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Zero Gravity Roller Coaster


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Didn't see this posted yet. Interesting concept to say the least. http://www.popsci.com/cars/article/2012-01/zero-gravity-roller-coaster

 

Kingda Ka, the tallest roller coaster on Earth, drops its passengers a life-flashing 418 feet. Ferrari World’s Formula Rossa, the fastest, literally takes riders’ breath away at speeds of up to 150 mph. Though thrilling, these are phenomena of degree, not kind. BRC Imagination Arts, a Southern California design firm, has proposed something entirely new: a ride that creates the sensation of zero gravity for up to eight seconds at a time.

 

BRC drew its concept from the “Vomit Comet,” the plane NASA uses to train astronauts. The KC-135A aircraft flies a looping parabolic path, creating about 25 seconds of microgravity each time it zips up and over the parabola’s camelback hump. BRC’s proposed theme-park ride would travel a somewhat simpler trajectory—up and then back down a soaring steel edifice, similar to the existing “Superman: Escape from Krypton” coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California. But unlike Superman and other open-car coasters, the vomit-comet ride would be fully enclosed. Rather than the thrill of hurtling forward to one’s perceived doom, riders would enjoy the illusion of floating within a stable chamber.

 

To create that illusion, a linear induction motor system would speed coasters up the track with unprecedented precision. As the coaster approached a top speed of more than 100 mph, it would suddenly and ever so slightly decelerate—just enough to throw the passengers up from their seats, like stones from a catapult—and then quickly adjust its speed to fly in formation with and around the passengers. (The ride’s calculations would correspond to the unique heft of any particular group.) As the coaster reached the top of the track and began to drop back down, the computer system would continue to match its speed to that of the falling passengers, extending the sensation of weightlessness for several additional seconds, and finally rapidly decelerate to a stop back at the base station.

 

Roller coasters typically cost no more than $30 million, but Bob Rogers, BRC’s founder and chief creative officer, says the zero-gravity ride would cost $50 million or more, in large part because the precision-response propulsion system is so complex. But if someone were to write a check today, Rogers says, his company could be sending riders on weightless journeys by the end of 2013—and the new owners could make money on the side by renting the coaster after hours to scientists who wanted to perform the tests they now run using NASA’s original Vomit Comet. Simply by heading over to the amusement park, they too will be able to experience the equivalent of eight seconds in outer space—which, Rogers says, “will feel like forever.”

 

 

INSIDE THE RIDE

 

Passengers would enter the coaster through gull-wing doors, face forward, and sit upright, six to 16 to a car. They would buckle into simple two-point restraints, but the belts would be kept slightly slack so they would have room to rise out of their seats. Once aboard, they could remove from a small stand in front of their seats one of several tethered “scientific packages”—a cup filled with water, a ball, a gyroscope. In addition to experiencing weightlessness, they would be able to observe how the selected object changed properties in zero gravity. The cars would also be outfitted with drains. Should the ride live up to its nauseous namesake, attendants at the unloading stations would be ready with hoses.

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I read this in PopSci a while ago, and there's just three glaring problems:

 

1) No park is going to drop $50 million dollars on this.

2) There's no way they're going to get a ride this complex, launching two systems simultaneously and at the same exact speed, to run reliably enough to be worth the price.

3) Why buy this when you can drop less than half that money on a taller Superman, which at 400 feet already gives you what, six seconds of weightlessness?

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"The cars would also be outfitted with drains. Should the ride live up to its nauseous namesake, attendants at the unloading stations would be ready with hoses."

 

The water cup, ball, and gyroscope sounded pretty silly, but this takes the cake. If this weren't from Popular Science, I would think this was a very subtle Onion-style article. I mean, how many ride cycles would it take before the inside of the car started to look and smell like a particularly awful gas station restroom? 5? 10? A half-hearted hosedown would be no match for zero-G barf.

The idea is unique, but highly impractical. The initial cost, plus maintenance nightmares, plus frequent cleaning could bankrupt a park quite handily.

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I I like the idea in that it's very unique and would involve some really cool technology, but I can't imagine anyone putting down 50 million bucks for something like this. As mentioned above, something like Superman EFK would cost half as much and gives significant airtime as it is.

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Hmm--you know enough parks have problems keeping Boomerangs running. I can't imagine anyone going for a potential maintenance nightmare like this.

 

Still, it is an interesting concept.

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I really think it is a fantasy and building a $50 million dollar coaster is very pricy. My question is why so expensive? They can easily build this for $35 million unless it is 600' or some really high exaggerated (GP ) number. I really don't know why they are doing this as they already have the Vomit Comet planes.

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^

Roller coasters typically cost no more than $30 million, but Bob Rogers, BRC’s founder and chief creative officer, says the zero-gravity ride would cost $50 million or more, in large part because the precision-response propulsion system is so complex.

 

As I understand it, the coaster would figure out exactly how much too accelerate/decelerate based on the weight of the car to "fly in formation" with the riders. It would be incredibly precise. The technology required would be very expensive, and I would not want to be one of the programmers working on the software to run that system.

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The most interesting thing about this, in my opinion, is that it would allow for people to fall faster than their terminal velocity. Being as it is fully enclosed wind resistance wouldn't come into play on the riders. And because the entire thing would be powered and not just falling on its own accord, you could potentially hit some pretty epic speeds. I would hope the enclosure is nearly all glass for the best views of plummeting towards the earth at ridiculous speeds.

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If this ride was to be built anywhere, It would probably have an extremely high operating cost and would probably be upcharge. The upcharge price would be enormous and the whole ride would flop due to lack of riders. It is a failure waiting to happen unless it is operated by a very rich park.

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If a park wants to build a zero-gravity machine, whty have two options:

 

Option A: A build this $50 million attraction that will give riders 8 seconds of weightlessness, probably be a matinence nightmare, and cost a fortune to keep running.

 

Option B: A Mega Lite.

 

I know which one I would go with.

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