Kingda Ka Speed question

I know this probaly sounds like a stupid question to educated people.

Kingda Ka is supposed to go 128 mph, is that the launch or the fall back down the other side of the hill. If the launch is 128 mph, wouldn't be going faster than that on the drop back down the hill. It would be whatever speed the train is going plus the drop, right?

I know it sounds like a dumb question to some people but, it would be nice to know the answer.

The only way a coaster could go faster than it's original launch is if the track elevation drops below the elevation of the launch (and that'd have to happen relatively early in the layout) - Kingda Ka doesn't do this.

Nope...should be close to the same speed. The train will lose speed as it climbs the tower and then gain most of its speed back as it drops.

If it goes the same way that Top Thrill Dragster does, it'll hit top speed twice -- once at the end of the launch track, and once at the bottom of the drop.

I was wondering the about if 8 miles per hour more means an extra 36 feet high?.. it almost looks like the supports for the launch track split not only to keep the track from swaying but there is also a support that looks like the one on storm runner half way up the pull-out after the launch .. could it be that the launch ends as you're going up to the vertical? *** Edited 12/4/2004 1:40:35 AM UTC by skipper747***

Not true, Dave. It's not possible. The fastest the ride will ever go is the moment that the train disengages from the catch car. During the course of the up-and-over, energy is lost to friction and air resistance, so it can't possibly hit the same speed on the way down.

I'd bet you lose atleast 5 mph to air resistance and friction from the launch to the drop speed (assuming the same rise/fall obviously).

Your actually probably going to lose atleast 10 MPH on a low side going up that hill probably more . bringing it under 120 MPH. 120 MPH is Terminal Velocity which means with out boosters you will not exceed that once ur off the boosters going up You'll lose speed and even if you don't drop under 120 MPH Friction will slow you down to that on the drop. So unless they put boost on the hill 120mph is your top speed on drop.

Not to sound like I know everything about physics (well, it won't really sound like that, lol), but terminal velocity is different for every object really. Saying "120mph is terminal velocity" is a really broad statement to make, and moreover, a false one.

I'm sure some skydivers out there can elaborate more on this... :)

JC

Uh, try again--there is no set speed for terminal velocity, as the maximum rate of descent for an object depends on its mass, density, frontal area, and numerous other factors. I did a little research after reading your post, and found that the terminal velocity of a skydiver can be anywhere from 115mph to 150+ mph, while the T.V. of a baseball is only 74mph.

NASA has a good presentation of the formula for calculating Terminal Velocity if you want to plug in estimates for an Intamin train.

Ack--Legendary beat me to it. Hopefully this shed a tad more light on the issue.

*** Edited 12/4/2004 3:39:11 AM UTC by PhantomTails***

---

Nitro Dave said:
If it goes the same way that Top Thrill Dragster does, it'll hit top speed twice --

---

Actually generally it hits at least 120 about 5-6 times before we can even see what happens on the way back down...

....but imagine how much MORE speed you'd lose on on of those *boxy* Beemer trains...;)

Man, does this guy EVER quit? :)

---

TonyBlackjack said:
Your actually probably going to lose atleast 10 MPH on a low side going up that hill probably more . bringing it under 120 MPH. 120 MPH is Terminal Velocity which means with out boosters you will not exceed that once ur off the boosters going up You'll lose speed and even if you don't drop under 120 MPH Friction will slow you down to that on the drop. So unless they put boost on the hill 120mph is your top speed on drop.

---

You want to find time for that physics elective you've been putting off.

I completely forgot about the physics of it and merely went with logically carrying over from what I recall having been said about Dragster. Hell, I couldn't even understand physics in high school WITHOUT friction coefficients -- so kudos to y'all who actually know!

--Dave "English major and damn proud of it" C.

For the most part, skydivers usually hit around 120mph. However, there are special suits and flying positions you can do to bring your speed while diving to around 300mph or even faster.

Oh Jeff? What to chime in here?

-Sean

My top speed, falling from 13,000 feet in a pencil-like, headdown position: 240 MPH.

120 mph = terminal velocity my ass.

-Skydiving Jeff

Jeff,

What about the special suit though? I know there are people that have broken 300mph.

Then again, what do you know? It's not like you have close to 700 jumps or something. =:^)

Yes, competition speed skydivers will often have special body-tight suits made (xmas gift idea, Kristin? ;) ) which make their bodies much more aerodynamic. Their body position is also precisely controlled.

Yadda yadda yadda.

692, for the record Sean. :)

692 mph! I can beat that! Just give me a hot-air balloon and a parachute. CANNONBALLLLLLLLL!

I believe he was commenting on how many jumps he has under his belt, not the fastest he's ever gone while skydiving.

Joe "still at 0 jumps :(" C.