Floater or Ejector Air, your preference?

[Coaster Curt]

I am a huge fan of floater airtime and not a big fan of ejector air. I am wondering what you all like and why?

 

I like rides such as Diamondback where you float over all the hills and dislike the crazy ejector air that Magnum gives a person. I am heading back to CP next month and will give Magnum another chance so hopefully this time I enjoy it more.

 

I looked and didn't see a thread like this so thought what the heck.

[jmicha]

I honestly like both. But a lot of times it depends on the type of hill. For instance, the massive hills on the out-runs of B&M coasters that offer sustained amounts of floater are tons of fun for me. But the small floater hills on the return run don't do as much for me. In general I only like floater air on big hills where it can be sustained for an extended period of time. On small hills I really like ejector airtime.

 

That all being said, I also have absolutely no problem with large hills offering ejector airtime.

 

I think the gist of what I'm trying to say is that ejector airtime is always good in my opinion and floater airtime is best suited for large, sustained hills in my opinion. I think this is why I liked The Voyage so much. The large hills on the out run offer nice floater airtime and then the bat poop crazy return run offers small hills with pops of ejector airtime mixed in with other forces. All around nice mix of forces.

[CPmillenia94]

^^that is not really ejector. That's just painful.. Maverick has ejector if you wanna know what that's like. For me its a question of forcefulness vs not forcefulness so I choose the prior.

Edited April 23, 2013 by CPmillenia94

[Randomman295]

^ I wish that statement could make sense but it doesn't.

 

I think you forgot two more options in here: Sudden and Sustained. To me there's four types of airtime.

Between sudden and sustained alongside floater and ejector, I prefer sustained floater airtime the most. Notable examples of my favorite moments of this include Magnum's second airtime hill, Wild Thing's first airtime hill, Goliath's "Only good part of the ride" hill, and Apocalypse (SFMM)'s first airtime hill.

I prefer this kind over any of the others for a few reasons, with the main one being that it's rather relaxing and adds to the ride's pacing when periods of intense Gs are broken up by weightlessness. Just my opinion though, and keep in mind I haven't really expirienced legit sustained ejector air before (other than on Maverick, which I don't remember all that well).

[Coaster Curt]

^ You have a great point there, Wild Things first hill is certainly sustained airtime. I ride that coaster just for that hill.

[australianalex]

I'm not quite sure how to classify sustained ejector, but I think it may be something like the airtime hill on Speed: No Limits which throws you upwards and keeps you there for 2 full seconds. In that case, sustained ejector is my favorite.

Though sustained floater can be fun. It's a pleasant, non-intense experience that can add to a really fun, re-rideable ride.

[B&MIntaminGCI]

I enjoy both, my favorite floater airtime is probably the return hills on Nitro, so much fun.

 

Ejector obviously goes to El Toro.

[harper83087]

When it comes down to it airtime is airtime right? Gotta love it all But if I had to choose I prefer a strong sustained airtime. While a sudden punch of ejector is fun, I like floating for a few seconds better.

[XYZ]

Ejector airtime by far. El Toro is my favorite coaster for a reason, the airtime is just so great. Floater airtime is a bit weak, plus you can have sustained ejector airtime like on El Toro.

[cmullin]

Honestly any airtime is fine with me. As long as a ride has airtime, it is better than one without.

[scooterdoug]

I used to be a big fan of both, but that was when my only coaster experiences were west coast. As I rode more and more coasters, I became spoiled by good ejector airtime. Floater airtime hills that used to put butterflies in my stomach now do nothing for me.

 

I agree with the sustained vs. brief floater airtime opinions here. The bunny hops on Nitro at SFGAdv, for example, don't do much for me. However, I love the airtime hills on Millennium Force, especially the first one (there's a nice opening for all the "What airtime?" jokes). Still, ejector air is my favorite. I do not like the bunny hops on Magnum because they're, well, Arrow painful. However, Maverick's airtime hill is simply delightful. Between brief and sustained ejector, I'll take sustained any day. For example, the first few airtime hills on Bizarro at SFNE are heavenly. As for the (justifiably) famous El Toro, mere words seem insufficient to describe those glorious first two hills.

 

So, yeah, to sum it up:

sustained ejector > brief ejector > sustained floater > brief floater >>>>>>>> getting your thighs beat to s**t by hard Arrow lap bars.

[gisco]

I would take floater over ejector. Love the weightless feeling verses the being smashed into your lap bar.

[grinch1313]

I love ejector air. I love feeling like I'm going to be flung out of the train. Floater air is fun and enjoyable, but I much prefer ejector air.

[JJLehto]

Ejector obviously!

 

I love some good floater but I have gotten spoiled with El Toro and Skyrush.

Nitro used to be so epic now it's just nice...

[JJLehto]

I used to be a big fan of both, but that was when my only coaster experiences were west coast. As I rode more and more coasters, I became spoiled by good ejector airtime. Floater airtime hills that used to put butterflies in my stomach now do nothing for me.

 

I agree with the sustained vs. brief floater airtime opinions here. The bunny hops on Nitro at SFGAdv, for example, don't do much for me. However, I love the airtime hills on Millennium Force, especially the first one (there's a nice opening for all the "What airtime?" jokes). Still, ejector air is my favorite. I do not like the bunny hops on Magnum because they're, well, Arrow painful. However, Maverick's airtime hill is simply delightful. Between brief and sustained ejector, I'll take sustained any day. For example, the first few airtime hills on Bizarro at SFNE are heavenly. As for the (justifiably) famous El Toro, mere words seem insufficient to describe those glorious first two hills.

 

So, yeah, to sum it up:

sustained ejector > brief ejector > sustained floater > brief floater >>>>>>>> getting your thighs beat to s**t by hard Arrow lap bars.

 

Agreed, sustained floater is amaaaazing.

Pops of it.....meh

 

Glad someone agrees with me! MForce is obviously not extreme airtime but there's some nice AT on the 2 big hills.

[Midgetman82]

Someone mentioned earlier about Voyage at Holiday World. This example is one of the better ones I can think of for a coaster with the best mixture of airtime hills in it. Floaters on the first set of hills, then a mixture of more sudden, sometimes ejectors on the run back. Also, every B&M hyper I've been on has had an amazing amount of airtime that usually never result in ejectors, like Diamondback at KI or Goliath at SFOG.

 

This also heavily depends on the seat and restraint for me. B&M hyper seats and lap bars offer a slight reclined seating with your feet barely touching the floor, if at all. That makes it a much more relaxing ride for times you're gravitating out of your seat for extended periods. Something like a wooden coaster where you're usually sitting more upright might be a more comfortable position for someone to embrace for ejector airtime, especially if there might be a slight gap between you and the lap-bar, or if the restraint gives some slack.

 

Between the two, I prefer ejector. Just as long as it doesn't try to snap my spine in half, like a bad experience I had on S:RoS at SFA involving a stapled lap bar.

[Rocket Rodder]

Floater definitely. Ejector is scary and I feel like I'm going to fly out of my seat (DON'T. judge me. I know I'm being captain obvious.) and that makes ME feel unsafe.

 

Although... the occasional punch of ejector air isn't so bad!

[David H]

Floater is nice. Ejector is awesome. I particularly like when there's a variety of forces in the same moment, like when you're ejected to the side. (See Expedition Ge-Force's first drop for the best example.)

[DougMJr]

I prefer ejector, but I will not pass up on B&M floater either. There is something relaxing about floater air.

[SuperShawn]

Both are good in my book but I would probably pick Ejector air. I'm happy with floaty air time and can enjoy it all day with no complaint, but when you hit those OMG ejector airtime moments that scare the crap out of you. The adrenaline gets going more and there's just a crazier experience there to enjoy.

[Moose]

I would take floater over ejector. Love the weightless feeling verses the being smashed into your lap bar.

 

This!

[ultradude306]

Well, this might sound stupid, but I personally find the airtime on Chance Zippers to be an amazing experience. Since there's essentially nothing holding you in, (besides the bar attached to the door), if your cage is at the proper position at the right time, you will be CATAPULTED out of your seat, and stay up in the air for at least a few seconds. On top of that, the ride offers some great floater air, but what I just described above is my favorite, and a perfect example of the "sustained ejector air" described earlier. Finally, in addition, the sipper has AMAZING positive Gs as well, making it the near perfect ride

 

Don't get me wrong, other rides are awesome too, such as the airtime hills on most B&M megas, Intamin 2nd gen towers, and S&S Double Shots, but yeah, the Zipper takes it for me.

[TPDave]

I think it's ejector for me, the crazy and out of control feeling is hard to match!

 

I've got nothing against floater airtime, it can be quite nice on a smooth lumbering B&M but I just prefer a more "upbeat" coaster

[BeemerBoy]

I like to be ejected into floater.

[simon8899]

Ejector "Expedition GeForce first drop" like