Flight of Fear (PKI) magnetic Brake at midcourse

Well I took a ride last week on Flight of Fear at PKI and noticed a different feeling on the midcourse. I also did not hear the pneumatic pinch brakes since they make an air type sound. So has anyone taken a ride on Flight of Fear and notice this also?

I think that it is possible for Premier/PKI to perhaps make adjustments after labor day, since the park is only open on weekends. The quesiton also would be blocking and stuff. Having been a ride operator on the Beast that operated controls there but never on Flight of Fear, I am not completely familar with the blocking structure of the ride.

It does currently run 2 trains, with a station, and two brake zones, where one is unload and another just a holding brake before the station. With a midcourse, it ran 3 with shoulder restraints, and two without the restraints (loading took to long I believe to run 3).

Now as I understand the blocking on the ride, if a magnetic brake was used instead of pinch brakes to trim the ride, the brake would not be a block since magnetic brakes can not hold a train in place. So that would mean the train in station would have to wait for the unload train to be out of unload and in the holding brakes. Not sure if they would do this.

So it comes down to a few things. I am probably going to take more rides on it this year, and most likely my next one is front seat. Offers the best view and can see for myself if anything was changed. If anyone knows more or noticed, post away.

Well I'll check Joker's Jinx this weekend to see if it was a All Premier thing or just PKI. But they don't use the MCBR on JJ so I don't know how I'm going to tell, it just flies rite through.

*** Edited 10/12/2005 12:18:16 AM UTC by Colin Fisher***

I was under the impression that SFA didn't run Joker's Jinx during October. Maybe that's just after the leaves come off the trees (less sound deadening, and that thing is LOUD).

They could add magnetic brakes to trim, and leave the pinch breaks as block breaks that don't engage unless the block zone in front of it is occupied.

Or, it's possible that when you rode the ride that the trims were off or that the train was going slow enough that the trims did not need to engage. (Just speculation on my part.. I really do not know for sure)

Colin, Joker's Jinx doesn't have any brakes on the "midcourse"... it's highly unlikely that they'd put brakes on after all these years.

Beast Fan, if the park installed magnetic brakes on Flight of Fear, they'd most certainly wait until the offseason to do so. There is more involved than just bolting braking units to the track. The park would have to remove some of the current brakes, install the magnetic brakes, calibrate the magnetic brakes (Kennywood ran Phantom's Revenge for weeks at a time in Spring 2002 in order to get the brakes properly configured), reprogram the PLC, and install special brake fins on the cars, among other things.

Magnetic brakes are only practical in situations where trains need to come to a complete stop (used alongside pinch brakes, of course), or where trains need to be slowed down by a specified rate of speed on every pass. Remember, magnetic brakes cannot be adjusted on a ride-to-ride basis, and therefore are far too imprecise to be used as a replacement for a computer-controlled trim brake system. Given the multitude of different operating conditions govern how rides run every day, it's highly likely that you simply misjudged the action of the block brake.

Manhattan Express uses magnets as a MCB, and as brakes on most of the coaster (except for a pintch or two at the end of the blocks). I hate the trimming on the FOF coasters when they really don't dispatch fast enough to need a MCBR, UGH!

Poltergeist at fiesta had no trims when i rode it a gazzilion times labor day.

These are the same rides correct?

Polt does not have mid course brake.

I see no reason why they should need trims.

Shrug

The FoF's have midcourses because they were designed to run more trains. The also actually unload on what is the final brake on JJ (and I would assume Polty).

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prabe said:
I was under the impression that SFA didn't run Joker's Jinx during October. Maybe that's just after the leaves come off the trees (less sound deadening, and that thing is LOUD).

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JJ ran during FF last year. Not sure if it's running during FF this season. There has been a variety of reasons given for JJ not running during FF. Some of the reasons people give include it doesn't run well in cooler weather and a noise issue. The park has never gave the official reason for not running JJ during Fright Fest.

PhantomTails:

Well not sure with what you said. I know when I was part of the Beast crew in 2002, they added a magnetic brake on the first drop during august, on a monday or something like that. The ride was down for that day or most of it, but back open. So as long as it does not affect the control system or something major, it can be done.

Well now that I think of it, they could use a magnetic trim and still have the pinch brakes for blocking. But the pinch brakes could just be open. They were off for the first two years I think anyway when the ride got lapbars (from 2001 to 2002 or 2003). However now they feel that the ride is too intense I guess and a trim is needed in that area. So a magnetic brake can be used to trim and a block brake (pinch brakes), can still be in place.

I was hoping someone rode and noticed any difference, so this idea was either confirmed or was not confirmed. I will probably take a ride this week, so let you know.

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PhantomTails said:
Colin, Joker's Jinx doesn't have any brakes on the "midcourse"... it's highly unlikely that they'd put brakes on after all these years.
rake fins on the cars, among other things.

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OH! Maybe that's why we fly rite through the MCBR. LOL. But on FOF at PKD, It almost stops the ride at the MCBR. Why does FOF have it and Joker just has the straight track?

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Colin Fisher said:Why does FOF have it and Joker just has the straight track?

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See ApolloAndy's post about 3 up ^^^ ;)

Oh, I see, thanks.

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coasterguts said:

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prabe said:
I was under the impression that SFA didn't run Joker's Jinx during October. Maybe that's just after the leaves come off the trees (less sound deadening, and that thing is LOUD).

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JJ ran during FF last year. Not sure if it's running during FF this season. There has been a variety of reasons given for JJ not running during FF. Some of the reasons people give include it doesn't run well in cooler weather and a noise issue. The park has never gave the official reason for not running JJ during Fright Fest.

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Check out Coasterlover's TR from FF opening weekend.He said that JJ was indeed running,but no doubt watch that not be the case when I go there in a couple weeks from now.

From what I heard last season when I asked about why it doesn't run is that it is due to the trees losing foliage in the fall,thus greatly reducing the sound dampening ability & yes it's loud enough to hear from the parking lot....which is quite a ways off from the ride's location within the park.

They should enclose it like FOF, then it can even run in the rain too!

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prabe said:
I was under the impression that SFA didn't run Joker's Jinx during October. Maybe that's just after the leaves come off the trees (less sound deadening, and that thing is LOUD).

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You mean there are actually trees in SFA?

LOL in the surrounding area's yes, but not in SFA. Well the front of the park acually does have trees.

*** Edited 10/14/2005 10:19:54 AM UTC by Colin Fisher***

Around, Grant. Around. Definitly not 'In' the park.

IIRC, the original plans (or so I've heard) for Joker's Jinx was to have it enclosed. Perhaps they left it in the open to distinguish it from it's cousin a couple hours south.

Still don't understand that move, having a clone so close. Oh, wait, yes I do. They're completely different experiences. :)

Hm.. no trees in SFA, but Dorney is the one who is called a 'concrete jungle'? There are a LOT of trees in Dorney. The problem is that most of them are young and just planted in the past few years so they don't offer a lot of shade (yet).