo credit??? And NO Schwarzkopfs. (Yes, I know, there's none left in Japan. Such a culturally deprived country, I think.)

No, No... It's no longer postal... it's going Walmart or High-school on somebody... Just remember this always, from the Prophet Carlin: "In every barrel of apples, you will have some really shiny ones, a whole lotta mediochre ones, and the the rotten apples at the bottom. People are exactly the same way. You have a few that shine, and a whole lot of shitty ones at the bottom, too."

The park is growing quite a bit, and I decided to steal a page from the Busch Gardens Williamsburg book for the next part of the project... SCR59.BMP As you approach it - park side. I decided to block out the other sections of the park via a larger than anticpated castle facade. The result is that I've got shops and a ride buried in the same structure for effect. SCR60.BMP And from the back. I'm still debating what to do with a very heavily wooded hillside towards the back of the Knightsbridge theme area; I've got a few ideas, but I'm mulling over the ride choices... Stay tuned.

Continental Airlines had a 21 and up for F/J class up into the mid 2000s- but it was rarely enforced. Most airlines try to not put kids in F/J class for the simple reason: Your best revenue (I.E. Frequent paying passengers, higher-yield customers) come from the pointy end of the plane. Having flown over 1M miles in my lifetime, and being Platinum elite for life on Continental (Star Alliance Gold for life) I can say that there is something pleasant about not having misbehaving kids in F class/J class. I like the quiet, I like the lack of noise, I like the lack of interruption. It makes my travel that much more productive all around. Mind you, I'm not saying this about all children: I have sat next to some better behaved children than some of the adults in the same group. And if a child is well-behaved, well mannered, and well parented, then I don't have any problem with them flying in F/J next to me. It's the people who don't pay any mind to their kids that drive me up a wall- and in many cases, airlines will avoid upgrading people with misbehaving kids (It's never in the 'written' policy book- but I've seen it happen on United AND Continental in the past.)

Jer- Your SchwarzPorn is outstanding- nothing says 'Oh la la' like a pair of Anton's finest- side by side no less...

Not a problem at all; I'm always thinking of new things to try- a lot like spandex and burlap. Sometimes it fits... sometimes you look like a watermelon stretched inside a rubber band...

Just to keep moving forward and such: Let's start a 'Recreation' ToTW once a month: Give them a plot of ground, and tell them to re-create a well-known ride. If we really wanted to do something nice and easy, we could do "Vekoma Boomerang/Invertigo" or "Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop" as the first one... all the way up to "Magnum XL200" Just a thought...

Newcastle ale- and it was great...

Dude, just watch Rush Hour 3 and there you go! Quote of the day- and possibly of the thread! Great TR Robb- and such interesting Japanese CoasterPorn... I always knew Asian porn was different from European or American porn!

Yes, I've joined the dark side- (And please be gentle- I'm stlll learning how to do custom supports... SCR57.BMP The first hyper-lite coaster I'm doing custom supports on- SCR56.BMP The first phase of construction.

Yup- Winners were contacted- and info's been passed onto Robb; the only one I've yet to hear back from is Accelerate.

Outstanding trip report- the Schwarz-Porn was TOP NOTCH, and with some great lifthill, brakerun and car porn. Two thumbs WAY up. As for the last picture- that's one of the saddest looking ride-cars I've ever seen. Perhaps it's due to his surroundings!

Interesting stuff abounding: (From KeystoneThrills- with many thanks) LaMarcus Bros updated their site with a 'log-in' section. The first known password is goldenRod85- which will bring you to a download of a spreadsheet from what looks like AFW (Remember the first clue from before the Research Studies?). Another person figured out a phone number- and recorded the voice mail from Fred O'Connell Plumbing and Drain- which was quite interesting. Either way, a third party has now been opened in this campaign. LaMarcusSpreadsheetB.xls

I grew up with King Kobra at KD, and I used to sit near the ride and watch the wire bounce, too- and it never failed to impress me that the launches always went off without a hitch. I miss that scene; I wish KD had never removed it- it looked SO good across the back side of KD's Lake Charles. Sigh, oh for progress- and an Arrow looper!

Sorry for the confusion: A modified clutch system was developed in 1979 to resolve some 'issues' with the Flywheel mechanism. They are different between the Flywheel and the Weight-drop models- but only some minor adaptations occured to the flywheel clutch after they were built (All models recieved the same 'fix', so it's standard to all models) Sorry for the confusion!

^ No, it's a flywheel-clutch model (One of the first intstalled; Greezed Lightning at Astroworld wins that honor of running first- but opening second!)

You'd be surprised by that- Most of the early generation (Non-flywheel) Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loops chewed through cables like an Accelerator coaster from Intamn does; not to mention, each day the weight assembly required lubrication, the motors tended to wear out (Especially in higher traffic parks; KD replaced/removed/restored the motors on KK every YEAR!) and other smaller things. In all reality, other than the motor, it was labor costs as well as the novelty wearing out; where we respect and value a Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop, the general public does not. Only three of the flywheel Shuttles still live on- One at Hopi Hari, and the other is KK's model- itself a hybrid of the two Great America models. The remainder are the flywheel drive system models. Sadly, the parts aren't avaliable anymore, which almost requires a park to build replacements by hand, or as the case of Greezed Lightning at KK, cannibalize another model for replacement parts. Hopi Hari rebuilt the old KK from the ground up, and replaced all of the parts by hand- including the original weight system with a more beneficial cement block in the 'tube'. THe third is still extant at Gold Reef City in South Africa, it too having been rebuilt by hand when it was relocated there from Carowinds. These smaller park don't operate their shuttles nearly as frequently as the larger parks do- less than 12 times per hour, as opposed to 30-40 times per hour in a 'standard' park. This prevents parts from wearing out over time, making them feasable for these small parks. I'd LOVE for Intamin to get off their duffs and build a LSM version of the Schwarzkopf Shuttle loop. It would, I think, be a big win for small parks wanting to break into the big ride market.

Just don't pee in the pools- they DO look awesome all around. Great Photo TR. It's nice to see such in-depth waterpark coverage- as some of us closet water-park junkies LIKE this kind of porn.

Tidal Wave went bye bye due to the rising costs of operating it, plus the lower attendance of the ride. Yes, it's sad, but it's the simple fact of most parks (Save a handful that KNOW people go to a park for a variety of rides) for a thrill or two. As for the park, I'm hoping for the best, as this is one of my home-parks (I'm a California-Corridor commuter, so I get the blessed benefits of all the 'state parks' withn my reach) and it's one I've felt has been neglected for far too long. If CF's new president is able to work out something with the SCCC, and is able to guide the park forward, renovate things, add more attractions (Not just coasters, but perhaps spruce up the place a bit, etc.) CGA could regain the lustre it once had. Will we see the return of Tidal Wave? No- live with it in your memories- as it does for most of us. If I were at the helm of CGA: I'd be looking right now to stop the hemmoraging of rides to other parks: Two Vekomas gone in four years is NOT a good thing (Granted, I liked BOTH of them!) and consider renovating the park, section by section, and adding appropriate rides where necessary. A small B&M would fit the park nicely, as would any number of Gerstlauer rides (A good Eurofighter anyone?) or even an Intamin Megalite/Megalite custom/HyperLite. Put back some water rides (I want my FLUMES back, dammit.) that are for ALL people- not just some waterslides. Just my .02 worth- but I think in all reality, the time to get this done would make the 101 expansion project look speedy...

Ummm... Let's go over this again, since one of these two makes sense... I-305 vs. Revolution: One's a 305ft tall 94 MPH 4.5 plus G coaster with intense airtime and high-speed turns. One's a 110 foot tall, 44.5 MPH single-inversion SpeedRacer (Technically, to be correct, it's a LoopingRacer). One pulls multiple sections of intense negative Gs. The other does a smooth, curvy course at speeds under 40 MPH as a general rule. NOW: I305 has a justification for being modified. How do you explain Revolution? I305: I can understand the trimming, and modifications- as that is logical: it's a very intense ride, where parts are put under high speeds and Gs every single trip. But Revolution, like her siblings, cousins and related from Anton Schwarzkopf's stable, is designed to run with the same trains as it came with. Explain then why they put Over The Shoulder restrants on Revolution, when her siblings ShockWave at SFOT and Mindbender at SFOG and sooperdooperLooper (Her fraternal twin sister) still are operating with their original, lap-bar only trains.Or why SFMM put on after-market braking systems to trim the speed. Oh wait: That's right. The insurance companies that underwrite SFMM said they needed to: Because of the threat of lawsuits from patrons. Why did they do that: BECAUSE WE'RE A LAWSUIT HAPPY COUNTRY, and the smallest 'bump' on a ride becomes a 25,000,000 USD lawsuit. As in: "Oh, that ride caused me to sweat a bit. It's too intense. I'll sue the park for a lot of money." Or "I hit my head against the back of the headrest (Which TOO was an aftermarket on Revolution) it must mean the ride is unsave, I'll sue for the park for a lot of money. If Americans (And yes, I'm from the great state of New York here) would simply own up to the fact these rides are GOING to be rough, they are GOING to be intense, etc. and not threaten the appropriate "It's too rough/It's too intense" lawsuits, we'd have rides that operated like they do in Europe. In ways the designer's have intended, in the full-on modes the builders created.

That works fine, I think, as it's not offensive, it says the meaning, and it does make sure he understands why...