Are some parks afraid of Airtime?

No, I do not think airtime is everything on coasters but it is one of the most exhilarating and thrilling aspect of rides.

I am just wondering if anyone else gets the impression that airtime is a no-no unless it has multiple restraints to some parks.

Chuck, who sees several small parks building airtime machines while many corprate parks build looping behmoths.

Chuck, who only loved the G trains for freedom of movement and still has a bruise from Cheetah's 50+ rides and wouldn't change a thing.

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Charles Nungester
Park Jockey :)

Name a specific park. I think parks mainly just build what they think the people want to ride, and what is most marketable for the $$$.

ravenguy98 said:
Name a specific park. I think parks mainly just build what they think the people want to ride, and what is most marketable for the $$$.

I still say the best marketing a park can get is not by comercials or their own marketing schemes. The best marketing is WOM (Word of Mouth).
I had never even herd of parks like Williams Grove or HW till enthusiast mentioned them to me when I was a meer PKI and CP goer. Back in '95 these guys told us about Raven and several times since until I just had to go!
This has worked for parks to me like, MA, LC, Wild Adventures and I liked every one. Peoples good views or raves is extra ensentive for me to go to a place I normally wouldn't know.
Now back on topic. I just feel that parks don't feel good about building a coasters that dishes out the elements. There are some exceptions like the S:ROS's and Villain to name a few but Paramount is not making airtime coasters and several other large parks are shying away.
Maybe it's just me but I rave about a wild coaster and visit coasters that are raved about.
Charles Nungester, who is glad he got to HW, WA, LC, MA and will return for them wild beast.
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Charles Nungester
Park Jockey :)

I dunno, it just seems to me that most major parks have at least one good airtime coaster. It does seem as though the paramount parks aren't building airtime machines, but most paramount action seems to be geared towards the prototypical.

The Six Flags parks, however, seem to be on the cutting edge of this sort of thing. I mean, just in 2000 and 2001 we saw Villian, The Boss, 2 Superman hypers, Goliath, and Nitro. I'm probably forgetting some, but all of those are airtime machines.

You said that Paramount is not making airtime coasters, and I know these are older coasters, but at PKD but Hurler and Rebel Yell had some of the most insane airtime I've ever seen. In the back on rebel yell I got so much air that I was literally standing up, and it scared me so badly that I clicked my bar down a notch for the next hill. As for Hurler, just try it in the front... :) Still, you're right about there being no new airtime coasters at this park and at PGA...nothing there has air.

saviourmachine said:
You said that Paramount is not making airtime coasters, and I know these are older coasters, but at PKD but Hurler and Rebel Yell had some of the most insane airtime I've ever seen.

LOL! You haven't been on many CCI's, have you? :)

Seriously, though, I cannot STAND Hurler and Rebel Yell. I've been to PKD on two separate days and BOTH days Hurler was rough, slow, and almost zero air. I didn't even bother riding Rebel Puke this year because it sucked so bad in 1999.

I think PKD has the worst quality of wooden coasters (for parks with more than two wood)...Grizzly is the only decent one there, and it's nothing to write home about.

On the other hand (see, I'm going to tie this in), at the very same park, is probably the most *explosive* airtime moment I've ever had. Hypersonic XLC in the last row is HURTFUL. I swear I almost lost consciousness from that drop.

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"That's BS you MF! They're WT!" -- CP's R&D team

Parks build what the people will ride. Small and Large parks have airtime machines. For instance Kennywood with Jack Rabbit and Phantom's Revenge for a small park. For a large park, BGW has Apollo's Chariot which has some of the best airtime I have ever experienced.

well hypersonic has more airtime than any coaster with 2.1 negative g's, i dont even think dodonpa has more negative gs because it loses so much speed before it hits the vetical hill

PKD woodies are awesome....Rebel Yell is always fun with great air

Hurler has awesome stand up air time so does Grizzly

Even Scooby is fun

For awhile (back in the late 1980s), airtime seemed to be a thing of the past. A RollerCoaster! magazine interview with Curtis Summers (designer of Texas Giant, Georgia Cyclone, Timber Wolf, etc, and the predominant wooden coaster designer at the time) revealed that he had no desire to put airtime in his designs and worked to remove those types of forces, due to pressure from insurance companies. Its a good thing that things didn't move in that direction after he passed away.

Have you ever seen the b&m hyper restraints you basicly have a football on your lap.
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3.2.1 launch

I once was wacthing a rollercoaster speical and a builder of the beast was talking and sayings its a parks nightmare but what ACErs live off of.

An engineer for a coaster manufacturer told me at IAAPA that likes and wants vary a great deal by region, but even more by continent. For example, he said Europeans apparently aren't big on laterals, and are just now "discovering" airtime. That made sense to me when I thought about the portables and most every Schwarzkopf.

In the US with new installations, I think it depends entirely on the demographic they're trying to reach.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

Hymmmm.... So I guess Californian's love inversions and launch coasters. ;)
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Have you ever considered that it may not be the park that's the problem, but YOU???

The Word of mouth marketing only works if you are around people that talk about that sort of thing. In my experience, the only parks that ever get talked about by "regular people" are the local park (which people would go to regardless), the Disney Parks (which everybody loves, save coasterdude318 of course), and Cedar Point. And why do so many people talk about Cedar Point? Because they're always advertising on the damn Discovery Channel shows!

Second: there are about as many airtime coasters presented in a given year as non-airtime coasters. And most 'non-airtime' coasters still have airtime moments (see Lightning Racer, The Legend, Goliath, Volcano, etc.). If your saying that the airtime exclusive out and back style coasters are becoming rarer, then SO BE IT! I think that's the worse type of coaster anyway ;)

Oh and Legendary is right, PKDs woodie collection BLOWS! Grizzly is adequate. Rebel Yell is bad. And Hurler is the biggest piece of wooden crap this side of Rotting Lumber (just dont tell GregLeg I said that :))
later,
jeremy
--who cant think of ONE non-Disney park that doesnt have a coaster with a good airtime moment

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"Nobody writes about the planes that land." Steve Salerno Washington Times 7-10-01

I am currently trying to develop something that will provide more air time, it may take a while, just like other things i have designed which took two years (still not released to the public) to do, but maybe this one will be on the market in a year or two.

I don't think parks are against "airtime" but when you have jerks performing stunts with their lapbars one or two clicks then you have 2nd thoughts... :)

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It's conflict that shows who a person really is!

The "outsider" said:
I don't think parks are against "airtime" but when you have jerks performing stunts with their lapbars one or two clicks then you have 2nd thoughts...
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It's conflict that shows who a person really is!

I agree and dissagree with that statement.
Most coasters, even those with mass airtime would not eject you from the seat area even with no restraints. I believe that amost any coaster can be ridden safely with only a couple clicks.   Exception IMHO would be SFNE S:ROS as I pulled my lapbar tighter on the lifthill every time.
Now for jerks doing stunts, (As discussed on another thread) Like standing on the first drop in the front seat!   I think parks should have a 0 tollerance policy!   I have even seen people riding some coasters sitting sideways as if they were on the couch!   Maybe my grip about dividers is a little strong but it may be entirely neccessary to keep the jerks in a riding possition!
Chuck
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Charles Nungester
Park Jockey :)

I'm hard pressed to say that Airetime is bad or is a risk in any way...
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Jes
Webmaster, Jes's Roller Coasters
"Thank You Jeff Putz" "My Fellow Americans, Lets Roll!"

don't forget the preditor at sfdl was the first coaster to feature ratcheting lap-bars. that didn't go over too well with enthusiasts.