Air Gate Question

Are they safe? I know that they are great for keeping people away from the train. But what if someone gets caught in between them? Do they get stuck? Do the airgates open back up? Because someone could get hurt. Thanks

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Dan - Webmaster of Coastny!
http://coastny.cjb.net

That is exactly what happened to me on Alpengeist. I was going into a row then I saw my sister in a different one. I went back to get in her row and they gate closed. It was wooden so I got caught in it. They had to release it to get me out. Then I get out I'm walking towards her row and I'm in a row to her seat on the train when it closes again and I get slammed. Those gates are wooden so the hurt. alot and they close fat. They apologized and gave me 5 rides on it without getting off the train in the front seat.

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-Sean Newman
84 coasters in Track Record!! Hypersonic XLC # 100 in July. Waiting for the 305 foot drop tower in 2003. Thank you PKD.

I can see it a problem on alpengeist because the ride op is on the other side of teh station so it was probally hard to see. On most coasters the ride op can see everything and can reverse the gates if needed.

Most of them are, in my opinion, not safe. For exactly the reason listed above. They close with too much force, and they won't reverse; there's no clutch to let a stuck person get loose.

There are exceptions out there. At Kings Island, for instance, they installed a clutch on the Flight of Fear exit gate, and that makes perfect sense. In the draft ride law revisions for the State of New Jersey there was actually a limit (18 lbs, I think) on the closing force for a mechanical gate. I don't know if that requirement made it into the final version or not.

Of course, while I don't think those gates are safe, mine is clearly a minority opinion...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

At SFMW my friend got caught in the gate on V2 but it reversed automatically. I think this might just be SFMW because it does it on the other coasters too.

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www.EverythingRollerCoaster.com

At WOF in Kansas City, T Wolf, Mamba, Express and Monsoon all have the gates. Each gate is different though. Monsoon's can be pushed open with little effort. However after you push it, when you release it, it flies back into position. I witnessed many a man get racked by this. I had to laugh though, because you shouldn't be pushing them in the first place. (I was working there at the time) Express can be pushed but are difficult. Timberwolf's are just plain messed up. Aside from the fact the que house originally housed an Arrow Corkscrew, they left the spacing the same which causes the PTC trains to not line up. But the worst part is when an operator hits e-stop, the gates open. Now that's a brilliant idea...great planning. As far as Mamba, I have never tried to force the gate, but at my last visit there in April of this year, they were having to unlock the lapbars with pedals. The automatic function (which was built in house) wasn't working...which has been a problem since it opened in 1998.

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wof fan

Rideman, aren't they included in the ASTM F24 standards? I don't have a current copy, but I seem to recall from a conversation with somebody at an AIMS conference that they were being included in the latest revision.

Yea, I was cought in the one at PKI, but then again if you already went through them, you should stay on the other side to be safe.

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Can we change the name of Top Gun to your mom so no one wants to ride your mom?

As a ride operator at Great America, I've seen more than one person "pinched" by them. No adverse problems from what I'd seen.

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"If the beats were made of meat then they would have to be me ..." - L.L. Cool J

While the air gates are a good idea and do the job sufficiently, I have found that the hand operated, locking position gates on rides such as Mind Eraser and Twister II at SFEG are just as easy for theoperator to open and close, but do not close so hard that they injurepoeple who get stuck in them. Both work fine, but I think the hand-operated ones are safer.

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"Standing in line to see the show tonight and there's a light on, heavy glow, by the way I tried to say I'd be there."-The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Why are they called air gates? Most every one that I have seen are not air powered, they use an electric motor to drive the mechanism.

Actually most of the ones you've seen use air and you didin't know it.

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Why do they report power outages on TV?

Dutchman, I don't have the current F-24 either, and it has been a while since I looked at it. But knowing what I do about ASTM's standards I'd say that they aren't going to specify a motorized gate of any kind. Instead, ASTM tends to give a performance standard: people not on the ride are to be protected from the ride by a 42"-2"-4" fence; any gates on the fence are to open away from the ride unless equipped with a positive latching device; the fence is to be outside the reach envelope. That's the kind of thing ASTM usually does, and there are lots of ways to comply besides the common powered gate.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Actually the vast majrity are Mechanical, not air powered. The first ones were air powered and the name stuck.

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The Beast and Night, They go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly