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S&S Sansei Discussion Thread


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Hey everybody!

 

This thread is simple! Rather than having a million little threads about everything that goes on at S&S, this thread is designed to consolidate it all into one user-friendly thread. Feel free to use it to post updates, trip reports, questions, comments, and of course, general discussion.

 

Below are some links to past updates from the manufacturer, you may be interested in. Enjoy!

 

--Robb

_____________________________________________________

 

2005

July 24th, 2005 - New Freefall Tower prototype announced

 

2006

August 24th, 2006 - Stan Checketts and Gene Mulvihill assume control of S&S

September 7th, 2006 - S&S Power opens its own Fun Park

 

2010

October 4th, 2010 - S&S announces ownership change, Stan Checketts is out

 

2012

Sansei invests in S&S

 

2014

January 20, 2014 - Robb and Elissa visit S&S ride a prototype of their "Free Spin" coaster

August 7th, 2014 - S&S announces first Free Spin installation to occur in spring 2015 in the United States

August 28th, 2014 - Six Flags Fiesta Texas to receive the first Free Spin

 

 

2017

Octobr 28th, 2017 - Single track complete circuit discovered at S&S

 

 

 

 

We debuted the latest S&S ride today during the ACE tour.....not everyone was able to ride but those who did said great things.

Our drop tower is 360ft tall with a 260ft freefall. At 100ft in elevation you enter the cylinder tube at approximately 90mph where a cushion of air slows the vehicle. The vehicle is essentially a piston that compresses air within the cylinder tube. Small vents along the sides of the tower expel the air to reduce the Gs. Currently, the deceleration is about 5Gs.

 

There is seating for two people in a small capsule vehicle. The walls are steel grating with a plexiglass window on the front. The riders enter the vehicle and once secured the main cylinder door is closed. This leaves the riders in complete darkness.

 

The ascent takes close to a minute and the view of Cache Valley is fantastic. Once at the top, the ride pauses for a few seconds and then you plummet.

 

Hitting the tube at 90mph is incredible! Pitch dark...Loud...Fast...Great Gs. Controlled Chaos.

 

This is the most intimidating ride I have ever experienced but it is phenomenol. I rode three times yesterday during testing. Awesome stuff!

Edited by larrygator
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Holy crap, you mean the ride vehicle acts as its own brake?! I've gotta try that. What sort of backup breaks are there?

 

This sounds pretty effin' sweet. I just rode Sequoia at Gardaland and thought it was fantastic.

 

BTW, how is the S&S park coming?

 

Don "Yay S&S" Garrison

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Yes the new S&S drop ride is pretty wild to watch. I was there yesterday for the S&S factory tours and have lots of photos from the tour and the new park. I am working on the photos and should have them up later tonight.

 

Hey ROB I have a small video of the new ride in action do you have space I can send it and you can put on your site. It will kill my bandwidth.

 

Video is not great but you will get an idea of the ride. Unfortunatly the booming sound that the ride makes did not record. The sound is very loud and can be heard from across the park. It sounds as if the whole ride has destroyed itself or that the car did not stop. It actually sounds like a sonic boom it is really wild to watch. Stan Checketts is a crazy man he said he has been working on this for 15 years. I will post later when I get my photos up from S&S.

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Okay photos are up from Yesterdays S&S factory tour and the S&S Amusement park. I have posted 54 photos from S&S and there is a write up on my site about the event. Photos can be seen at www.johnnyupsidedown.com or quick link to the photos at http://www.johnnyupsidedown.com/eventSIL.html .. Photos are set up on 4 pages the new drop ride is on page 4.

Enjoy!!!

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Creepy!

 

It looks like some sort of abandoned oil rig thing!

 

You can email the video to Robb or I and we can put it up.

 

BTW, was it just me or is Carole looking more and more like a true ACE member!?!? Didn't she used to be hot!?!?

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OMG... That makes me feel ill looking at it... First off I could never get into something that freaking small. I mean look at it. Claustrophobia city... (shivers)

 

Then it is like a radio tower. It is held up with guy wires (sp?). I mean this thing is just insane... It looks like a strong wind would blow it over... never mind actually riding it...

 

Seriously right now my stomach is just turning... Ugh... Thats really uncomfortable...

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Thanks compliments always appreciated. I have more photos from the Presevation Conference. As we did a small tour of Interactive Rides but it was more of a meet and talk than like the S&S tour was.

Also have some photos of the rides at Lagoon Amusement Park. Hope to have everything up later today.

The main photos were from the S&S tour as they really rolled out the red carpet for us over at S&S.

Wow what a great time and well worth the trip out to Utah.

I have a small video that ROB is going to be posting on Theme Park Review shortly. http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17992&sid=a9ae52dcb2240250ece3eec08d86ae63

Thanks Rob

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Very cool, although any ride that requires you to wear hearing protection worries me.

 

BTW, most of the thumbnails on the last page are pointing to the wrong pictures. You might want to try to fix that.

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  • 3 months later...

While in Salt Lake City for business recently I had an opportunity to drive 90 mins north to Logan and visit my friend Joe, who works at S&S. Those of you who were at CAC might have met Joe and his friend Tim, who also works for S&S.

 

Anyway before heading up to the factory Joe had me meet him at the small "fun park" S&S is building in Logan to showcase some of their rides. While it does not open until next spring there are already a few rides built and operational including a Thrillshot, Sky Coaster, Screaming Swing, Snowshot, and a 360 foot monstrosity called the Sonic Boom - a ride they claim is the world's tallest free-fall. I asked Joe if there were plans for any of the company's coasters -- currently there are no plans to feature any of them but that may change.

 

Sonic Boom is an odd contraption. The tower looks like a triangular ham radio tower with a track running down one side. The vehicle is shaped like a tylenol pill and features two seats with seatbelts but nothing to grab onto. The vehicle has a plexiglass front and the view of the valley from the top is incredible!

 

There is no traditional braking on this ride. Instead at the bottom of the ride the car enters a tube that has a diameter 2" larger than that of the car. The car has a leather gasket around the circumference to fill in the 1" gap between the car and the tube. When the car enters the tube -- going over 90MPH! -- the air in the tube is compressed, slowing the car to a perfect stop. The sound of the compressed air creates a loud BOOM! -- hence the name of the ride.

 

So after a few test rides Joe and I strap ourselves in and put on protective earplugs and another S&S employee closes the hatch. It's pitch black inside. Then suddenly we begin to rise. The lift mechanism speeds up and before I know it we're 360 feet up. Joe reaches forward and pushes the release button and we drop.

 

There is silence as we plummet faster and faster and faster, the accelleration and feeling of freefalling gaining in intensity. The car plunges so quickly that the air rushes out of your lungs and the last 50 feet of the ride feels as if you've had the wind knocked out of you.

 

Then suddenly everything goes dark as you enter the tube. Depsite the earplugs you can hear a muffled BOOM! The deceleration is fast at first, and then the car slowly lowers. Without warning the hatch opens and you realize you're stopped at the bottom.

 

What an adreneline rush!

 

Joe and I rode twice more and then let some other employees take their turns. We head up to the factory for a tour and then to a new steakhouse in town for a nice dinner.

 

FYI, pictures of Sonic Boom can be found at the bottom of this page:

http://www.johnnyupsidedown.com/eventSIL.html

 

Due to the capacity and noise issues its doubtful you'll find this at any park. If I am not mistaken it Stan built it mostly just to show that it could be done. And yes, I realize it looks all rusty...the park does not open until Spring 2006...they have time to make it look all pretty

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Unless whoever recorded it blocked out the Boom sound or the recorder's mic doesn't pick the sound up to well, this sounds more quiet. That looks sweet though. I doubt that we'd see anything like that around here because 1: Bay Area parks are limited due to local airports and 2: Neighbors and last but not least, 3: Boardwalk Bird Enthusiasts.

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