Flying Turns Update

^Apparently, you're correct. And I don't even have a membership card to surrender. :)

Am I reading right that there's only one 5-car train being finished right now? It would be cool if it were operational at PPP-- I just don't know how Knoebels' intends to open it.

Say they do have it open at PPP-- does anyone think they might run it on those October Saturday events they run? There's been a lot of interest among locals about the ride.

Thanks for the update as I usually look here first for updates first, sounds cool. As far as things go I'll make it the 6th.

Another update on RRC from Coastin Steve. Unfortunately it's not good news:

Well boys and girls, despite Dick's inspirational pep talks over
the last few weeks. And the carpentry crew busting our backs to get the
track done (the track WILL be ready for the train to roll by the end of
this week )
Delays on getting the train assembled, and the remaining less than 2
weeks, have made it impossible for us to get the Flying Turns open to
ride for the PPP. 8-(
( there's just too much testing and fine tuning to do before it will be
ready to ride )
We're fairly sure we'll have the train on track by then and hope
you'll come to the PPP and watch it SILENTLY roll and talk to us, as
we run the train thru the testings that we need to do.

As I said in one of my previous posts. The controling bumpers
<funnels> where the train goes from trough to track, couldn't be
developed w/ the 2 test chassis. It needs the full 5 car train so the
exact ride path can be seen and the controling bumpers designed and
built from there.

hope to see you at the PPP 8-)

Flying Turns carpenter
Coastin Steve

http://community.webtv.net/Coastin_Steve/FlyingTurnsFotosbyCS

Well, at least we'll get to watch it. :) It should be ready to go next spring then. :)

http://dalado.smugmug.com/gallery/3182941/12

D.

Is this really a bad thing?

Believe me, I'm as excited as anyone to give this thing a try- not enough can be said about Knoebels, Mr. Fetterman and the entire Flying Turns crew for hatching this idea and having the nececssary faith to bring it to life, but maybe an official grand opening next April wouldn't be so horrible?

Look at it this way. If the thing opens at PPP with one train and more than a thousand in attendance, there's going to be a line of hundreds waiting for a chance at it. It would be perfectly reasonable to expect that the entire Phunfest evening could be spent on line for one single ride. If the ride waits to open with a full set of trains in 2008, there'll be no hard feelings... no "I didn't get to do anything else at Phunfest aside from the Turns"... no "Everyone's telling me how great the ride is but I didn't feel like waiting in line so now I have to think about it all winter long"... no, well, you get the idea. No one will be driving to Knoebels expecting some miracle to take place and get there only to be horrendously disappointed.

Perhaps that all sounds weird... just trying to look at this from a different angle. ;)

Flying Turns or not I'm coming to PPP. The park and event is so much more than just that.

^Agreed. The Pizza and Birch Beer alone make the trip worth while. :)

Yup.

I'm amazed at how many people have told me that they're skipping PPP if the Turns isn't running? Why? Phunfest is fun with Phoenix and Twister, just as it was fun before Twister came along.

I'm still hoping to get there, I'm sure I will its all just financial at this point, but It still looks good to go and I am just excited it would be my first PPP. The updates are still appreciated and I agree a full fledged summer opening with all trains would be much better. Plus it will still be there, just about fully built, and we'll see it run, thats what I'm most excited about seeing.

*** Edited 9/25/2007 6:00:31 AM UTC by P18***

Hope it stays nearly as warm as it's been this week. (Note I said nearly, not exactly-- I want to feel somewhat like fall) Entering the parade this year, Moosh?

Yup, as part of another group costume ;)

I'm going to dress up as a Geauga Lake tombstone.

I'm a little late to the party in terms of posting, but anyway:

Definitely disappointing that Flying Turns won't be open this season, but I'd rather them get everything perfect than rush through just to get it open for PPP. As for the people that aren't going to PPP because of Turns, you're missing out big time. I went in '03 and '04, met some people from here, and some people whose names I never got, and had an amazing time. I'm probably not going to go this year, due to lack of funds and not knowing anybody. My best rides on Twister have all come during PPP.

Being within 20 minutes of it makes the wait a little easier, because I didn't plan a specific trip around it, and I can go whenever and I won't miss it. It's not like the experience I had with SheiKra, when I was in Tampa about 2 weeks before it opened and I missed it. Now, I may have to wait a few years to even get in the state again.

My countdown to Opening Day '08 starts....now.

Here is pics and video of FT testing from yesterday.

http://www.gadv.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13122&st=0&#entry332135

I had thought they would be testing with all 5 cars, but at least they were testing with a car and a half.

Dick Knoebel said that it would have only seatbelts.

I'm a little worried about how close the transfer track comes to the Flyers. (For anyone who was there last night, no explanation is necessary. For anyone who wasn't, no explanation is possible.)

Nice videos. I'm actually surprised as to how fast the train was going through that turn. That definitely looks promising, as I thought it would be much slower.

Had a good time during the Octberfest. Even met one or two people from
online. Anyhow, it was great to see the Turns running even if it was
with one and a half cars. The turnout fro the crafts was insane, as
they just about ran out of parking. Over 300 crafts came with alot of
great additions. Those photos along with the photos of the Phunfest
can be found in the Park album. My Turns photos can be found in the
other. Enjoy!

Larry D.

Turns--> http://dalado.smugmug.com/gallery/3182941/13
Park--> http://dalado.smugmug.com/gallery/3183016/4 *** Edited 10/8/2007 1:36:08 AM UTC by The Lado***

We arrived on the loading platform immediately after a test run. We didn't get to see another one (not sure if there was another one that night) but I had a great conversation with Coastin' Steve. From what I've seen of the trains, they are really something special. I'd say I can't wait for this ride to debut but that's like saying the sun is hot.

I didn't get to see any of the testing, but since there were only a few people on the platform at the time, it was a good opportunity to ask questions of the crew. The station is absolutely beautiful too-- so bright with the uplights and the arched metal surface.

They mentioned that the lift chains will use water instead of oil for lubrication because they absolutely don't want oil in the trough areas. They're also hoping that when they're able to test a full length train, the additional cars will keep the whole train in line going through the turns. But they won't know until they actually try it.

Several of the crew were debating what modifications they think should be done to the cars to maximize safety for passengers without reducing accessibility. Mostly where people can place their hands.

The dispatch procedure will be interesting too. They're confident they'll be able to keep 3 trains running continuously. There will be several cameras placed along the course to help the ops follow the position of the trains, since they won't be visible, or even audible. And there will be an op located in the brake run as well. Definitely a lot of thought has gone into this beyond what most of us could have imagined.