Flight of Fear and Mr. Freeze

I have a few questions concerning the Mr. Freeze coasters and the Flight of Fear coasters, as well as their clones.

1. In this picture ( http://www.rcdb.com/installationgallery427.htm?Picture=2 ) are those LIM's at the top of the spike?

2. Has there ever been a time when on a Flight of Fear coaster ( or their clones ) there were two trains in the building at the same time? Not including the launch track or exit track.

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Intelligence is a God given gift: Know how to use it.

I think those are LIMs at the top of the spike but i forget, I think they fire in reverse so the train doesnt go all the way up.

And sometimes there are 2 trains in the building on FOF, but only during block test, its actually pretty cool to watch both of them.

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So you believe that you are studying us, then kindly explain why you are the ones trapped in your seats.

Yes, they're LIMs on the tower. They provide a boost to the train so it *does* get to the top of the spike, therefore having enough height to complete the circuit in reverse.

-Nate

The LIMs on the spike of Mr. Freeze actually shoot the train up higher on the spike. Basically the sensation is you feel yourself slowing down going up the spike and expect that brief moment of hangtime and then you feel this small burst of speed and you are going even further up the spike. I may be wrong but I could have sworn they fired in reverse too making the train go down the spike faster than gravity would take it.

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Bob Hansen

Operation Wicked Twister
Goal: Lose enough weight (50lbs) to ride Wicked Twister in 2K3
Progress: 18 pounds since 1-1-2003

The spike LIMs on Freeze basically feel like a chain lift, as on a Boomerang, but without the attendant noise, jerk and bounce. I'm pretty sure they simply shut off when the train reaches the top of the spike.

Flight of Fear is blocked so that a second train could be launched after the first train clears the mid-course brake...in fact that would be necessary for the ride to run four trains as designed. But Paramount has never operated the ride in that fashion. The other compact twister LIMcat coasters (Joker's Jinx, Poltergeist, Mad Cobra) do not have a mid-course brake, and so a second train cannot launch until the first train passes the safety brake at the end of the ride.

(look here for more about roller coaster blocking systems)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Bob - I don't think freeze boosts backwards, but Chiller blue at GAdv does now. For some reason or another it had a hard time making it back through the tophat in the beginning of the season.

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Corey
"his rod and staff comforts me" - and catholics say that gay's are bad! :)

Do any other rides besides Premier shuttles use LIM/LSM to launch its trains at some point throughout the ride?

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Intelligence is a God given gift: Know how to use it.

Two off the top of my head:
Volcano: The Blast Coaster
California Screamin' (uses LIMs as a lift)

-Nate

Speed the Ride also has *midcourse LIMs*...;)

Don't forget all the Impulse coasters--while they only have one set of LIMs, they're used multiple times to accelerate/decelerate the trains during each ride.

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-Vater
Take a ride...

I love the midcourse LIM's on speed. They are the ones responsible for the top speed after the train goes through the loop. I don't think they do anything on the backwards leg of the ride though.

Actually, having just ridden Speed this weekend, the LIMs slow the train a bit on the return trip before entering the loop.

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-Vater
Take a ride...

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland uses LIMs to advance trains out of the station. I'm not sure if the other models do as well.

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Humor Ingredients: all natural flavors, some artificial additives. Sold by weight, not volume. 100% satisfaction not guaranteed. Void in Texas and Puerto Rico.

Really? I always assumed that LIM technology was a fairly recent thing...or is it LIM launches I'm thinking of, which was first seen in '96 of the Flight[s] of Fear?

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-Vater
Take a ride...

Rideman will correct me if I'm wrong but LIM technology has been used in other industries long before it was adapted for use on coasters.

Moosh

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Humor Ingredients: all natural flavors, some artificial additives. Sold by weight, not volume. 100% satisfaction not guaranteed. Void in Texas and Puerto Rico.

Well actually, I was just surfing the US Patent Database, and in the description of a Schwarzkopf looper, it says the ride can be propelled by other means such as a linear device or liquid filled piston. (hydraulics?) Click here to see the patent. The last few paragraphs are in "easy english" and are actually quite interesting. (To me at least)

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the patent is from 1979, proving linear technology isn't that new. Also, the quote about the linear motor is about 1/2 way down the page under "summary of the invention."

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The only difference between stupidity and genius is genius has limitations.
*** This post was edited by MarimbaGuy87 2/14/2003 9:01:50 PM ***

LIMs are relatively new, but are used in many applications. They are used in a number of airport people movers that you may have ridden. Houston is one.

They are also used to tension red hot steel as it is worked. Try http://www.force.co.uk/ or http://www.astro-glide.com/lim.html

What do you mean by relatively new? My post before yours just explained that they are at least 24 years old (1979). Not saying people from 1979 are old, just explaining that I don't think 24 is new. ;)

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The only difference between stupidity and genius is genius has limitations.

Well, more specifically I meant that I thought (or perhaps just assumed) LIMs weren't used on a coaster until Flight of Fear. While Schwarzkopf's 1979 shuttle loop patent does state that propulsion can be provided by a linear motor, we all know that Anton only used weight-drop and flywheel launches on his shuttles (well, except for reverse-incline tire-driven lift on Prater's Wiener Looping ;) ). My question is, what was the first coaster to actually use linear induction as means to propel the train?

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-Vater
Take a ride...
*** This post was edited by Vater 2/15/2003 2:46:13 AM ***

I think it was a mine train coaster at one of the Disney parks that was the first to utilize LIMs. The LIMs aren't used to launch the coaster, just as a means by which to keep the coaster train moving at a steady pace. If only I could remember which one it is... As far as I know, the Flight of Fear clones were the first coasters to use LIM's as a way to launch the coaster train.

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Intelligence is a God given gift: Know how to use it.