Brakes on Wooden Coasters?

Do you wan't brakes on wooden coasters or more air time, should the only brakes be at the station?

I prefer airtime on woodies. Thats why ST is my fav wooden coaster, no brakes until the end...

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Let the bears pay the Bear Tax, I pay the Homer Tax.

Another wooden coaster that only has brakes at the end is GASM at SFoG. In fact, when you hit the final brakes, there is so much unused energy that the whole station and brake run shake! Not to mention, the quick stopping gives on heck of a whiplash. Some days, they only slow you a little in that brake run, so when turning into the station, you get some really powerful laterals.

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Mindbender...Can you hear the Riddler chuckling?

Nobody really likes mid course brakes especially since they are often tacked on compensate for poor design or maintenance. However, if a coaster is really designed at the limit and is very long, minimal trim brakes may be needed to adjust train speed to compensate for wind and frictional changes. Ideally, these brakes are not set at a fixed setting, but are adjusted based on the train speed. This can be done by a speed sensor, or more easily by the travel time of the previous train.

I think its unessassary (opps)Especially on MS.

On SOB, they do have midcourse brakes, but they are never used. Im also sure that the reason for midcourse brakes on woodies is b/c they have more than one car, and they dont want them to collide, thus causing another controvercy for leglislators

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the Beasts` Den

I would rather have more air time on a woody.

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"Welcome back Raptor riders. How was your flight?"

All rides that run three trains need a midcourse block brake. Whether or not it is used as a trim is 100% up to the park.

Jim Fisher said:
"...Ideally, these brakes are not set at a fixed setting, but are adjusted based on the train speed. This can be done by a speed sensor, or more easily by the travel time of the previous train."

...Although if it's based on the previous train you can get some wild problems. That tactic should be equipped with a manual trim override because an empty train will be affected more than a full one by the trim brakes. Coasters have valleyed because someone forgot to pull the trims before sending a train empty.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Mongoose said:
"All rides that run three trains need a midcourse block brake. "

Not entirely true. If a coaster has separate load and unload stations, then they do not need a midcourse block brake to run three trains (see Millennium Force, X-Flight/Batwing). They have an extra block, but it is not in the midcourse so to speak.
lata,
J No
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DJ play my mutha(bleepin) song!

Yeah, I guess, and Magnum.

But, if the park wants to stack without a setup, they need a midcourse.

Viper at Six Flags GReat America doesn't have any brakes until the end of the ride and it is awesome. They need to get rid of the brakes on American Eagle before the helix.

SFoG's Georgia Cyclone is trimmed to death and still provides great airtime and intensity. Imagine if they took the trims off. The Ga Cyclone would hit 60+ mph and would fly throught the track with extreme airtime left and right.
That would be so fresh.

X

The Ga Cyclone was so much better before the trims. If you want to know how much better just compair it to Viper at SFGA. The rides are almost identical in layout but the Viper has no breaks and has all of the airtime that the Cyclone now lacks.

I think trims do not belong on most wooden coasters. Most parks use them to make rides more tame and have less air time. Ex. Hershey park's Comet the ride has breaks right at the point that takes away all of the air time on the bunny hops at the end.
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SP we hardly knew Ye

Why should a woodie be any different from steel coasters? Brakes generally make a ride less intense, but I can think of one instance where a brake is necessary. On Boulder Dash, there is a trim right before the midcourse turnaround. The laterals are so strong in that turnaround as it is that I wouldn't want to negotiate that maneuver any faster, and the return trip packs plenty of airtime.

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"If we built a ride that everyone wanted to ride, it would be called an elevator, and that's not an amusement ride."
-Stan Checketts, S&S Power