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I must have missed it but is this an LSM launched top hat coaster and not a hydraulic cable launch?

 

Yes, you are correct. It uses an LSM Launch to accelerate the train from 0-180 kph (112mph) in 5,0 seconds.

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Can't wait for testing footage!

I wonder if they went for LSMs because of reliability or because it allows them to launch trains at a faster rate (since they are pretty small and have a supposedly good capacity). I find it a bit of a shame that it won't be quite as forceful as most accelerator coasters but if it turns out to be reliable then I'm ok with it.

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Can't wait for testing footage!

I wonder if they went for LSMs because of reliability or because it allows them to launch trains at a faster rate (since they are pretty small and have a supposedly good capacity). I find it a bit of a shame that it won't be quite as forceful as most accelerator coasters but if it turns out to be reliable then I'm ok with it.

Cable launches need time imbetween launches to reset, however LIMs do not. This means that with a duel station, this thing could have an epic throughput and a train launching less than a minute imbetween.

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^Yeah, it's not got a double station and it's throughput is listed as 1,200 riders per hour on RCDB. Now how accurate that is i don't know. It's a pretty good throughput, just not epic as you've just described it there.

 

Even then, with the 3 car trains it would have to dispatch once every 36 seconds to reach 1200 riders per hour which honestly is just not happening. I don't think the capacity will be a big problem though on this ride as it is a separate admission but in the first year its going to be a capacity nightmare. 1000rph seems more realistic

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Even then, with the 3 car trains it would have to dispatch once every 36 seconds to reach 1200 riders per hour which honestly is just not happening.

I don't believe it either. Only if it had a double station (which would be odd since there are only three trains).

I don't think the capacity will be a big problem though on this ride as it is a separate admission but in the first year its going to be a capacity nightmare.

I wouldn't be so sure. I mean, I assume that a lot of people will only (or almost only) go there for this ride, no?

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Even then, with the 3 car trains it would have to dispatch once every 36 seconds to reach 1200 riders per hour which honestly is just not happening. I don't think the capacity will be a big problem though on this ride as it is a separate admission but in the first year its going to be a capacity nightmare. 1000rph seems more realistic

IIRC Top Thrill Dragster was designed so that the hydraulic system could reset and launch a train every 30-35 seconds.

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^ I doubt that. 30-36 seconds is reasonable under ideal circumstances, which is how you want to design it. You don't want the riders and crew to be ready but waiting for the machinery. But every fourth second isn't a reasonable amount of time, and the added expenses involved in having enough power to reel in a cable quickly, plus the increased possibility of the cable being damaged at those high speeds, are all reasons that engineers would not even attempt to design it for that capability.

 

So sorry, but I'm calling bullsh*t. You don't know what you're talking about.

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I wonder if they went for LSMs because of reliability or because it allows them to launch trains at a faster rate (since they are pretty small and have a supposedly good capacity).

 

They are most definitely there for their ease of maintenance. Sure hydraulic launches have become a lot more reliable in the last 10 years or so, but they are still very maintenance hungry with several hundreds of moving parts.

 

I don't think capacity will be greater with an LSM launch. Sure the LSM can launch more often but the hydraulic launch compensate for this with it being able to carry more weight (more passengers).

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I don't think capacity will be greater with an LSM launch. Sure the LSM can launch more often but the hydraulic launch compensate for this with it being able to carry more weight (more passengers).

I guess that depends on the acceleration you want, no? Most/many intamin accelerator coasters have five car trains with FB being the only one with six (if I'm not mistaken) and there are many LSM launched rides with 5 cars too. The thing is that hydraulic launches seem to be more forceful/faster overall.

 

By the way, has there been any testing?

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I guess that depends on the acceleration you want, no?

 

If we go back a while in time then it was one of the main selling points of the hydraulic launch, but today the magnetic launches delivers such an intense experience so I doubt think we'll ever see another hydraulic launched coaster again, unless somebody want to break the speed record. The hydraulic launch is still more intense, but the magnetic launches have now reached the level of "intense enough" for the parks.

 

Most/many intamin accelerator coasters have five car trains with FB being the only one with six (if I'm not mistaken) and there are many LSM launched rides with 5 cars too. The thing is that hydraulic launches seem to be more forceful/faster overall.

 

There are still limits to the magnetic launches. When you reach 130-140 km/h then it get very expensive to launch with magnets. Cutting the trains short is pretty much the only way you can save in some of the cost.

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I think that a launch every 40 seconds is reasonable. Shambhala dispatches every 1 minute in optimal operations (PA doesn't have the greatest op's, but in summer the B&M's run with a great capacity). Shambhala's train is 32 people and a FL train is 12 people. It's about a third of people but having ⅔ of the time, so I think it could be possible.

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I think that a launch every 40 seconds is reasonable. Shambhala dispatches every 1 minute in optimal operations (PA doesn't have the greatest op's, but in summer the B&M's run with a great capacity). Shambhala's train is 32 people and a FL train is 12 people. It's about a third of people but having ⅔ of the time, so I think it could be possible.

 

Pretty there was a typo and you meant FB has 24 seats. Even though it scales fairly well you have to remember this includes the train moving into the station and exiting, although Shambhala does have a significantly longer train.

To be fair though half the train is fastpass

Besides at PortAventura the whole time I was there they had 2 people checking the whole train plus the batcher so 1 minute dispatches is honestly not that bad with a skeleton crew in the summer months.

 

I guess you meant fourty, Henry?
I guess you meant fourty, Henry?

I did mean fourty but I was on the phone and it auto corrected to four. Obviously it cannot launch in four seconds!!!

 

They have got timers on it counting down from 40 seconds but honestly they are never quick enough its more like 50-60 seconds without delays.

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