What is so great about the back seat?

I have to know why so many think that the back is the best seat on most coasters?
Since I started riding coasters I've always been in the front seat and I've enjoyed the experience a whole lot. Just recently I was told to try some rides in the back so I went to SFWoA and tried some rides in the back.
BKF and Villain you don't even experience the first hill it seems like you are rushing thru it. You are going the same speed as in the front but in the front you can see everything, you feel the wind, and the wind makes it feel like you are going faster.

Well for me personally On rides that have greater advantage points such as floorless and Inverteds I do prefer the front seat from the back due to the vantage point. However on other coasters such as hypers and woodies I prefer the back. Mainly due to more airtime provided in the back seat.

I love the back seat on Nitro, i think that its better then the front seat because of the great "pull" you get going over the lift hill and over the bunny hills and all the air time you get.

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Steven
www.sixflagsnews.com

The speed of coaster either increases or decreases as it progressees through an element. It gradually loses speed through an uphill element and it gradually gains speed through a downhill element. This results in a different experience from the front to back cars..

Example: when cresting the lift hill, the front car barely creeps over the top of the hill, resulting in the sensation of hanging over the top. By the time the back car reaches the peek, the rest of the train has already disengaged from the lift resutling in a sensation of being pulled over the top of the hill.

This principal applies throughout the entire ride. The back car is usually moving faster then the front car at the crests of hills, resulting in more airtime.

It is really just a matter of personal preference. I used to prefer the front thinking that airtime is overrated. I have recently switched mentality and now I love airtime.

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/s/ *** This post was edited by jdancisin on 6/20/2001. ***

Good explanation. I am a backseat kid all the way.
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"We took pop music and we kicked its arse"
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Even on Apollo's Chariot. I felt like I didn't experience the ride in the backseat because I rushing down the first hill and I kept saying that I couldn't see anything.

In the front you have more airtime because you are lifted out of your seat at a slower speed so it lasts longer. In the back you are lifted out of your seat at a faster speed so it doesn't last long at all.

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Go Full Force said:
"In the front you have more airtime because you are lifted out of your seat at a slower speed so it lasts longer. In the back you are lifted out of your seat at a faster speed so it doesn't last long at all."

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Not true. If you hit the top of the hill at a faster speed, the forces will be greater resulting in more airtime. the laws of physics can't be argued with.

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/s/

I enjoy the negative g forces you get in the back car, That is why I ride the rides both in the first and last car on every ride, forget the middle.

But you are not approaching the top of the hill at faster speeds in the back, the front car is just cresting over the hill while the back seat is at the slowest speed. I will agree that when you are going down the hill you get flung over more.

I'm a back seat guy for most rides, floorless and inverted aside. I rode Nitro on Monday, and I have to say that the ride is 10x better in the back. In the back, you get incredible floater airtime over every single hill, in the front, it's just an ok ride...kind of forceless.

Jman

Because the back seat rocks that's why. I still dont get the facination with seeing things from the front. I think I get a better idea of the layout from the back as you can watch the other cars go thru the elements before you do. There are only a very few rides that I actually prefer the front:

Millennium Force: The whip over the top in the back isnt that great and the hang ~300ft over Lake Erie is pretty cool.

Raptor: The only outstanding part on this ride is the ending helix and in the front the helix just gets faster and faster as you are pushed through by the rest of the train.

Ice Dragon: As a coaster, it's right up there (or should I say down there) with Raptor, but the front seat Castle Wall duel might be the most fright inducing moment on any coaster (save maybe the first flip over on the Flying Dutchman coaster)

Hurler @ PKD & Carowinds: I dont really like these rides much anyway (but the Carowinds version was more enjoyable). In the back they just shake way too much and I didnt really feel the dips. In the front I still didnt feel much of the dips, but at least it wasnt shaking :)
jeremy
--kickin it to ya like WHOA!

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An SFBrat who is resigned to the fact that the world is filled with Six Flags Haters....it's tragic that they waste their lives like that

I like the back seat because of the airtime and I like it because of the feeling of butterflies in my stomach or the feeling of getting my stomach dropped however you want to put it.

Most people are split on the issue of which is better, (it's all personal preference) but notice how we all perfer either the front OR the back and not the middle at all. I always try to ride every coaster in once in (or near) the front and once in back and decide which I like better. I like most coasters better in the back, but others are better in the front.

I don't like "hanging" over the first drop and waiting for the rest of the train, that alone is usually enough to make the back seat a better one, for me.

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"X" marks the spot in 2001!

Isn't Magnum supposed to have better airtime in the front? That's what I've heard.

I like the fron row seat. Millennium Force, Raptor.

Duh ! There is more air time in the back seat !!
it's a little obvious.

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Titan Laps : 6

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mamba said:
"Isn't Magnum supposed to have better airtime in the front? That's what I've heard."

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Well there is the famous "ejector seat", which I believe is first car, 2nd row. And I believe this nickname is in reference to the insane airtime you get in this seat. Please correct me if I am wrong.

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/s/

First car THIRD row (just like on any 3-bench PTC train..) Though this seat can be a bit painful on the thighs because you WILL hit the lap bar....HARD (great fun!)

I still like the back best though...
jeremy
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An SFBrat who is resigned to the fact that the world is filled with Six Flags Haters....it's tragic that they waste their lives like that

It depends on the ride. Just look at my preference on my top ten steel rides:

1. Magnum - back
2. MF - front
3. RB - back
4. Fire Dragon - front
5. Volcano - front
6. Alpengeist - back
7. Kumba - back
8. Montu - back
9. Raptor - back
10. Mantis - front

see it depends on the ride, but usually I am going to like the back more.

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