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Nice. Mine really wants to do this one but is still too short. Maybe next summer. I have to admit one needs to work up to that one.

We got to the line where there was a someone in front of us and she said "Daddy, I'm so scared.". But when it was our turn, she jumped right in the car. Afterwards, "Daddy, can we go on it again?". We went on Wildcat instead. Oh well...

BTW, Bloom County Rocks!

We got to the line where there was a someone in front of us and she said "Daddy, I'm so scared.". But when it was our turn, she jumped right in the car. Afterwards, "Daddy, can we go on it again?". We went on Wildcat instead. Oh well...

BTW, Bloom County Rocks!

We got to the line where there was a someone in front of us and she said "Daddy, I'm so scared.". But when it was our turn, she jumped right in the car. Afterwards, "Daddy, can we go on it again?". We went on Wildcat instead. Oh well...

BTW, Bloom County Rocks!

Of course they're identical. They were both built by the same company.

Go figure it's the same company who does all of the accelerator coasters, including the Superman Great Escapes, Batman Escape...

The list just goes on.

Of course they're identical. They were both built by the same company.

Go figure it's the same company who does all of the accelerator coasters, including the Superman Great Escapes, Batman Escape...

The list just goes on.

Of course they're identical. They were both built by the same company.

Go figure it's the same company who does all of the accelerator coasters, including the Superman Great Escapes, Batman Escape...

The list just goes on.

mmm, theme parks are great. Though I haven't been to either of the Disney parks we did take in Universal Studios in Orlando at the end of a training camp. We actually went a couple of times, once being a friday when the park was open until 12:30am and nearly deserted after ~ 8:00. Due to a lack of traffic, and something they called a stroller line, I rode this coaster 38 times in sucession ;).

"But know this: Cedar Point's Gemini was a record-breaker in 1978, at 125 feet in height. Think about what's happened in the last 25 years.
Then think about the next 25 years. That, my friends, is really scary."

Actually, that's a great friggin point and the first thing in a long time to give me something to look forward to in the future. Let's do the typical geek thing for just a sec . . .

From 125 to 420 feet is 336% increase. Also, according to the rollar coaster database, the Gemini reaches a top speed of 60 mph (96.5 kph), which the Top Thrill Dragster doubles. Now, that may not even be the speed record for time, so if we experience the same increase over the next 25 years we're talkin' bout a 1411 ft high coaster that reaches a top speed of 240 mph (386 kph).

Jesus! They'd have to outfit you with G-suits prior to launch. But look at the bright side; by then, if you pop a vien in the ol heart during the ride, they can just throw a monkey heart in there and no worries . . .

Augh, lost my whole post! Time to try again...

Unlike one of Intamin AG's older creations, Superman: The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain in CA (0-100mph in 7 seconds, though it's realistically only making about 88mph with a full car these days to conserve some electricity and keep the motors cool), this one does *not* use electromagnetic LSM/LIM motors to launch. This one is basically Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm's (0-82mph in 2.3 seconds) big brother, both using a hydraulic launch
motor.

I remember a quote from someone at CP saying that if they were trying to use LSM's to launch a train at 0-120mph in 4 seconds, like TTD needs, they might well brown out all of Sandusky given all the power that a launch like that would consume. As is, I know that California Screamin' at Disney's California Adventure (sorta unrelated, so too lazy to link) actually has to spray water on their LSMs to avoid overheating them from all the launches.

On these, there's a cable that runs from the motor, back to the station, around a wheel, then back across the top of the box track. It connects to the back of a launch sled, then more cable runs from the front of the sled back to the motor. When the motor fires, it yanks the sled down a channel in the top of the track (you can barely see Xcelerator's in this shot, look at the center of the track immediately behind the train, you can see the sled as an object in the center of the track, then the channel running along behind it).

It does, however, use electromagnetics for the braking systems, on both the launch run and the final brake run. After launch, fins pop up into place to stop the train from rolling back if it fails to clear the tower (in the pic above, you can see that some of the fins have raised while the ones immediately behind the train have not). I would imagine that for brake fin systems that their default state, without power, is to have the fins up, and that it takes power to lower them. Not sure how that works, but generally that's the failsafe for a braking system like that. There aren't really any block brakes for the ride, other than through the entire unload -> load area, so the computer systems won't allow one train to launch until another train has completely cleared the brake run.

I'm not sure about the PLC for the ride, but I remember reading that Xcelerator's checks and adjusts the launch about 400 times in the 2.3 seconds it takes it. I would imagine they've got some relatively beefy hardware running this one as well...

Augh, lost my whole post! Time to try again...

Unlike one of Intamin AG's older creations, Superman: The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain in CA (0-100mph in 7 seconds, though it's realistically only making about 88mph with a full car these days to conserve some electricity and keep the motors cool), this one does *not* use electromagnetic LSM/LIM motors to launch. This one is basically Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm's (0-82mph in 2.3 seconds) big brother, both using a hydraulic launch
motor.

I remember a quote from someone at CP saying that if they were trying to use LSM's to launch a train at 0-120mph in 4 seconds, like TTD needs, they might well brown out all of Sandusky given all the power that a launch like that would consume. As is, I know that California Screamin' at Disney's California Adventure (sorta unrelated, so too lazy to link) actually has to spray water on their LSMs to avoid overheating them from all the launches.

On these, there's a cable that runs from the motor, back to the station, around a wheel, then back across the top of the box track. It connects to the back of a launch sled, then more cable runs from the front of the sled back to the motor. When the motor fires, it yanks the sled down a channel in the top of the track (you can barely see Xcelerator's in this shot, look at the center of the track immediately behind the train, you can see the sled as an object in the center of the track, then the channel running along behind it).

It does, however, use electromagnetics for the braking systems, on both the launch run and the final brake run. After launch, fins pop up into place to stop the train from rolling back if it fails to clear the tower (in the pic above, you can see that some of the fins have raised while the ones immediately behind the train have not). I would imagine that for brake fin systems that their default state, without power, is to have the fins up, and that it takes power to lower them. Not sure how that works, but generally that's the failsafe for a braking system like that. There aren't really any block brakes for the ride, other than through the entire unload -> load area, so the computer systems won't allow one train to launch until another train has completely cleared the brake run.

I'm not sure about the PLC for the ride, but I remember reading that Xcelerator's checks and adjusts the launch about 400 times in the 2.3 seconds it takes it. I would imagine they've got some relatively beefy hardware running this one as well...

Augh, lost my whole post! Time to try again...

Unlike one of Intamin AG's older creations, Superman: The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain in CA (0-100mph in 7 seconds, though it's realistically only making about 88mph with a full car these days to conserve some electricity and keep the motors cool), this one does *not* use electromagnetic LSM/LIM motors to launch. This one is basically Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm's (0-82mph in 2.3 seconds) big brother, both using a hydraulic launch
motor.

I remember a quote from someone at CP saying that if they were trying to use LSM's to launch a train at 0-120mph in 4 seconds, like TTD needs, they might well brown out all of Sandusky given all the power that a launch like that would consume. As is, I know that California Screamin' at Disney's California Adventure (sorta unrelated, so too lazy to link) actually has to spray water on their LSMs to avoid overheating them from all the launches.

On these, there's a cable that runs from the motor, back to the station, around a wheel, then back across the top of the box track. It connects to the back of a launch sled, then more cable runs from the front of the sled back to the motor. When the motor fires, it yanks the sled down a channel in the top of the track (you can barely see Xcelerator's in this shot, look at the center of the track immediately behind the train, you can see the sled as an object in the center of the track, then the channel running along behind it).

It does, however, use electromagnetics for the braking systems, on both the launch run and the final brake run. After launch, fins pop up into place to stop the train from rolling back if it fails to clear the tower (in the pic above, you can see that some of the fins have raised while the ones immediately behind the train have not). I would imagine that for brake fin systems that their default state, without power, is to have the fins up, and that it takes power to lower them. Not sure how that works, but generally that's the failsafe for a braking system like that. There aren't really any block brakes for the ride, other than through the entire unload -> load area, so the computer systems won't allow one train to launch until another train has completely cleared the brake run.

I'm not sure about the PLC for the ride, but I remember reading that Xcelerator's checks and adjusts the launch about 400 times in the 2.3 seconds it takes it. I would imagine they've got some relatively beefy hardware running this one as well...

Augh, lost my whole post! Time to try again...

Unlike one of Intamin AG's older creations, Superman: The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain in CA (0-100mph in 7 seconds, though it's realistically only making about 88mph with a full car these days to conserve some electricity and keep the motors cool), this one does *not* use electromagnetic LSM/LIM motors to launch. This one is basically Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm's (0-82mph in 2.3 seconds) big brother, both using a hydraulic launch
motor.

I remember a quote from someone at CP saying that if they were trying to use LSM's to launch a train at 0-120mph in 4 seconds, like TTD needs, they might well brown out all of Sandusky given all the power that a launch like that would consume. As is, I know that California Screamin' at Disney's California Adventure (sorta unrelated, so too lazy to link) actually has to spray water on their LSMs to avoid overheating them from all the launches.

On these, there's a cable that runs from the motor, back to the station, around a wheel, then back across the top of the box track. It connects to the back of a launch sled, then more cable runs from the front of the sled back to the motor. When the motor fires, it yanks the sled down a channel in the top of the track (you can barely see Xcelerator's in this shot, look at the center of the track immediately behind the train, you can see the sled as an object in the center of the track, then the channel running along behind it).

It does, however, use electromagnetics for the braking systems, on both the launch run and the final brake run. After launch, fins pop up into place to stop the train from rolling back if it fails to clear the tower (in the pic above, you can see that some of the fins have raised while the ones immediately behind the train have not). I would imagine that for brake fin systems that their default state, without power, is to have the fins up, and that it takes power to lower them. Not sure how that works, but generally that's the failsafe for a braking system like that. There aren't really any block brakes for the ride, other than through the entire unload -> load area, so the computer systems won't allow one train to launch until another train has completely cleared the brake run.

I'm not sure about the PLC for the ride, but I remember reading that Xcelerator's checks and adjusts the launch about 400 times in the 2.3 seconds it takes it. I would imagine they've got some relatively beefy hardware running this one as well...

Augh, lost my whole post! Time to try again...

Unlike one of Intamin AG's older creations, Superman: The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain in CA (0-100mph in 7 seconds, though it's realistically only making about 88mph with a full car these days to conserve some electricity and keep the motors cool), this one does *not* use electromagnetic LSM/LIM motors to launch. This one is basically Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm's (0-82mph in 2.3 seconds) big brother, both using a hydraulic launch
motor.

I remember a quote from someone at CP saying that if they were trying to use LSM's to launch a train at 0-120mph in 4 seconds, like TTD needs, they might well brown out all of Sandusky given all the power that a launch like that would consume. As is, I know that California Screamin' at Disney's California Adventure (sorta unrelated, so too lazy to link) actually has to spray water on their LSMs to avoid overheating them from all the launches.

On these, there's a cable that runs from the motor, back to the station, around a wheel, then back across the top of the box track. It connects to the back of a launch sled, then more cable runs from the front of the sled back to the motor. When the motor fires, it yanks the sled down a channel in the top of the track (you can barely see Xcelerator's in this shot, look at the center of the track immediately behind the train, you can see the sled as an object in the center of the track, then the channel running along behind it).

It does, however, use electromagnetics for the braking systems, on both the launch run and the final brake run. After launch, fins pop up into place to stop the train from rolling back if it fails to clear the tower (in the pic above, you can see that some of the fins have raised while the ones immediately behind the train have not). I would imagine that for brake fin systems that their default state, without power, is to have the fins up, and that it takes power to lower them. Not sure how that works, but generally that's the failsafe for a braking system like that. There aren't really any block brakes for the ride, other than through the entire unload -> load area, so the computer systems won't allow one train to launch until another train has completely cleared the brake run.

I'm not sure about the PLC for the ride, but I remember reading that Xcelerator's checks and adjusts the launch about 400 times in the 2.3 seconds it takes it. I would imagine they've got some relatively beefy hardware running this one as well...

Augh, lost my whole post! Time to try again...

Unlike one of Intamin AG's older creations, Superman: The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain in CA (0-100mph in 7 seconds, though it's realistically only making about 88mph with a full car these days to conserve some electricity and keep the motors cool), this one does *not* use electromagnetic LSM/LIM motors to launch. This one is basically Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm's (0-82mph in 2.3 seconds) big brother, both using a hydraulic launch
motor.

I remember a quote from someone at CP saying that if they were trying to use LSM's to launch a train at 0-120mph in 4 seconds, like TTD needs, they might well brown out all of Sandusky given all the power that a launch like that would consume. As is, I know that California Screamin' at Disney's California Adventure (sorta unrelated, so too lazy to link) actually has to spray water on their LSMs to avoid overheating them from all the launches.

On these, there's a cable that runs from the motor, back to the station, around a wheel, then back across the top of the box track. It connects to the back of a launch sled, then more cable runs from the front of the sled back to the motor. When the motor fires, it yanks the sled down a channel in the top of the track (you can barely see Xcelerator's in this shot, look at the center of the track immediately behind the train, you can see the sled as an object in the center of the track, then the channel running along behind it).

It does, however, use electromagnetics for the braking systems, on both the launch run and the final brake run. After launch, fins pop up into place to stop the train from rolling back if it fails to clear the tower (in the pic above, you can see that some of the fins have raised while the ones immediately behind the train have not). I would imagine that for brake fin systems that their default state, without power, is to have the fins up, and that it takes power to lower them. Not sure how that works, but generally that's the failsafe for a braking system like that. There aren't really any block brakes for the ride, other than through the entire unload -> load area, so the computer systems won't allow one train to launch until another train has completely cleared the brake run.

I'm not sure about the PLC for the ride, but I remember reading that Xcelerator's checks and adjusts the launch about 400 times in the 2.3 seconds it takes it. I would imagine they've got some relatively beefy hardware running this one as well...

You can occasionally get some great rides in addition to pure thrills from the steel coasters. Universal Orlando has a cool pair of coasters called Dueling Dragons that combine the speed of a steel coaster with some creative intertwining tracks...and the ride last more than 30 seconds.

However I still prefer the rattling old wooden coasters like the Dragon Coaster (built 1929) and the Wildcat (built 1996).

You can occasionally get some great rides in addition to pure thrills from the steel coasters. Universal Orlando has a cool pair of coasters called Dueling Dragons that combine the speed of a steel coaster with some creative intertwining tracks...and the ride last more than 30 seconds.

However I still prefer the rattling old wooden coasters like the Dragon Coaster (built 1929) and the Wildcat (built 1996).

You can check out the Rollercoast Database to find out how Steel Force ranks. If you sort by height only in the US and only steel tracks, Steel Force is listed as the 21st highest. Admittedly, some of the taller coasters are not the same style. Both the Millenium Force and the Magnum at Cedar Point are taller, so CP has two coasters taller than Steel Force. But if you go with the only east coast, Steel Force gets beat by several coasters in New Jersey and Mass.

Heh, and Arrow Dynamics said that X at Six Flags: Magic Mountain would be able to get approx. 1,680 riders per hour. The fastest I've ever clocked it at is about 580 riders per hour.

There's going to be a lot of restraints checking on this ride for at least the first year, just like Xcelerator at Knott's (smaller version of this guy). I sincerely doubt it'll be up to that capacity (or running six trains simultaneously) this season.

Though it probably will do better than X....

No one really cares what comes after the first hill.

That's completely untrue. The big hill brings people to the park, but a better overall coaster brings people back. Almost everyone who has ridden a large number of coasters puts either Millenium Force or, even more often, Superman: Ride of Steel at the top of their lists.

Still consider Riddler's Revenge at Six Flags Magic Mountain to be one of the best coasters I've ridden. It's smooth, the transitions are fantastic, and there's great airtime. The general public are drawn to a park because of the numbers...the biggest drop, the highest speed, etc. But they come back to a good ride experience, meaning airtime, headchoppers (or footchoppers for inverted coasters), and other elements that make a great coaster are very important.

I would have preferred that they make a launched coaster like Xcelerator, but instead of going bigger, adding a whole coaster to it. I guess that doesn't sound as good to the marketing guys, though.

No one really cares what comes after the first hill.

That's completely untrue. The big hill brings people to the park, but a better overall coaster brings people back. Almost everyone who has ridden a large number of coasters puts either Millenium Force or, even more often, Superman: Ride of Steel at the top of their lists.

Still consider Riddler's Revenge at Six Flags Magic Mountain to be one of the best coasters I've ridden. It's smooth, the transitions are fantastic, and there's great airtime. The general public are drawn to a park because of the numbers...the biggest drop, the highest speed, etc. But they come back to a good ride experience, meaning airtime, headchoppers (or footchoppers for inverted coasters), and other elements that make a great coaster are very important.

I would have preferred that they make a launched coaster like Xcelerator, but instead of going bigger, adding a whole coaster to it. I guess that doesn't sound as good to the marketing guys, though.

No one really cares what comes after the first hill.

That's completely untrue. The big hill brings people to the park, but a better overall coaster brings people back. Almost everyone who has ridden a large number of coasters puts either Millenium Force or, even more often, Superman: Ride of Steel at the top of their lists.

Still consider Riddler's Revenge at Six Flags Magic Mountain to be one of the best coasters I've ridden. It's smooth, the transitions are fantastic, and there's great airtime. The general public are drawn to a park because of the numbers...the biggest drop, the highest speed, etc. But they come back to a good ride experience, meaning airtime, headchoppers (or footchoppers for inverted coasters), and other elements that make a great coaster are very important.

I would have preferred that they make a launched coaster like Xcelerator, but instead of going bigger, adding a whole coaster to it. I guess that doesn't sound as good to the marketing guys, though.

No one really cares what comes after the first hill.

That's completely untrue. The big hill brings people to the park, but a better overall coaster brings people back. Almost everyone who has ridden a large number of coasters puts either Millenium Force or, even more often, Superman: Ride of Steel at the top of their lists.

Still consider Riddler's Revenge at Six Flags Magic Mountain to be one of the best coasters I've ridden. It's smooth, the transitions are fantastic, and there's great airtime. The general public are drawn to a park because of the numbers...the biggest drop, the highest speed, etc. But they come back to a good ride experience, meaning airtime, headchoppers (or footchoppers for inverted coasters), and other elements that make a great coaster are very important.

I would have preferred that they make a launched coaster like Xcelerator, but instead of going bigger, adding a whole coaster to it. I guess that doesn't sound as good to the marketing guys, though.

So, does this mean that the Running of the Bulls will no longer be pushing toward Millenium Force anymore? =^)

This ride actually bears a bit of a resemblance to Superman: The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain, only that ride isn't an out-and-back like this one. It also owes a small debt to King's Dominion's Hypersonic XLC, which has the most intense launch of any coaster I've ever ridden -- a compressed-air system that pushes the car 0-80 mph in 1.8 seconds. At 20 seconds long, Hypersonic is also too short a ride. If someone could have made a full 90-second coaster ride out of something like Hypersonic, it would likely be my favorite coaster of all time. As it stands, that honor still goes to Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens.

Until I get to Cedar Point this summer, that is... =^)

So, does this mean that the Running of the Bulls will no longer be pushing toward Millenium Force anymore? =^)

This ride actually bears a bit of a resemblance to Superman: The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain, only that ride isn't an out-and-back like this one. It also owes a small debt to King's Dominion's Hypersonic XLC, which has the most intense launch of any coaster I've ever ridden -- a compressed-air system that pushes the car 0-80 mph in 1.8 seconds. At 20 seconds long, Hypersonic is also too short a ride. If someone could have made a full 90-second coaster ride out of something like Hypersonic, it would likely be my favorite coaster of all time. As it stands, that honor still goes to Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens.

Until I get to Cedar Point this summer, that is... =^)

So, does this mean that the Running of the Bulls will no longer be pushing toward Millenium Force anymore? =^)

This ride actually bears a bit of a resemblance to Superman: The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain, only that ride isn't an out-and-back like this one. It also owes a small debt to King's Dominion's Hypersonic XLC, which has the most intense launch of any coaster I've ever ridden -- a compressed-air system that pushes the car 0-80 mph in 1.8 seconds. At 20 seconds long, Hypersonic is also too short a ride. If someone could have made a full 90-second coaster ride out of something like Hypersonic, it would likely be my favorite coaster of all time. As it stands, that honor still goes to Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens.

Until I get to Cedar Point this summer, that is... =^)

In case Cedar Point's servers are going for a ride, here is more information:

Stats
http://www.rcdb.com/installationdetail1896.htm


Press Release
http://www.rcdb.com/document82.htm


Pictures
http://www.rcdb.com/installationgallery1896.htm


Now, go slashdot rcdb instead. :)

In case Cedar Point's servers are going for a ride, here is more information:

Stats
http://www.rcdb.com/installationdetail1896.htm


Press Release
http://www.rcdb.com/document82.htm


Pictures
http://www.rcdb.com/installationgallery1896.htm


Now, go slashdot rcdb instead. :)

In case Cedar Point's servers are going for a ride, here is more information:

Stats
http://www.rcdb.com/installationdetail1896.htm


Press Release
http://www.rcdb.com/document82.htm


Pictures
http://www.rcdb.com/installationgallery1896.htm


Now, go slashdot rcdb instead. :)

What about Steel Dragon 2000 in Japan? Taller, and longer:

stats here

It's not the acceleration, it's the change of direction from down to up. The curve at the bottom of a hill (or in a helix) is where you gain the most positive g's, pushing you Down in to you seat. You are correct in that you will not get great than +1 g pushing you to the BACK of the train unless the ride has a launch mechanism. There are a few coasters out there today that launch from ground level, one being Hypersonic in Virginia, which does 0-80 in 1.8 seconds. I think that is about +5 g's, give or take, pushing you BACK in your seat. When you hit the slope going up, you experience downward g's. Here is a link to info and pictures of the ride. http://www.rcdb.com/installationdetail729.htm