Arrow Dynamics Theory

Arrow coasters are great, sure they are not the smoothest of the coasters, but they are still fun. Steel Phantom really kicked your butt the first time you rode it (especialy in the rain), but non the less it was a good coaster. I love arrow coasters (especially Magnum and Gemini), they are truly classics in my mind.

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AkA somewhatchewy
-Already really really misses Vertigo... :-(

Yeah arrow's hypers and woodies aren't bad at all. I was mainly talking about the loopers.
Has anyone ever thought about the notion that in ,lets say 20, 30 years, we may view B&M or Intamin coasters as we now view the "archaic" Arrow mega loopers. Kind of odd, but it is a possiblity. "Dad, why are B&M's so rough and whats with the limited size of the clothoid loops, only 160 feet." "Son, in my day we didn't have levatiating track and all that new fangled stuff, just some good-old swiss engineering." Okay, thats probably not going to happen but it would be sort of depressing. Man, I am young I shouldn't be thinking about these things:)I would defend the "old" beemers like the many that still defend the Arrow loopers.

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confucius say:Show-off always shown up in showdown.
Best Fortune ever!!

*** This post was edited by sethman on 3/30/2002. ***

Jephry's avatar
There are smooth Arrow coasters. Demon at PGA

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"The opposite of war isn't peace, its creation," Rent.

And don't forget the Magnum. i think the main problem with Arrows is that they're not well taken care of. It's like a vintage car or musical instrument - with good upkeep, it can rival or even be better than the newest models. We all can agree that Cedar Point puts an exceptional amount of effort into maintaining their rides (case in point - Mean Streak. i think the upkeep has exceeded the original cost by now, and it's only 10!).

With the less advanced wheel systems of Arrows (and Vekomas, for that matter), greater care is needed to stop the banging from wearing the track and the wheels. If the gaps between them get too big, the ride gets extremely rough and often unbearable. The best example of this that i've noticed is the Vekoma SLC. New one's are smooth and fun, old one's are just plain painful.

I wonder if Arrow encourages parks with their old coasters to keep them up, or if they just sort of say "let's forget that we ever made that - hey, here's X!"? Any thoughts?

Lord Gonchar's avatar

Actually I stole the phrase "cockles of my heart" from Dennis Leary. I believe he used it in the opening of his song "A**hole" on the No Cure For Cancer show. It was meant to be a tongue in cheek comment...

sethman said:
Has anyone ever thought about the notion that in ,lets say 20, 30 years, we may view B&M or Intamin coasters as we now view the "archaic" Arrow mega loopers. Kind of odd, but it is a possiblity...Okay, thats probably not going to happen but it would be sort of depressing.

Actually Sethman, that's pretty much exactly how it'll happen. Technology moves on. People were amazed with rides like the Arrow Corkscrew coasters so many parks have when they debuted. Heck Cedar Point made theirs the centerpiece of the park, it was so impressive. It still sits right in the middle of the park rolling a few feet above guests heads on the midway. It was as awe inspiring in 1976 as rides like X, Millennium Force, and S:UF are to us today. Time has moved on, technology and innovation have too. Todays best make the best from 25 years ago look silly...

...just like the best in 25 years will make today's best look.

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www.coasterimage.com

I seems to me that there would be a market for inproved trains that would smooth some of the problems with Arrow loopers. Obviously, a new train wouldn't eliminate the poor transitions in the track; but it could help considerably. Just look at the new Premier trains. With the same track, they have done wonders for these rides. And, it's not just eliminating the OTSRs.

Lord Gonchar said:

Just like different Ice Cream Flavors. Some may prefer the smooth Vanilla of the newer B&M and Intamin rides and some of prefer the intense Rocky Road that Arrow had provided.

If Intamin and B&M are vanilla and Arrow is Rocky Road, what does that make Vekoma?

Spinach-flavored ice cream?

Tuna-flavored?

Alpo-flavored?


Would newer wheels/trains make any difference?
didnt arrow come out with a new type of trian last year with shock absorbers that eliminate some of ther roughness. but wait i dont care for roughtness, it gives life to the coatser. but wait i like TOGO coasters.
Arrow never made a wooden coaster. Wooden support structure...just not a wooden coaster.

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"Villain-Once You Drop, The Fun Don't Stop!"~My No Limits Designs...http://coastergames.net/author.php?author=BKF%20Master

rollergator's avatar
But I LOVE those Arrows with wooden support structures....YUMMY mine trains! Short waits, fun laterals.....and then there was Gemini:)
I think their problem is that they put their guide wheels on this inside of the track rather than the outside! Anyone else think the same thing?

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So...you can't handle a rollercoaster huh? Well...you ARE the Weakest Link! Goodbye!
Number 1 Batwing Fan!


scoaster said:
I think their problem is that they put their guide wheels on this inside of the track rather than the outside! Anyone else think the same thing?

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So...you can't handle a rollercoaster huh? Well...you ARE the Weakest Link! Goodbye!
Number 1 Batwing Fan!



Not really, if you think about it, the location of the horizontal guide wheels has almost zero adverse effect on ride smoothness... both inside & out would in theory work equally well. Look at TOGO rides... the guide wheels run outside the track, but they're still rough like few other. Maybe it's easier to make suspension systems for the wheels outside the rails because you have more room to work with though. Other than that, I believe it's purely coincidental.

The curse of the double click... please ignore this one.

*** This post was edited by BBSpeed26 on 3/30/2002. ***

It doesn't matter if they are on the inside or outside, the fact that they don't maintain constant contact with the track is the problem. They could still be on the inside and be springloaded to maintain contact. Do you guys think that a loke of parks would install the chassis of a new coaster model if Arrow came out with one? Personally, I wouldn't want them to. They still have kind of nostalgia to them even if they are rough.

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IU shocks the world...AGAIN!!!! (NCAA Finalists!)


Next time you go on an Arrow, like Corkscrew or somethin, watch the guide wheels when the train stops...they still spin! Oh, and go IU, do the Big10 proud!

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Ride the New England Bush!

I'm going to Cedar Point this year, I'll be sure to watch the Corkscrews wheels...

Steve White said:
"I couldnt think of a better word, and no, I haven't been around that many enthusiasts, I'm 15."

YES!14 and smarter than most! I have no life;)!

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At least I dont call a vertical loop a "loopdie-loop"!

so what word would you have used?

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