Dead Man's Curve on Shockwave??

For those that have penned this name, could you tell me where on the coaster it occurs? From what I understand, it took far too high of a speed into the turn.

I have a P.O.V. of Viper so I should be able to discern where it took place from there. Thanks!

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Getting a B&M will always beat out having to take a BM.

You mean the painful decelleration right before the mid course breaks? Its after you exit the third loop.

edit:Viper's mcbr is totally different.

*** This post was edited by Colonel Sanders on 9/29/2002. ***

Here be it. It's shown on the second picture on this link that I'll give you. It's the entrance to the Mid Course Break Run. Some enthusiasts fondly called it "Satan's Curve". I love Shockwave, but even I won't try to defend the poor engineering that went into spawning this trackage. :)

http://home.attbi.com/~geoff2222/sfgam/shockwave.html

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Never Has Gravity Been So Uplifting.

*** This post was edited by BullGuy on 9/29/2002. ***

They retracked the entrance into the Mid-Course on GASM at SFGAdv. It was made to be a steeper bank on the turn, so it's taken a lot smoother than before.

I don't think anyone needs to worry about Shockwave anymore, though.

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-Kyle Brylczyk
KoRn - Untouchables, June 11th, 2002

Actually, according to Six Flags, Shockwave is being moved to another park so we still can worry.

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The Other Siebert

Yeah, it's that horrible, almost un-banked, ascending turn into the brakes. Viper doesn't have it. After building two coasters with this problem, Arrow finally realized that they should do something about it, and altered Viper's layout to eliminate that curve.

*** This post was edited by (SF)Great American on 9/29/2002. ***

I get a forbidden error.

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SFNE Central- Your one stop web destination for Six Flags New England!
http://sfne.licensetothrill.net

Great American: I don't think Arrow changed the layout solely because of that turn. I think the lay of the land had more to do with it.

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A rollercoaster? What's that?

Well, if they didn't they should have. It didn't really surprise me to learn that Ron Toomer never rode his creations...

Kyle, when was that work done to GASM....last time I rode it, it was pretty rough, but we've skipped it the last few times....Viper at MM was definitely the cream of THAT crop.....IMO.

Yeah, I'm sure if you had severe motion sickness like Ron then would would want to ride a looping rollercoaster.

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My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
Woodencoaster.com
The World of Thrills

GASM's re-working was done last year. For a couple of weeks the new section of track was pure white before they decided to paint it.

And no, they didn't just repaint it, because it's the newer style arrow track (curved crossties).

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-Kyle Brylczyk
KoRn - Untouchables, June 11th, 2002

If Viper at SFMM is the cream of the crop, I'm glad I haven't ridden the others!

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I was asked to describe X in one word. The word? -- OhmygoshwhathaveIgottenmyselfintothisisthescariest
thingintheworldhelpmeIamgoingtodieAHHHH!!!

haux, truer words have NOT been spoken....Viper WAS far and away the best...yet to try GASM with the new track, but I have a hard time believing it could even *approach* Viper for smoothness...Viper's transitions are THAT much better...

bill, amazed that Viper and smoothness COULD be used in the same sentence...

Gator, don't expect much from the re-track. The entire ride still hurts like heck. I agree that Viper is without a doubt the best Arrow megalooper out there. It was smooth and fun. The opposite of another Viper at a park called Great Adventure which was the most painful ride I have ever been on....

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"I live my life a quarter mile at a time. For those ten seconds or less, I'm free." Vin Diesel- The Fast and The Furious

SA, that Viper's not even close IMO....the real killer Togo is that blasted stand-up at PKD....ride in the back at your own risk, but please have a chiropractor on retainer first....

http://www.angelfire.com/mn/cwsr/021688.html

One of the pages you'll find if you use the link on page 16 of the Great America Riddle Thread. It shows some constuction photos of the curve in question. Though it was re-tracked at least once, there was little improvement in the quality of the ride.

Keep in mind you're traveling into that curve at approximately 60 MPH.

Worst transition in coaster history?

Also, another question. Did Shockwave receive glowing reviews from enthusiasts when it opened, or were there some complaints about the two poorly designed transitions?

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SFGAm: 1)DV 2)V2 3)AE Blue 4)Viper 5)Bull

I really don't thinkit was complained about then. Before that only one company made smooth coasters, Schwartzkopf (Which I think I spelled wrong but you know what I mean).

That is the way coasters were, it is only the recent innovations of B and M and Intamin that have "spoiled" coaster riders. They are incredibly smooth.

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All I need is 4.5 million bucks and a half a mile long sliver of land and maybe someone could build me my very own Shivering Timbers.

*** This post was edited by MagnumForce on 10/1/2002. ***

I think you got the spelling right.

Bull fan, yes you are going at very high speeds at that point (50 something is actualy more like it, but that's still pretty darn fast), but that's not something for a rider to keep in mind as an excuse. That's something that the designers shoudl have kept in mind when the ride was still a piece of paper.

I'd certainly nominate it for worst transition ever. But I haven't ridden enough coasters to know, really.