rcdude Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 (edited) Coasters with (a) launch(s) and a lift: Powder Keg, FCE, Takabisha and Fluch von Novgorod. I guess there are only four of them. And Maverick too, depending on what you consider the lift/launch to be. Then you can add California Screamin', Mummy USO/USS, etc. I mean chain lift(s) plus a LIM/LSM/air compress/hydraulic/fly wheel/weight drop/friction wheels/etc launch. What about Space Mountain: Mission 2? It's got a launch and a lift (though it may be a friction wheel lift and not a chain). Edit (for poster below): I've always thought it was just an electric motor pulling a catch car for the launch (similar to what the Arrow Launched Loops use). I know it is not magnetic, hydraulic, or pneumatic as those technologies didn't exist at the time the ride was built. Edited February 17, 2014 by rcdude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 ^Oh I forgot that one. Yeah, you can't really tell what type of lift it is (at least I couldn't). I have never really understood what type of launch that is either. Strange... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 For those of you that don't know, the launch sequence changed between Space Mountain From the Earth to the Moon and Space Mountain Mission 2. On the original ride, the trains would stop at the base of the cannon, be gently launched to the lip of the cannon and then launched inside. On Mission 2 they launch all the way to the top from the base of the cannon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 ^No matter how your launch it, Paris Space Mountain is still a terrible ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AusCoasterFan Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 ^ No way! I thought it was awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 ^^Actually I thought it was ok. If you seat after the second or third car you will get a bit (well, quite a bit of headbanging but I remember having a pretty good ride on the second car, plus isn't it getting new trains with vekoma's vest style restraints? Also, the sound system really works, I haven't been on many rides with one but Bizarro's (SFGAdv) couldn't be heard at all and I think this one really adds to the experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 ^^Actually I thought it was ok. If you seat after the second or third car you will get a bit (well, quite a bit of headbanging but I remember having a pretty good ride on the second car, plus isn't it getting new trains with vekoma's vest style restraints? Quite a bit of head banging is not OK in my book. The coaster was horrible in the last row and just as bad in the first row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingRCT3 Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 For those of you that don't know, the launch sequence changed between Space Mountain From the Earth to the Moon and Space Mountain Mission 2. Actually, in 1995 it opened with the same launch sequence as today. But due to some problems with the TÜV, they had to "split the launch". The problems were corrected for Mission II. In my opinion, it is a horrible ride. It gives headbanging and the first inversion is too forceful in a wrong way (just like Indy's loop). The audio system really doesn't work that well from my experiences. Plus, Mission II totally killed the theming. News trains with new harness are indeed planned, but hey, we're talking about DLP here... Did you know that, during a testing phase, some cast members accidentally dropped a car out of the track? How did they do that? The train was in the station and ready to roll back in the garage in manual mode. Unless the trackswitch was not in the right position! BOOM! The first car dropped and snapped the cables and connections, and the second car was hanging out of the track. The cast members were no fired because it actually showed a failure in the system, but imagine their embarrassment. _______ Unlike all (?) other steel coasters, the Intamin Family Launched Coasters (Juvelen, Jet Rescue and Mick Doohan) have only one wheel per bogie to carry the train, instead of two. Might be clearer with those drawings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrozooka0 Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Arrow invented the Norwegian loop when they made the pipeline coaster prototype. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 ^Well that is a weird fact indeed and that looked extremely "coat hangish" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Toro_Ryan Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 The super fast El Toro we're all used to is actually quite the opposite on a cold morning test run. A train filled with test dummies will nearly saddle on the rolling thunder hill (absolutely no fart noise is made) and last hill into the break run. It's scary but interesting to watch. Maintenance has even installed two tire drives at the peak of the hill into the break run to assist trains that might saddle. The tire drives are removed during the summer months when the ride runs at a consistent speed but they are reinstalled in the spring and later fall months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterkyle Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 I never saw this posted but Many (not all) Arrow coasters have an "arrow" welded at the base of the supports facing the direction of travel. Most of the time it is located at the 'Front' of the support but I have seen them placed on one of the corners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 The super fast El Toro we're all used to is actually quite the opposite on a cold morning test run. A train filled with test dummies will nearly saddle on the rolling thunder hill (absolutely no fart noise is made) and last hill into the break run. It's scary but interesting to watch. Maintenance has even installed two tire drives at the peak of the hill into the break run to assist trains that might saddle. The tire drives are removed during the summer months when the ride runs at a consistent speed but they are reinstalled in the spring and later fall months. Very interesting! I had no idea about the tyres. ^ Also interesting, never noticed that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CobraRollGuy Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 XLR-8 was originally intended for Six Flags AutoWorld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillseeker4552 Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Older B&M Inverts have a bar connecting the bottom of the seats. Newer inverts do not have this. Raptor (1994) http://rcdb.com/1.htm#p=7 vs. Silver Bullet (2004) http://rollercoastersrock.tumblr.com/post/51008148454/silver-bullet-knotts-berry-farn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 ^I had actually noticed that before. In a way, find the "barless" ones better looking but when there is one it's a sign that it's an old-school invert! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loefet Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Older B&M Inverts have a bar connecting the bottom of the seats. Newer inverts do not have this. Raptor (1994) http://rcdb.com/1.htm#p=7 vs. Silver Bullet (2004) http://rollercoastersrock.tumblr.com/post/51008148454/silver-bullet-knotts-berry-farn The newer ones, have some 'X' shaped plates between the seat pillars underneath the seat itself. Just one of the things that have been evolved of the design of these trains to make them lighter/stronger/easier to manufacture/maintain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linearinduction Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Lagoon was asked by Magic Mountain to change the Name of Colossus, their Schwarzkopf Doppel Looping, after it opened in 1983 to Avoid Confusion with Colossus at Magic Mountain. The Colossus Sign came with the Ride and Lagoon bought a "Fire" and "Dragon" Sign from Zamperla to Change the name to "Colossus: The Fire Dragon" in 1984. The "Dragon" Sign is actually the same one used on their Dragon Wagons. Bogies on Older Schwarzkopf Coasters are known as "Wheel Housings" and Columns on the Transportable Coasters are known as "Uprights." Lagoon calls Brake Fins "Brake Knifes" because an Operator had her Arm Severed by a Brake Fin on Fire Dragon in 1983. GCII's Second Project was Rebuilding the Middle Hills of Roller Coaster during the Winter of 1996/1997. Lagoon uses TREX Composite for the Top Layers of the Stack on Roller Coaster. Lagoon's Vice President of Engineering and Former Arrow Dynamics Coaster Designer Dal Freeman Designed Wicked, BomBora, and their New 2015 Coaster Cannibal. Lagoon insisted on Lap Bar Only Restraints for Wicked. Wicked is the First and Only LSM Launched Coaster with Horizontal and Vertical LSM Launches. Wicked was the First LSM Launched Coaster with a Flywheel Inverter. Wicked was the First LSM Launched Coaster to use LSM Motors for Braking. Wicked was the First LSM Launched Coaster capable of Collecting and Storing Energy by Capturing the Energy through the LSM Drives Used as Brakes to Spin the Flywheel Inverter to Store Energy to Launch Trains. Jet Star 2 Moves so much, the Wood Blocks under the Ride are checked every 2 Hours. The MCC on Maurer SC-2000s are called a "Vessel." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valleyfairfanatic Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Valleyfair was featured in the movie Little Big league Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrozooka0 Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 All of RCDB's pictures of Goofy's Sky School are of it before the retheme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarienLaker Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 When Six Flags Fiesta Texas rethemed Tony Hawk's Big Spin to Pandemonium the halfpipe on the que house was not removed when Six Flags lost the rights to use Tony Hawk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 The ill-fated Parque de la Ciudad in Argentina has had some weird coaster occurances: one of them, a Jet Star, was never even constructed, while another, Vertigorama (A.K.A. what would be the only Intamin Double Coaster in existence) was completed, but its electrical system was never set up, so it remains SBNO to this day. Other coasters at the park did operate, but have been SBNO themselves for over 10 years. The park closed in 2003 for "maintenance reasons", but when it reopened (in 2007), only the kiddie rides were open, and none of the coasters have reopened since. If you're one to assume that something is seriously wrong with this park, then you are right: RCDB says that a nationally-known scandal involving military dictatorship took place at the park during its construction, which led to an incomplete park, and many like me scratching my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyRCT3 Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 This isn't necessarily weird, but neat. Intimidator 305's radius was not widened, just the rate of rise was changed. Originally, the track level stayed uniform (about 2 meters) until it turned approximately 180°. That was where the track would begin to rise upwards. The solution to the problem was to begin raising the track at 90° instead of 180°. This reduced the amount of time the high G forces were sustained while also enabling the re-profile to re-use the original footers, saving on cost. Neat! One the original POV, the track doesn't begin to rise until support #17. On the new POV, the track begins to rise around support #14. Check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollercoaster Rider Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 This isn't necessarily weird, but neat. Intimidator 305's radius was not widened, just the rate of rise was changed. Originally, the track level stayed uniform (about 2 meters) until it turned approximately 180°. That was where the track would begin to rise upwards. The solution to the problem was to begin raising the track at 90° instead of 180°. This reduced the amount of time the high G forces were sustained while also enabling the re-profile to re-use the original footers, saving on cost. Neat! One the original POV, the track doesn't begin to rise until support #17. On the new POV, the track begins to rise around support #14. Check it out. Instead of a flat turn, I think it should have been a turnaround like Millennium Force overhead turn after the drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 ^Well flat turns are usually more intense, and that's what they wanted. Once they decided to reprofile it that would have been very tricky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now