A new, amazingly awesome POV of Kingda Ka

[shepp]

Ewww after watching that POV it doesn't look like it is as good as TTD because it almost looks like a randomly placed coaster and there is like no theme around it and they should have something at the start other than just waiting there like how TTD has the christmas tree put something unique.

 

Um, sorry fanboy, but having ridden both multiple times...

 

Yes, the Christmas tree lights are pretty swell. But KK's in a thoroughly, cooly themed area all its own, and the jungle-themed queue and station are, IMO, much nicer than TTD's "let's hang some racing flags above concrete and queue rails" motif.

 

But if it makes you happy to believe that TTD bears some non-random relationship to what's around it (um, racing cars, drop tower, old corkscrew...yeah, genius theming, that), have a Happy New Year.

[HCOSurfer90]

^ just imagine TTD about 36 ft taller and 9 MPH faster and someone saying "HOLY fudging SHIT!" at the top.

 

KK's launch seems slower at launch, I counted 6 second acceleration, and in most TTD POV's it takes only 3-4 for it to accelerate. and TTD goes 120!

 

 

since the difference on speed acceleration?

 

Just letting you know...KK accelerates to 128 MPH in 3.5 seconds...not 6.

[Jeezus Juice]

OMG! I totally made out with the girl on the right at a frat party in Jersey last june!

 

God, she's even annoying on tape! I never would have done it without the malt liquor.

 

St. Ides does some crazy stuff to you!

-Don

[dougr]

OMG! I totally made out with the girl on the right at a frat party in Jersey last june!

 

God, she's even annoying on tape! I never would have done it without the malt liquor.

 

St. Ides does some crazy stuff to you!

-Don

 

Mmmm...beer googles :o :shock:

So, is her father in "Waste Management"?

[coasterlover420]

^ just imagine TTD about 36 ft taller and 9 MPH faster and someone saying "HOLY fudging SHIT!" at the top.

 

KK's launch seems slower at launch, I counted 6 second acceleration, and in most TTD POV's it takes only 3-4 for it to accelerate. and TTD goes 120!

 

 

since the difference on speed acceleration?

 

KK gets 128 in 4 seconds and TTD Gets 120 in 2.8 seconds.

 

That's one of the best POV videos I've seen of any rocket coaster (aside from the ones from the actual park)! Usually as they start, the camera goes crazy and somehow finds the track in front of it.

[Real]

Well, i could'n't SEE the vid, but i heard it... pretty damn funny.

 

PS i like not knowing when im going to launch more than knowing (like using a christmas tree)

 

You dont need a tree to know when its launching. Its pretty obvious...just listen for the brake fins to retract and voila, its only moments away. Most of the time anyways Dragster was off by a fraction. It launched earlier or later more than half the time.

[Rugged One]

That's a pretty decent POV. With all the screaming and cursing, it made you feel like you were right there.

[coasterlover420]

You dont need a tree to know when its launching. Its pretty obvious...just listen for the brake fins to retract and voila, its only moments away. Most of the time anyways Dragster was off by a fraction. It launched earlier or later more than half the time.

 

It's still like 5 seconds until the train actually launches.

 

The christmas tree was rather nice.

[trustkill22]

The only thing with the christmas tree I mean is that it really adds to the theme and what not.

[HCOSurfer90]

^Oh yeah...Christmas trees, dragster racing, it all ADDS up now

[trustkill22]

I Quit.

[Damien666]

For the video, the cursing was a bit funny. For Kingda Ka itself, I have two words. Big Whoop.

[rjholla2003]

I didn't look at the video, but I've ridden enough to stop the "how long does it launch" debate. The launch gets you to 128 in 3.5 seconds as advertised. The difference is that where TTD has just flat track, Kingda Ka has launch track. The result is that you're crusing at 128 MPH for around 2 seconds at the end of the launch. Or, if the launch is weak, there is room for it to catch up. If you ride enough, you can tell how powerful the launch is by the number of pulses there are.

 

If it's one solid tug, then you're just met when i liek to call "Ka the BEAST!" This is when Ka goes crazy and gives you all of the airtime that you crave. The tophat has ejector air, and the camelback gives you the wierdest airtime sensation that you can experience. You've got the ejector air, and when the deceleration kicks in softly at the top, you get a very cool sensation of floating foward in your seat as you're already thrown up in the air. End result: You're sitting in a completely different spot than you started.

 

If there are multiple pulses in the acceleration that you can feel, then you got a slow launch. Usually if there is a pulse, you feel 2 or 3. Some people have said they felt more than 3, but I personally have felt 3 at most. That's when Kingda Ka is simply Kingda Ka. You'll get floater air at best, if any, on the tophat, and floater on the camelback.

 

You really just have to hope that you get a good launch when you ride, which is exactly what I heard about TTD too. Either there's lots of air, or barely any air.

[coasterlover420]

^you're crazy!

 

If any one sat down and thought hard about this, you would know that KK doesn't get it in 3.5 seconds. The way I came to this conclusion was listening to the hydraulic motors and timing with a watch both on and off the ride. When the hydraulic motor starts turning, you start the clock and when the sound reaches its highest pitch (can't really phrase that well!) the launch is over and everything slows down. On the ride, the acceleration is pretty obvious. When you start moving, you start the clock, and when the pounding G forces come off your body, the launch is over.

As for everything else...

Kingda Ka, just like any other rocket coaster, launches until it can't anymore. The entire ride is designed perfectly to get the train up to the right speed. When the train is nearing the end of the launch track, the catchcar passes ofer its own set of brake fins, which is the only way that the system knows to shut down. there is a sensor at the beginning of the brakes so the computer knows to shut down the hydraulic system.

 

I don't know where the hell you got the pulses stuff!

 

The ride is designed to have floater air. That's why they put hills.

 

Random factors are what control these rides.

And every launch on these rides are good. It just depends on other factors. Maybe the wind is blowing with the train and it makes the train fly over, maybe the hydraulics didn't completely reset when it launches (causing a rollback), maybe the hydraulics overset and the acceleration is higher (causing an overspeed (which for some reason I found to be painful)). I'm sorry, any factor can be possible, but what you're saying is completely ridiculous.

[stew560]

I can back up everything RJ says as I was with him for those 50-some launches that day (Plus a rollback!). You DEFINETLY get different types of launches and I have felt all of what RJ described.

 

In addition to your "other factors" the pulses can also come from the way the hydraulic fluid is being "delivered" do the motor. Think of it like this. You are forcing a large amount of high pressure fluid through very small openings (motors) which in turn spin the spindle. If there is ANY variation in the fluid it will affect the forces applied to the spindle, and thus the catch car, ride and rider. IANAME (I am not a Mech Eng), but I am an engineer and this sound like a totally plausible reason for the "pulses".

 

Trust me, they do exist. It's like PULLL-PUUULLL-PUUUUULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.

[rjholla2003]

And Stew comes through with the save! Thanks for the back up. I actually only got 40 that day, my girlfriend and I cut out early. I could have gotten that rollback too since Stew and I were in the same train most of the day, but I was a whimp. In any case, 10 rides in one day + 40 rides the very next day + 10 more rides a few days later = a very sore and happy Reggie.

 

Trust us, everything I said there is 100% true. When you ride it that much over the course of a day, you feel every little thing that the ride does. Also, if you talk to the ride ops, they will tell you that it does indeed tow you at top speed for longer than the accleration speed. Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster look alike, but there were a lot of changes and improvements made along the way. The longer-than-necessary launch is one way of cutting back the rollbacks. The fact that 128 is an overlaunch in and of itself is another thing that cuts back on rollbacks. A weak launch on TTD = rollback, where a weak launch on Ka = creeping over.

 

Kingda Ka is simply a very intriguing coaster with lots of little nuances that one can't pick up from a ride or two. Simply put, Ka is a skitzo.

[WildMouse]

The video left me feeling rather underwhelmed (even with the manic screaming!), epecially at the amount of time it took to download on high speed broadband Its one of those 'you have to ride it to appreciate it' type of coasters me-thinks.

[rjholla2003]

Pretty much. Videos are nice, but you really need the whole "wind in your hair" thing going to get the thrill. This is 100% a front seat, or second row coaster. The wind in your face making yoru cheeks and eyelids flutter is just magical.

[coasterlover420]

I can back up everything RJ says as I was with him for those 50-some launches that day (Plus a rollback!). You DEFINETLY get different types of launches and I have felt all of what RJ described.

 

In addition to your "other factors" the pulses can also come from the way the hydraulic fluid is being "delivered" do the motor. Think of it like this. You are forcing a large amount of high pressure fluid through very small openings (motors) which in turn spin the spindle. If there is ANY variation in the fluid it will affect the forces applied to the spindle, and thus the catch car, ride and rider. IANAME (I am not a Mech Eng), but I am an engineer and this sound like a totally plausible reason for the "pulses".

 

Trust me, they do exist. It's like PULLL-PUUULLL-PUUUUULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.

 

And Stew comes through with the save! Thanks for the back up. I actually only got 40 that day, my girlfriend and I cut out early. I could have gotten that rollback too since Stew and I were in the same train most of the day, but I was a whimp. In any case, 10 rides in one day + 40 rides the very next day + 10 more rides a few days later = a very sore and happy Reggie.

 

Trust us, everything I said there is 100% true. When you ride it that much over the course of a day, you feel every little thing that the ride does. Also, if you talk to the ride ops, they will tell you that it does indeed tow you at top speed for longer than the accleration speed. Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster look alike, but there were a lot of changes and improvements made along the way. The longer-than-necessary launch is one way of cutting back the rollbacks. The fact that 128 is an overlaunch in and of itself is another thing that cuts back on rollbacks. A weak launch on TTD = rollback, where a weak launch on Ka = creeping over.

 

Kingda Ka is simply a very intriguing coaster with lots of little nuances that one can't pick up from a ride or two. Simply put, Ka is a skitzo.

 

I don't know what you are feeling, but I HAVE ridden both of them and I can't understang any of your reasonings.

 

I have seen a lot of things, had a lot of things explained to me, and I have relatives that know better. Believe me, I know exactly what I'm talking about. My uncle is a MECHANICAL engineer and I know hydraulics better than anyone else in my entire grade in my town. The hydraulic oil is meant to be forced through such a small space in such a quick amount of time, so since the hydraulic oil is under such great pressure, it's not really plausable.

 

And on both rides, a weak launch could be either a creep over or a rollback. It is just on random unpredictable factors.

 

I have ridden Dragster 12 times in a day, but KK only 4 and they feel almost exactly the same (acceleration G's is what I really noticed for some reason) except the inapropriate brakes on KK. I have my facts correct. I will be a mechanical engineer when I grow up (so I hope to design a coaster that acieves 180 in just 3 seconds (about 3 G's!). I have an idea that I won't share that might work!). If you don't believe me, that's fine, too.

[coasterlover420]

Pretty much. Videos are nice, but you really need the whole "wind in your hair" thing going to get the thrill. This is 100% a front seat, or second row coaster. The wind in your face making yoru cheeks and eyelids flutter is just magical.

 

BEST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE!!!

[Real]

The pulsing thing though shouldnt happen. Ive been on Dragster when we have reached 127mph and Ive got something like 40 rides and not once has it ever pulsed.

 

Obviously Intamin did something with the motor and thats what you get. I dont really think it should do that ever as its very uncomfortable. It seems like with Ka that they tried to fix the problems with Dragster, made some major changes and they are somewhat worse. Ive heard more stories of it being skitzo and up and down than I heard from Dragster and I was there every week during the first year and almost the second year. (minus the month it was down)

 

 

I think the whole 400+ should be stopped here untill its completely refined. I think after this off season Dragster will be close to 100% final and Ka looks like its got some major mods ahead of it as well. The fluid shouldnt be pulsating and the ride shouldnt vibrate like it has been said to do (and did on my ride). That or SF rushed construction which I have heard as well.

[coasterlover420]

^WOW, someone backed me up!

 

I agree that SF sped up construction because they were behind and didn't want to admit it!

[rjholla2003]

I'll stick with what I've felt in my many rides, and others felt at the commercial shoot as well. Also, if you do some digging on rec.roller-coaster you will see some stuff that an engineer that worked on Kingda Ka said that will back up what I said. I think that someone who worked on the ride would know more than any of us.

 

Trust me, I had 62 rides to contemplate all of this. I wouldn't just say all of this just to say it, especially on an internet forum where I have nothing to gain from it.

[coasterlover420]

What's rec.roller-coaster?

 

and you can't always believe what mechanics of the actual ride tell you. They would think you are trying to steal their idea, or something. I never trust anyone who built the ride or owns it. As for the ride-ops, what do they know about the ride?

[shepp]

^WOW, someone backed me up!

 

I agree that SF sped up construction because they were behind and didn't want to admit it!

 

As I recall, the weather during construction was really rotten, so things got behind schedule. But, as we all know, CP is God and SF the devil, so when TTD breaks down, it's nobody's fault, but when New Jersey has a rough winter, it's Six Flags' doing...