Side Padding on American Eagle

yeah, they'll kick you out and confiscate your camera at most parks....but that hasn't stopped me from getting some awesome pics....

thanx for all the info about why that padding is there...

Rentzy, that is a photo from this year (or last) when they have been racing red side forwards and the blue train backwards.

I was under the impression that the barriers were to prevent Gemini-style hand slapping.

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redman822 said:
They can also ban you from the park...

Parks have done it...

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If they did that to me, I would go into a state of depression!!!

^^^ Which one? Nebraska? Washington? Arkansas?

lata, jeremy

--lame yes, but I laughed

Haha, that was very lame. Yet it did make me laugh. Haha! I will go into depression. How does that sound? :)

hey coasterfreak11 check your PM's.

Actually without that silly contraption, someone with long arms riding the red trains could get a nice whack against a barrier that seperates the trains coming out of the helix. The red train comes out of the helix at, what seems, like 45 degrees facing the left and passes that barrier. Ok, maybe it's 22 and 1/2...just trying to please any potential know-it-all!

don't design limitations try to prevent or eliminate rider contact with the support structure? or is this pre-safety days?

I believe that the "wings" on the trains were added due to a design flaw in which people could actually bash their arms on the structure at the bottom of the helix. What I am not sure of, is why when the blue side was turned backwards, they added a HUGE wing on the right side of the train, compared to the normal sized one on the left and both the normal sized ones on the red trains.

Because when you are going backwards, you can't see the wall coming up. When you exit the helix, the track is at an angle and the person sitting on the inside seat could possible hit the wall if it wasnt for the padding. Before they added the over-sized padding, with the small padding, it seemed as if it was possible to hit the wall going backwards.