FRMPEI said:
Prehaps good old Stan should stick to throwing babies up in the air and catching them. Maybe he should of went to school and studied engineering! Stan took great pleasure in making fun of poor old Ron Toomer -
Can you tell I am not a big fan of S&S?Regards,
Kevin Reid
PCW Junkies on Ride Photos of Fear
-----------------
We are paid by those who have learned from our mistakes.
Ya know Stan has only made succesfull rides since the mid 90's with countless numbers of towers that have nearly if not perfect safety records. I believe he is doing just fine with his engineering. The VertiGO accident was just an oversight in designing and Hypersonic was a prototype and some rides every once in a while need some track re working early on.
Amen, Spongebob. About the Toomer comment, it's not like Toomer acts ashamed about not riding his machines. He says that he doesn't ride them in every interview.
Regarding the engineering comment. It's not like Stan does the engineering. He has a huge staff. In fact, I bet he doesn't do much of the engineering at all nowadays.
-----------------
- Peabody
2Hostyl: I was surprised to hear that you would ride a boomerang any day over Volcano. That's surprising given how unique Volcano is.
Yes, I agree somewhat with you, Intamin Fan, FoF is somewhat less bruising without the OTS restraints. I can remember the first types of OTSR's they had on that ride -they were textured somehow on the insides. When I got off FoF, my ears were BURNING.
I rode Grizzly this past summer, Jim Fisher, and I couldn't tell it had been modified. I thought the first drop was somewhat good, but the horseshoe turn did CRAWL like a brown-nosing dork to his schoolteacher when he wanted extra credit (how's that for stretching a metaphor to death). I specifically thought the entrance into the tunnel was the roughest. I don't know, that coaster just doesn't do it for me.
I never rode Hypersonic when it had OTSR's (I never even knew it did). But I thought the transition at the top of the hill was too fast - someone's going to pop a brain aneurysm sooner or later. And while I overall LIKED the feeling (and even the takeoff for that matter), it didn't like it well enough to ride it again. And that, I guess, is my mark of a really good ride - it's "rerideability."
I think PKD has done some great things over the past couple of years, but to me, the coasters as a whole comprise a significantly weaker ranking than those at other parks.
Thanks for the feedback. I expected that one would get some flack, but I still respectfully disagree with you on these points.
Boomerangs on the other hand, make me smile (though I've only ridden two).
And Hypersonic never had OTSRs. When it was still in Stans back yard, it did. But once it make the trip to VA, it was lapbars only.
-------------
Besides, if we were really shutting down people we disagreed with, would Jeremy (2Hostyl) still be around? :) I think not. - Jeff 1/24/02
this really stinks...not that i dont believe you guys, but is there a press release somewhere saying all this?? id just kinda like to hear or read it for myself.....i for one LOVED hypersonic, except for the final brake. but that launch, airtime, and drop were out of this world.....if this is true, then hopefully they will have it open very soon....
Tim (who, if this is true, stands with 2Hostyl as to whether or not he will spend his hard earned Starbucks paycheck on a PKD pass....)
-----------------
ROLLERCOASTERS....BETTER THAN OXYGEN BABY!!!!!!
ophthodoc said:I never rode Hypersonic when it had OTSR's (I never even knew it did). But I thought the transition at the top of the hill was too fast - someone's going to pop a brain aneurysm sooner or later.
Hypersonic didn't have OTSRs. Thurst Air 2000 did (the prototype at the S&S factory, most of which was moved to PKD.) If you think H:TBC is short, that thing was shorter. It was lauch, vertical up, vertical down, turn, turn, brake. Looked like a blast (no pun intended.)
Oh, and any coaster can pop a brain anyerism, even if it has zero negative gs (again, no pun intended.) Heck, sneezing can pop one! I bet even sitting in a recliner can pop one! I doubt that was not a factor at all in it's changes.
-----------------
Yatta!
Hey, look, I have a signature now! Even if it is only Yatta...
-----------------
Al Gore - Pre Election... "These guys work for big business."
Al Gore - Present Day.... "How much does your investment firm want to pay me???
FRMPEI said:
Prehaps good old Stan should stick to throwing babies up in the air and catching them. Maybe he should of went to school and studied engineering! Stan took great pleasure in making fun of poor old Ron Toomer - Can you tell I am not a big fan of S&S?
Regards,
Kevin Reid
PCW Junkies on Ride Photos of Fear
-----------------
Thou that talketh bad on thy Stan shal be sentenced to life in firery hell... YOU BASTARD.-----------------
- Stupid People Shouldn't Breath...
-----------------
RCDB!!!!!!!!
*** This post was edited by Force_Freak on 3/9/2002. ***
Buzz Head said:
Seems to me that it is an acceleration problem. They shoudl slow the launch to a speed just sufficient to crest the top. Then... no more problem! No trims needed either.
Well, the thing barely crests at all, it's just so unbelievably tight that it makes extreme Gs. If it was slowed down at all it would hardly ever make it. (It's not trimed on the way up, either. Those brakes are for rollbacks. I've never seen them used on the way up, but I've sure seen them used on the way down!)
-----------------
- Peabody
The roll back issue may be a major factor in the redesign. Broaden the top a little and you can carry more speed across the top without excessive negative G's. That give you more room for error without having a roll back.
As for launch acceleration, it really isn't that bad. It's a real adrenaline kick, but 2 G's pushing you back in your well designed seat isn't physically a stressful as the forces on many coasters.
You nailed it Jim. After seeing video of Dodonpa going over it's much more drawn out crest, I believe that will solve LOTS of problems. (Not to mention the tires to give the train a nudge if necessary!) I'm sure there will still be plenty of air.
My Japanese friends (although they don't personally work there) have told me that Dodonpa has been operating very well all winter.
-----------------
- Peabody
Jim Fisher: Sorry, I misread your comment.
Gonzo: You should really spell "breathe" with the extra "e" at the end if you're going to use it as your signature (!).
TrBiggar: I think you would have to agree that the chances of popping a brain aneurysm are a "little" higher on Hypersonic than just your average walk in the park. While it is true that increases in intracranial pressure will cause an aneurysm to rupture, there have been no documented cases in the medical literature describing 1.) sneezing, or 2.) sitting in or reclining in a recliner as independent, isolated risk factors. But to answer your comment more succinctly (and this is getting WAAY off subject, but TrBiggar seems to be an expert on this), no, people with aneurysms sneeze all the time without rupturing an aneurysm. As to whether risk for injury was a factor in changing/closing Hypersonic, I am not certain; I wasn't the one who decided to close it temporarily. You would have to talk to Paramount's Kings Dominion or those who designed Hypersonic.
(I just can't type well today, hence the three edits. Sorry!).
*** This post was edited by ophthodoc on 3/9/2002. ***
*** This post was edited by ophthodoc on 3/9/2002. ***
*** This post was edited by ophthodoc on 3/9/2002. ***
I can understand PKD/S&S wanting to redesign the crest if there is too much force on the structure, but I loved H:XLC just like it was. All four times I rode it were incredible with no complaints at all. You can best believe I will still love it even after any modifications.... as long as they don't tamper with that insane launch. I hate that it will be down indefinately, but to me it is well worth the wait. H:XLC is one radical ride that has won me over no matter what.
Lorrie - Defending and promoting H:XLC till the end!
My guess is that they were waiting to see how Dodonpa behaves, and that they are intending to implement some of the Dodonpa design enhancements on Hypersonic. Hey, anything that aids in the reliability of that ride has to be a good thing. The day that I failed to ride it, I suspect that most of the troubles they were having related to the ride controls and the brakes...I saw no rollbacks, or other obvious problems, but the thing went down twice while I was waiting in line before I finally bailed out on it.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
In defense of Stan's engineers an VertiGo, the results were put up (Screamscape has the text here http://www.screamscape.com/html/cedar_point.html ) and the problem apparently lay with vortex shedding when the cars and supporting cables are not hooked up in the off season. It appears to be something that was not considered when the designs were put together and tested. (I leave it up to you to decide if it was still S&S's fault for not thinking that some parks would partially dismantle a ride in the off season).
Second, the thrill seekers loved the extreme air (as evident in the above posts), but if the original problem is that the ride is tearing itself apart, then that needs ot be fixed as well as the complaints of pain during the transition. It would be a rare park to decide that the small thrill seeker percentage that can withstand and enjoy something like this is more valuable than the majority general public who is looking for something less extreme. It doesn't make good business sense and we need to respect that part of it. It's also possible that they spent all this time trying to keep as much of the thrill as possible while still smoothing out those problems.
These things can't be fixed overnight, and from the looks of things, I'd say they're doing what they can to make sure it's still a quality ride that can be enjoyed by as many people as possible.
You must be logged in to post