Inverted's and straight drops.

First off before you do a search, I know this has been brought up before. However, I feel that the "impossiblility" of an inverted coaster having a straight drop is no longer impossible. I don't know this for sure but doesn't Jubilee Odyssey have a pretty darn straight drop? I know it turns but doesn't it turn before it actually drops? I think that's what I see from the pictures I know there's a tad bit of banking on the first drop but can this be a change in inverts?

-----------------
Tuesday's Gone With The Wind.
Elijah Rock.
Is it written in the stars?
La Vie Boheme!!!

Of course its possible...But the curve occurs for space restriction purposes most of the time.

-----------------
Im the #1 Canobie Lake Park Fan!!!These are my top 3 coasters:
1. S:RoS @ SFNE 2. Yankee Cannonball 3. Cyclone/B:TDK

It's just that it was discussed in the other post (many moons ago) that it was not possible because the cars of the train would easily collide or something like that.

-----------------
Tuesday's Gone With The Wind.
Elijah Rock.
Is it written in the stars?
La Vie Boheme!!!

I think Fire Dragon at IOA has a hill, so its kind of like a straight drop. I would think that if it was too tight the cars could be too close together, but I'm sure the manufacturers would take that inot account.

-----------------
Dave Bonnetti

You know, I never thought of this. But I mean, Raptor's drop is pretty straight, for the most part...

-----------------
Magnum is Red,
Millenium Force is Blue.
I love Wicked Twister
And Raptor too.

Inverters could easily handle straight drops, but curved drops are put in to enhance the ride. Curved Drops on inverters give that "kick the sky" feeling that can't be achieved on sitdowns. Nobody is stopping anyone from making straight drops on inverts. Parks get what they want.

-----------------
Never Has Gravity Been So Uplifting.

*** This post was edited by BullGuy on 9/20/2002. ***

You could make a straight drop on an inverted, I'm sure, but why would you want to? One of the coolest things about inverted rides is when you swing out over the midway, and (no matter how many times you've ridden them) you realize just what you've gotten yourself into...

I'm, a major fan of straight drops on regular coasters. But I just don't see why they would be much fun on inverted coasters. Just ride the impuses and Deja Vus. They do have straight drops, though not quite what you had in mind.

I know SOMEONE will disagree with me but I view GB at HP as haveing a straight drop.

Curved drops on inverted coasters are mainly for the view of the riders who aren't in the front. It allows for more room to see the sky and ground durring the first drop.

At least that is what I am to understand.

Like NitroExplodes said, DD Fire has a very nice airtime hill in which the bottom of each seat are as close as they can get to one another on that ride. I have never heard of any accidents or dangers due to this, although I will admit that I have been able to streach my long legs out and touch the seat in front of me durring this element.

-----------------

Ok people are asking me why I would want straight drops. I never said squat about me wanting a straight drop, I just thought that what was once, in the post a while ago, considered impossible is no longer impossible, because if I'm not mistaken Jubilee Odyssey is the first complete circuit inverted coaster with a straight drop.

-----------------
Tuesday's Gone With The Wind.
Elijah Rock.
Is it written in the stars?
La Vie Boheme!!!

*** This post was edited by SFGAMDie HARD on 9/21/2002. ***

i don't think they were specifically asking YOU why you wanted one, but more of a rhetorical question in general about the value of a straight drop.

anyway, i agree that the curved drops give the people behind the first car a view of what's going on, which is always essential in this type of coaster. Plus, it gives more of a natural, bird-in-flight feel to it.

Jubilee Odyssey doesn't have a straight drop. At least, in so far as being in line with the lift hill. But, there exist many other inverts with straight drops after a curve, with Raptor (and Orochi) and Great Bear being good examples.

An invert could be designed with a straight drop right off the lift, and easily at that. It's just a matter of making the radius of the downward curve at the start of the drop large enough to maintain a safe clearance between the cars.

I, for one, would love to see an invert with a straight drop. The airtime going into Great Bear's first drop is awesome.

-----------------

Deja Vu? I can't believe that hasn't been brought up yet. That's as straight as they come.

-----------------

The thing is that Deja Vu's track always curves "upwards" relative to the direction of movement, which means that the cars are never pushed closer together. It's very easy to kick the seat in front of you (in the A rows) as it is.

-----------------
My two favorite coasters are both named Superman.
Nitro, Gemini, Laser, Ice, Thunder...The American Gladiators!

You don't WANT riders to be easily able to kick the seats in front of them.....it could become a safety issue too easily....the curving drop prevents the seats from "bowing" together, thus having riders with extended legs from getting hurt.....DV is different in that the "bent" track occurs at the bottom of the track, meaning the seats "bow" outward rather than inward, much safer that way....

So what do we "forfeit" for this additioonal safety? Airtime...some inverts feature a bit of float (see: Fire Dragon, Montu, even GB has a *little*) but overall, I'll take the safety over the airtime....even me....;)

-----------------
Cornwallis, swim for your life or you're gonna get caught in the whirlpool."
I have ridden the future, and it's name is......X!

Alpengeist has a steep straight drop after the brake run. When I sit in the last car, it gives me that butterfly feeling in my stomach.

I thought that the rows were all hooked together

-----------------
Cedar Point: America's Rockin' Roller Coast!

The problem is on B&M inverts, the seats would collide around your knees, but by curving, you avoid collision. Raptor may be mostly straight, but it has a bank and turn at the top to put it into the angle.

I THINK Vekomas can do straight drops.

-----------------
Arrow Engineer: "Well, we just tested the prototype Suspended with an inversion and the car broke off the stick thing. We plan to reuse the stick things on a future prototype called a 4th dimension."

I dont get why the cars would collide. That makes no sense to me. There all connected and cannot move like into each other??? Explain

-----------------
If practice makes perfect but noone is perfect, then why practice.

Boz: If the spacing between cars stays the same at the track, then the spacing becomes closer at foot level when the track curves downward suddenly, and increases when the track curves up. \!/ Draw a curve over the 3 marks and you should get the general idea.

Of course a straight drop can be done. You just have to match the radius of the curve with the spacing of the cars. The problem is that either the downward curve has to have a large radius which makes it difficult to get a steep hill, or the train gets longer which also causes problems.

*** This post was edited by Jim Fisher on 9/22/2002. ***

The radius of curvature would have to be pretty big, however, for the seats to collide. The seats don't collide on FD or TG:TJC when they do the bunny hop, do they? Straight drops are possible, but just can't be done excesively. Even on curved drops, the seats do not completely escape the frame of the row in front of them, so any angle that can be achieve on a curved drop could be done on a straight drop.

It all goes back to the question: Are straight drops any better? I don't think so, and neither do most riders.

-----------------
My two favorite coasters are both named Superman.
Nitro, Gemini, Laser, Ice, Thunder...The American Gladiators!