Hypothetical: rotating seats for tower rides?

A thought just hit me: is there a specific reason why rotating seats a'la X haven't been coupled with a space shot/drop tower yet? Imagine launching up face upwards and rotating 180 degrees in the top of the tower and falling down facing the ground (or vice versa).

Of course, there's the question of expenses - rotating seats would require added mechanics and raise the cost of the ride. Restraints would also require special care as they would have to hold riders' body weight without being uncomfortable. Other than that, I don't see problems with it. There are already tilting restraints so Intamin and S&S seem to be flirting with the idea. However, why not go all the way?

Edit: here's a sketch I made (can also be found in post #6)
http://www.saunalahti.fi/~soilek/kuvat/s&s_rotating_seats.jpg
*** Edited 8/24/2004 10:13:26 AM UTC by Drift***

I think seats a'la X would be so cool. You could be rotated to face straight up, straight down or facing up or down when you launch/drop. That wouldrock!

I want in on that action. Those seats sound pretty badass! Drift, here's a thought. Since the thought "just hit you," why not sketch out a rough design yourself and see where it goes?

Isn't that essentially what an S&S Sky Sling does?

-Nate

True, but you're in a cage. If I get what he's talking about, the seats would be like X in that they rotate the way the mfg. wanted it to...Still a Good Idea, esp. on Drop Towers and not Shot towers.

Well, here's a rough sketch based on S&S's own picture of one of their space shots. The modified seats are on the left side.

http://www.saunalahti.fi/~soilek/kuvat/s&s_rotating_seats.jpg *** Edited 8/24/2004 10:09:39 AM UTC by Drift***

S&S did it with the first version of Absolutely In_ane, that slingshot-type ride that fell down at Cedar Point. I never understood why they didn't just mount that ride vehicle on a Space Shot tower. And I REALLY don't understand why they added the cage when they redesigned the ride.

The original design for that ride was really dumb, with restraints that had to be individually fitted to riders before boarding, with only six seats, and with a crew bigger than the load. There was no way that thing could make money as an upcharge attraction, and it was way too low capacity to survive on a POP.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I like Drift's idea.....sick! :-D

-Tina

According to this article on Screamscape S&S are already developing tilting seat retrofits for their rides. It says they already have ones that tilt to 40 degrees, and want to push it even further.

And Screamscape is known in the community for its accuracy. ;)

or you can have two seperate towers with long top-spin-like rows in the middle.... :) -- holding, oh say... 60+ people...

*whistles*

*** Edited 8/24/2004 6:11:48 PM UTC by SFDL_Dude***

This isn't just their normal rumor mill, this is an article about visiting the on-site test facility during the brief time it opened to the public to debut the Screaming Squirrel, the Sky Swatter, the new program for combo towers, and these tilting seats.

There really was something on the S&S site about seats that tilt about 40 degrees. I don't know if it's still on the site, though.

IIRC, there were no pictures involved, either.

What if each of those rotating seats could be rider controled? YOU choose the ride experience you want, and each time you ride can be unique. TWISTED!

S&S tilting seats have already been deployed on Volcanic Impact at Fantasy Island. I've ridden it, and I don't think the tilting is more than about twenty degrees. It is, however, a cool addition.

http://www.fantasyisland.co.uk/rides-impact.htm

they need to have freely rotating ones, like on the slingshots.