Coaster Hero

^I believe the rendering isn't official, and it's made by Coaster Lab on NLE (which is about as close as you can get to official ). Meaning, it may very well not have headrests, or it may. We'll have to see until one of these things is actually built.

I think the problem with Intamin is that although they have the best designers in the world, their engineering is poor quality. They have great ideas, but they never efficiently execute them. The hydraulic launch for example was a great idea at the time yet most hydraulic launch coasters face considerable downtime. The accelerator trains were poorly designed as well, causing countless complaints about rider comfort (and don't get me started on the Skyrush trains). It seems that now oversees that they're learning from their mistakes, as they're back in the hydraulic launch game and they've redesigned their restraints to only have the lapbar portion. It's only a matter of time before we see them here again. Also, I'm laughing at all of the B&M fanboys who seem to think that every mechanical thing Intamin touches will constantly be broken down. Yes, the Intamins here break down more often than other coasters, but as Robb once said have you ever seen the problems to this extent in Europe? The answer is no. They have more skilled mechanics who are better equipped to handle such complex rides, maintaining an Intamin really requires a specialized crew. The problem isn't that "Intamins are extremely unreliable", it's that "Intamins are extremely complex" and the U.S.' maintenance teams simply can't keep up right now. Now, I'm not going to say anything else on this subject because that would belong in the "Intamin Drought" thread that popped up yesterday. Now, back to our regularly scheduled discussion....

Everyone's focused on how enormous that loop is, and I'm just sitting here staring and thinking about how incredible that drop is going to be. The shaping looks insane so far, and if the crest is tight, it's going to be one heck of a drop. Also someone mentioned that there are catwalks on both sides of the lift, which I noticed as well. Perhaps the Winged trains be used on this coaster. If they are then this could very well be Skyrush 2.0 with an added loop!

Intamins usually cost slightly less than B&M's, but it seems that for that extra $3-5 million you're getting a lot more precise engineering, as well as better capacity (that depends), and reliability. However Intamin is the one manufacture that always seems to be pushing the envelope, but at the cost of the above 3 things. It's really a tradeoff; either you get an unrelieable but extremely innovative coaster, or you get the much more reliable but not nearly as innovative coaster, and it seems most parks are beginning to think that choice 2 is the better option. (even though it's sort-of a paradox and there is no "better" option for both sides) If there's a park that will soon get an Intamin, it would probably be Hershey. SF doesn't want to spend a lot on one coaster, and CF seems perfectly content building B&M's everywhere, eliminating the majority of themeparks in the U.S. I could see BGT in on the action eventually as well, as both them and Hershey seem to have a pretty good relationship with Intamin despite all of the past issues. If Hershey ever got an Intamin PreFab I would literally walk to the park 2 hours away in NJ just to get one ride in (and Skyrush of course) And one more note, if you look on CF's corporate website the only track on the page is B&M track. Intamin drought for CF confirmed . (jk)

I know TheCodeMaster made a model of Skyrush's trains in Sketchup for RCT3. You could perhaps try asking him for the .3ds file to use for Skyrush

I wouldn't be surprised. Perhaps the screech of some bird or something like that, along with the safety spiel like on F325 (do they do that on all of the new CF coasters or just at Carowinds? I noticed it in I232 POV's too)

That track will look weird with chain, brakes and sensors in it.

THIS . This is my secret for I305, it's one thing in the front, but it's a whole 'nother monster in the back. The drop is lackluster in the front (for all that the ride is hyped up to be) , it feels over so quickly because the transition into the flat turn means the pullup has to be high. In the back though, as I said before you get dragged down so that makes it a lot better. Also, that last sentence is the best sentence I've read all week. Tired of people thinking OTSR's automatically mean no airtime, even though lapbars are infinitely better. If I had to chose from any coaster though (even ones I haven't been on) i'd probably choose MF from the looks of it. The drop radius is enormous and the pullup is ridiculously low and late. It really looks like one of those drops that feels eternal

I agree, no drop can ever beat El Toro's drop. Easily my favorite first drop on any coaster. ... but you might want to re-read the thread title. Whoops! I did read it but then I asked myself "what are my 3 favorite drops?" and of course El Toro made the list haha. Anyway, if El Toro were to be removed from the list then Behemoth would be #2 and Nitro would be #3 Superman at SFA's drop was surprising. Looking at it, it doesn't look like much but it was actually pretty powerful, even being in the 3rd row. Unfortunately I haven't got the chance to go on Skyrush yet, but looking at the drop shaping it looks to be incredible. It has the insane speed from the cable lift launching you over the crest but then there's a really quick radius change in the drop which decreases would theoretically give you a second insane pump of ejector airtime before pulling up. One day I need to try that thing!

Oh yes, I've been waiting for this thread to pop up here for a while! The car renderings look really cool, I would love to see how the concept would actually look in real life. RMC is doing big things, and I think ground-up steel coasters from them are imminent. I don't think they'll use the wooden coaster-style lattice supports either, the span between supports on the prototype was large enough to warrant a whole new support scheme

Top 3 I305's for me, but barely. It's only *great* because of the cable lift really, and the crest is tight so that helps. The pullup is really high up though so that kinda kills it. Also, for some reason it was lackluster in the front, in the back you get launched over the top and dragged down. El Toro's drop is amazing in the front, but even better in the back when halfway through the turn you're already accelerating (gotta love those long trains!) The drop radius is so huge that you feel like you just keep falling steeper and steeper, and finally you pull up. I don't remember much about it, but Behemoth's drop being slightly longer and steeper and longer than Nitro's really made it a lot better. It was fantastic in the front, and I can only imagine how good the drop is in the back because of the longer trains.

I can't wait to see how the drop looks. My question is, will it be like Skyrush's or I305's, or maybe even a curved drop?

technically indeed. I feel, with the way RMC is excelling in the market, it won't be long until they are manufacturing their own giant steel supports. ( RMC giga ) " The future of coasters! ". ( hopefully! ) Well Goliath's lift hill structure is a huge steel support structure, so maybe they've already started? I never understood why Goliath required the last minute change to the truss supported lift hill. I know the reason behind I305 and Skyrush, but with Goliath I don't know, plus the structure being made out of steel makes it even more complex

Gatekeeper is weird because based on a statistical analysis of the *estimated heights and speeds of each element, it seems that unlike most inverting coasters that pull greater or exactly 0 g's, Gatekeeper's inversions actually pull less than zero. In other words, Gatekeeper's pacing through it's large elements give you much more hangtime than any other B&M. I've heard that people do get sick on Gatekeeper and if that's true then that would be the explanation. It's a unique experience honestly, and despite liking more intense coasters myself, I really don't understand all the hate on Gatekeeper.

Personally, I'm more excited for the day the U.S gets a megalite, but that's just me

I've been stuck on Kingda Ka broken down a couple of times, 3 to be exact but never anything major The first time, I let my friends who had never been on it go on before me in the front row, and I went on the next train. Turns out it broke down while waiting at the launch track, and we were stuck there for 20 minutes until they got it up and running again and they launched it. The second time the blue train was causing problems that day so when we got on we were stuck on the launch track unsurprisingly for about 5 minutes, before they brought the train back into the station. It was my first time stepping foot in the left station ever since they stopped using it in 2011 or 2012. Anyway, that train wasn't used the rest of the day and we immediately boarded the next available train. The most recent occurrence was back in August and we were the last train of the night. When we got back to the station, for whatever reason they couldn't let us out. I suspect it was a restraint unlocking issue or something, but I obviously don't know. It took about 20 minutes before they finally were able to let us off. Nobody was mad, surprisingly, rather they were too busy chanting for one more ride which they couldn't do unfortunately

Ok, I see. It seems to be just Intamin coasters though, perhaps because their friction wheels can be ridiculously fast (especially El Toro's)

So it's safe to assume the first guy died? Seriously though, that must have HURT. There was blood on the slide afterwards

Everyone's focusing on B&M and RMC because they're in the U.S. and in the spotlight, when Intamin is secretly knocking it out of the park oversees. I feel that their return to the U.S. is an eventuality. I think it's not if, but when it happens. By the way I'm not saying that either B&M or RMC isn't doing amazing, because they are. I'm just saying the latest Intamin coasters are ones that nobody even saw coming at first

I always notice the rubber chunks under the train from the (really fast, by the way) friction wheels having to constantly stop the trains . You'd think they'd get rid of them or something, but it is Six Flags we're talking about here

This looks like it would be a fantastic fit at the old Action Park

^Not surprised. Fahrenheit's line can be ridiculous for whatever reason

^That's actually not a bad idea

^Haven't been on it but from what I've read, lots of retained speed (until the helix which really looks like it kills the pacing how enormous it is), and lots of interesting transitions that will give you air while changing banking, like the "treble clef" turnaround that dives under the bridge. Oh, and I've heard the last few airtime hills give you borderline ejector. I'm sure someone who's rode it will give a far more accurate explanation though

I just noticed that in that first picture, F325's spine looks like it has fingerprints/hand smudges on them . I wish they were mine