Coastercraver said:
"Since when is the S&S Thrust Air a crappy design. Last time I checked, it did A LOT more than TA2k's design"
To be honest, I think this Japanese ride will pale in comparison to Hypersonic. The most thrilling, scary, and impressive part of the ride was seeing that thin, narrow tower 75 feet in front of you. You get the feeling of power when you're that close. With this thing, you'll have a long time (in comparison) to anticipate the tower, therefore making it a lot less interesting (again, that's relative). Stick with the tower right after the launch,
then get creative.
Anyway, back to topping Millennium Force. I think that somebody will top it in the conventional sense. I've seen enough amazing things to realize that limiting engineering is a bad idea. However, the lift hills will follow in MF style by increasing the angle of ascent to save space. As for cost, that will keep changing like it has for years. As parks grow, they spend more money. Right now, constructing a 400 ft. conventional coaster isn't too feasible, but very well may be in the near future as park's budgets increase.
As far as launched rides, I suspect we'll see one break 400 feet within the next two years. Just look at the TA2Ks... how hard can it be to increase the power for a taller height?
::wheeze::
Well, if you've read that whole novel, I congratulate you. Haha.
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Six Flags America? No, no! My name means "Sarcasm-For-All"