linearinduction

Agreed! This may just be the best Force Coaster ZIERER has built.

*snickers*

Regarding the Furius Baco chasis color, they are black, even in the pictures can be seen as grey. By the way NTD test are usually done by the own park, so it is hard for me to believe they sent the chasis to the manufacturer to do that. Yes, I'm aware that most parks do their own NDT Testing, like Lagoon. Some parks send their PTC cars back to PTC to be torn down, tested, and put back together. Perhaps because of all the Vibrations people seem complain about on Furious Baco, they send them back to Stakotra to be checked periodically or annually. Only someone with intimate knowledge of Furious Baco can verify from that side. We could even speculate that perhaps the park discovered defects and sent them back. Or they hadn't Torque Checked and tightened all the Bolts. Why would you feel guilty? You are the Center of Attention for bringing this to light and making it a fun thread to read! Guilty? You stand up and take a bow Karla!

From the sounds of the video ( ), this is a 'prototype' from them. Or at least it's the first launch that they've done. Derp! Didn't see that video. Thanks! I don't see a cap like the InTraSys GmbH prolim stators have, so I wonder what happens to these if they fail. It's always good to see American Companies being utilized so much.

Correct. The launch is supplied by Velocity Magnetics, not InTraSys. When did they get into the LSM Motor Game?

Most exciting ride for 2016!!! It's definitely different than anything else on the market. lol

I have a feeling it's less that it's new technology and moe that the three companies involved (RMC, Velocity Magnetics, and IOE) don't all have tons of experience working together on launching coasters. Are you saying they are not using InTraSys GmbH Prolim LSM Stators that are used literally on every single LSM and LIM Launched Coaster ever built?

They probably didn't go with a High Quality Dell desktop for the Launch Computer. lol

Don't Judge a 4th or 5th variation on the SC-2000 as you would a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd variation. These new variations have taken a lot out of what made the earlier variations great.

I haven't been able to track down a definite bill of lading for a "Giant Discovery," but have tracked down 2 shipments of "Machinery" from Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. and Soriani S.r.L. that have over 100 pcs each and up to 6 Shipping Containers, that have come into port from February to Now. Those could be for the Soriani Endeavor and Giant Discovery for SFOT. Otherwise, there are just Bills of Lading for lots and lots of Plush.

Are you talking about Furius Baco? Where did you get that information? Yes, there were at least two Chassis/Frames from Furious Baco (they had the blue sticker thing on the posts), that appear to me to be brown in color, that had and/or were undergoing NDT Testing, specifically the Weldments where the Seat Posts meet the Chassis/Frame. I also edited my original post to indicate that there was only concrete proof of two Chassis/Frames. It may just be the lighting, but they appeared to be brown.

I second this!

These would be the first flawed track segments to roll out of Stakotra Manufacturing S.r.O., and they've built all Intamin Coaster track in this Century, not to mention all of the work for Gerstlauer, ZIERER, Maurer Söhne, Doppelmayr, etc. Stakotra also bought all of the HUSS assets, and founded HUSS Park Attractions and build all Trains for Intamin as well. There were Brown Wing Rider Train Chassis/Frames undergoing NDT Testing earlier this year, so who knows what could be in the future, considering at least 2 Chassis/Frames were sent back to the Manufacturer.

Not Funny Bro! lol

I'm happy they went with a ZIERER Kontiki.

Revolution does not have kicker motors at all. It originally had drive wheels set to govern the speed entering the loop's entry ramp, but that's it. The wheels you are referring to are not motorized. They release the anti rollback mechanism if the trains stall and try to roll back. Several of Schwarzkopf's coasters have this feature. Sooperdooperlooper, Shock Wave, Revolution, and Whizzer all use this system. SFOG Mindbender used to as well. Ever wonder why the anti rollbacks are silent except on the lifts? That's why. These coasters originally had silent lifts as well but they have all since had this mechanism removed giving us the traditional clicks. A very keen eye will still be able to spot where these little tires used to be attached to the lift hills on all of these rides except Whizzer. The only way those wheels ever spin is when the trains roll over them. They will continue spinning after the train has passed on their own momentum. 1977 footage from the movie "Roller Coaster" shows the wheels when they were still on the lift hill. Sorry I wasn't clearer. I was referring to the push motors/drives/kickers in the reduction brake/brake run. I never knew about the wheels on the lift and anti rollbacks to make them silent, so I'm kinda glad I wasn't clearer on specifying reduction/brake run block.

I'll be the first to say, I'm a big fan of Tim Burkhart. He's a wealth of information and has been in the business for decades. He does his best to answer questions honestly, but let's be real, he's going to say what the park/company wants him to say. Whiplash? Injuries? TTD does 120 MPH with lapbars only...wha? IMO, there's no reason with 2 train operation, lighter trains, and new technology, that the ride needs to be "coddled" with trims in any way. With only two trains and a block brake before the loop, perhaps another emergency block brake (that shouldn't have to even tap the train) before needling through the loop, all other trims and brakes should be gone. Let the the thing run hog wild! As I've said before, this could have been an entirely NEW Revolution. But instead the park has decided to make this more of a refurb with new trains, instead of updating the coaster as it should have been done. Please don't confuse this as "I'm not glad they're doing this." In fact I'll admit these are all bulls*it nitpicks by me. But damn! With a little more forethought, they really could have made this an update of the decade! Shame they didn't take advantage of it. Agreed! You gotta tow the company line. I'm sure it had more to do with stress on the track, chassis, wheel housings, etc., we've talked about before than any injuries such as whiplash. He probably gave the most plausible "story," which is most often the "guest safety" fall back. Does anyone remember any problems with efficiently operating in 5 Train Mode, or was it just designed that way, and was never able to sustainably operate that way. One example of my point is Fire Dragon at Lagoon, which was designed to operate 3 Trains and did on the fair circuit in Germany and at Lagoon until the mid 90s. This required very minimal safe distances between trains that was hard to do. When Lagoon added airgates in '94 or '95, that made it nearly impossible, thus requiring the third Train to be kept in waiting zone 2, thus making 3 train mode rather pointless, which is why 2000 was the last time Lagoon did it. I'm wondering if something similar happened to Revolution, making running more Trains, especially after the shoulder bars were installed, harder, and pointless, especially after the hard trimming. In fact, does anyone know the fate of the other 3 Trains, other than being sources for parts? DoubleDown, I agree, it seems to me they really missed the opportunity to make things cheaper and easier to maintain, which might require more work in the future, but it's great they have spent money and taken time to do something to celebrate and breath new life into it. Who knows, maybe next year they will bring back a 3rd Train.

Might have been the congruent silicon wheels as well. I wonder if the added weight of the shoulder restraints was partly responsible for the trains running faster as well. Probably another reason the trims were cranked up. Reduce head banging, shave the added speed of the heavier trains, and reduce the stress of the amplified forces. Those shoulder bars did a lot of bad for that ride. Thank god that's over. Now let's hope they reduce the trims as well. I think you are onto something. More weight would put more stress on the chassis, wheel housings, axles, etc., necessitating heavily trimming the speed to keep the forces in check. Most changes in operating parameters come from the neccecity to reduce maintenance costs. They are undoubtedly making adjustments to the programming of the safety and control system because of the now lighter trains.

Might have been the congruent silicon wheels as well.

I also thought the trains would have updated lapbar technology, one that wouldn't require a seatbelt. Ugh! Seatbelts! Whyyyyy? I'm not sure I'm seeing the "flag mounted on the tread plate" that you're talking about. If its what I think you're talking about, then it's under the train, and won't be seen by anyone but mechanics anyway. I am also surprised they didn't mount magnetic brakes as well, atleast to initially slow the train down as it goes into the final brake run, to cut down on wear and tear on the train brake plates and track mechanisms. Maybe there wasn't enough angle on the track to make sure the train would make it through depending on the varying weights of the train, and weather environments. Of course moving magnetic brakes would be a solution to that, but probably would have cost vastly more, so they just went with something that was basic and known to work. Good post, thanks for sharing your thoughts. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the tried and proven Schwarzkopf lapbars, and seatbelts are most certainly not required. It can just be a pain to slip the manual release under the guard and push down the tab. I never really had a problem with it, but some ops had trouble. I won't even get into trying to release the far seat in a lift evac situation, yikes! The "flag" would be the square tube welded onto the tread plate on the right wheel housing. If the wheel housings were indeed new, one would imagine everything would have been thoroughly painted. Schwarzkopf designed all of the brake runs/reduction brakes with push motors/drives/kickers to clear the brake block quickly. They turn on as soon as the speed sensors release the brakes. Switchable ECBs would have provided the same stopping power and the drives quickly cleared the brake block. Just really seems like a missed opportunity.

That's what I thought was said by the park, but even if you copy the chassis and wheel housings, there should be differences. Having worked on, and sometimes under, Fire Dragon at Lagoon, I'm not seeing any on these. One would think a change to the manual release on the lapbars would be an obvious change to make, as anyone who's had to do it knows it's a pain. lol Also, the flag mounted on the tread plate on the back right wheel housing doesn't even look as they cared to paint it completely. Yin is correct that these Schwarzkopf chassis and wheel housings were built to last. Perhaps they originally planned on new chassis and wheel housings, but didn't like what they would have cost, especially when you have 2 trains worth of parts to pull from. The newer wheel housings Lagoon had built for Jet Star 2 cost a pretty penny, mostly because they are built out of thicker steel, since after 40 years, the old ones were starting to show signs of stress. What I'm most surprised about is that the park replaced the old braking system with new PTC brakes, instead of new magnetic braking. I mean, it's smart to get rid of all the MAVs (magnetic air valves), limit switches, spring cup assemblies, etc., but it really makes you wonder why they didn't go with switchable ECBs or permanent ECBs, when they could perform the same braking without as many moving parts and necessity to replace brake pads.

Perhaps someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but the only thing that appears to be entirely new are the bodies of the seats. The chassis, wheel housings, lap bars, and front fiberglass panels don't appear to be new, just repainted. I can see remanufacturing of the chassis, wheel housings, etc., but that doesn't make them entirely new either.

I do not know for sure but probably under $10 million, probably about $5-7 million, but don't quote me on that I don't know for sure. I´d guess around $4 million since Windseekers are $6 million and are way bigger/more complex (I´m guessing). _Koppen contacted HUSS and Zamperla about 5 Years ago and received the List Price for the HUSS Giant Frisbee at €2.1 Million, including shipping, and the Zamperla Giant Discovery at €1.9 Million, without shipping. These costs were for the ride systems only and did not include the cost of foundations, etc. The main difference in price was the more powerful machinery on the HUSS unit.

What. The hell. Are you talking about? This reads like something Charlie from It's Always Sunny would post. Moving on: As far as Revolution...why do they have to keep the trims? This day and age there's Twisted Colossus. Revolutions days are numbered even after this refurb. Sure I get block brakes, but let it run hog wild as it was meant to! Schwarzkopf would be TURNING IN HIS GRAAAAAAVE!!!! Apparently people still don't understand a decades old drought and/or watch PBS and/or know anything about rivers or the History of the West and it's water use. *Sigh* Haven't been on Revolution, but if it pulls as many Gs as Fire Dragon, I can understand why there are Trims, as it cuts down on worn congruent silicone wheels and stress on the wheel housings, which means less wear and tear and a longer service life.

Fire Dragon and Wicked at Lagoon