Kingda Ka complete circuit video

Moosh, you are too cute....(Literally! :-) )

Taking the ride from the TOP to the TUNNEL every chance possible......

Thanks, MI-CG ;)

It is not just a free fall like a drop ride. On TTD you get forced up off your seat going over the tophat and there is no force to counter that till the twist which pushes you back into your seat. It really does not do it all the way though since the negative g's are so strong. It is not the same up and down floating air you get on an impulse.

It really does not do it all the way though since the negative g's are so strong.

Just as I thought...stong neg G's. Maybe its time to put this topic to rest until the ride opens and then people know FOR SURE what the experience is like?

mOOSH [not a mod...but I play one on TV]

Okay, first off, the brakes. Just FYI, the brakes during testing are ALL ON and at FULL STRENGTH. The brakes on the top hat are optional brakes, you will RARELY see them being used, just a safety precaution. So, please don't worry about them, it's all for testing.

The brakes on the bunny hill apply also here. They aren't that strong, if you noticed the train crawled into station. There's a reason why it's called TESTING.

As for the rollercoaster, the OTSR are put on for the ride to open.

There is a good chance that if ALL GOES WELL, which is the big thing here, they will be taken off for lap bars.

I can't help but wonder that the brakes on the tophat is a new design. Wouldn't the magnetic brakes allow for a greater (and faster) 'range' of launch speeds? Without going into the physics of the mag brakes, it seems to me that KK could actually launch a little faster, knowing that the train would automatically slow as it crested the tophat.

Also, has it occurred to anyone that the brakes on the bunny hill could also enhance the ride experience? Here's why; remembering momentum, when the train slows as it enters the mag brakes, we (the riders) would normally continue our momentum forward (although very slight). Combining that force with the direction of the tophat or bunny hill, wouldn't the rider (based on momentum) tend to have a forward AND upward momentum, thus creating an 'out of control ride' type of feeling?

Granted, the effects would be minimal, but, at 400+feet or 80mph (that's a guess on my part) wouldn't it seem more apparent?

I'm not Rideman, but, it seems possible. Moosh is right, let's wait until we get some first hand experience before we critque the design.

Fever I really enjoy the Simpsons. It's just a shame that I am starting to LOOK like Homer.

I am sure that Kingda Ka will be just as exciting with the OTSR's as TTD is with lapbars. Moosh already explained it well enough.

If you rode Storm Runner you'd know that the OTSR's don't really detract from the ride unless you are a really tall or big person. To me those restraints are just as comfortable as any lapbar.

If I rode SFNE Superman with those restraints it would still be my favorite steel coaster. It wouldn't effect the ride itself.

Look at where Kingda Ka hits the brakes after the bunny hop. Its after where all of the negative G's would have already taken place. Just like Storm Runner you have already crested the the apex when you hit the brakes. When you are in the front seat it really makes no difference at all.

If you rode Storm Runner you'd know that the OTSR's don't really detract from the ride unless you are a really tall or big person.

It isn't a fact - as has been discussed in other threads, regardless of body proportions or height, some people find those restraints awful, some find them delightful. Opinions on those restraints will always vary from person to person - I'm not tall nor big and I hate those restraints...

Badnitrus it never really is a fact. Restraints are all a matter of opinion, and I have heard most of the dislike from tall people. In my experience with Storm Runner I have never had a problem with them.

My wife is 5'2" and she has to brace herself from getting hurt by Storm Runner through the inversions. Kingda Ka has no inversions, so the OTSR's will be acting more as a lapbar. It should make the ride much more comfortable for most people regardless of height and weight proportions. MY OPINION!

Actually those opinons are based on personal experience. You have one set of facts based on your experience, your wife has a completely different set of facts, and so does Keith [Badnitrus]. And via those facts you've formed an opinion.

Neither of you are wrong.

This may be so yesterday, but the brakes didn't drop because there was an Auto Mode Stop. That means an error occurred that knocked the ride out of auto mode. The drive tires can't run, brakes cannot lower, trains cannot be launched, and the trains can't be dispatched out of the station until the error is cleared. It won't stop a train from launching after the sequence has started.

E-stops will immediately stop everything regardless. E-stops and Auto Mode Stops can be activated either by a push button press or from the error coding in the PLC.

Son of Beast has lap bars. Will 36 feet feel that much higher you think?

Thank God! I could only imagine what that coaster would be like with shoulder restraints!

*** Edited 4/20/2005 5:28:18 AM UTC by RamblinWreck***

I mean about the 36 extra feet. You think it will feel any different to you as apposed to ttd?

makel said:
Okay, first off, the brakes. Just FYI, the brakes during testing are ALL ON and at FULL STRENGTH. The brakes on the top hat are optional brakes, you will RARELY see them being used, just a safety precaution. So, please don't worry about them, it's all for testing.
The brakes on the bunny hill apply also here. They aren't that strong, if you noticed the train crawled into station. There's a reason why it's called TESTING.
As for the rollercoaster, the OTSR are put on for the ride to open.
There is a good chance that if ALL GOES WELL, which is the big thing here, they will be taken off for lap bars.

Wow, and people call you their idol over at Gadv.com. Those trims are there to stay unless they unbolt them from the track. The whole lap bars thing made me laugh though. Matt

RavenTTD said:
On TTD you get forced up off your seat going over the tophat and there is no force to counter that till the twist which pushes you back into your seat.

You still haven't explained how lateral force results in you being "pushed into your seat" (which would be vertical force). Personally, I thought Dragster's descent felt just like a drop tower in a different position (facing vertical instead of horizontal). You're pushed into your seat because of vertical forces, not because of the twist.

makel said:
The brakes on the top hat are optional brakes, you will RARELY see them being used, just a safety precaution.

Seriously, dude, you need to learn how magnetic brakes function before you post. The brakes on the tophat will always be on.

There is a good chance that if ALL GOES WELL, which is the big thing here, they will be taken off for lap bars.

Yeah right. It's not going to happen.

-Nate

I think it's a good way to describe TTD and KK as a drop tower ride. Though it looks much different and does different things, the experience is short and provides a very extreme ride. It's the common misperception when these rides are compared to other coasters. These two ride really fit into a class of their own, since they things not usually found on other rides.

The theory is that as the train spins, the centripital acceleration (if the axis of rotation is above the center or mass of the rider, which I'm not sure it is) will exert a force in the seatward direction. My impression is that the axis of rotation is either below or close enough to the CoM of a rider that this will not make a difference.

I also don't buy this argument because the upward shot (and S:TE) have similar situations and the rider is in no more or less danger of falling out than on the downward drop.

Hobbes: "What's the point of attaching a number to everything you do?"
Calvin: "If your numbers go up, it means you're having more fun."

Seriously, dude, you need to learn how magnetic brakes function before you post. The brakes on the tophat will always be on.

And you know this because ..........

Personally I agree with Makel,there is no proof yet that the trims will always be on and they certaintly look like optional/safety brakes to me, also they would be testing them out at present just to see if they work ok. It looks like to me that if the train somehow goes over a certain speed over the tophat, then the brakes will kick in, otherwise they should leave it alone.
Even they do turn them on, I suspect they will gradually be turned off within a few months/years

There is a good chance that if ALL GOES WELL, which is the big thing here, they will be taken off for lap bars.

Well this definatly wont happen, lets not forget that Six Flags put in a lawsuit against Intermin over the Superman Incident so there is no way they would allow them to change them to LapBars so sorry but they are there to stay weather people like them or not.

PaulD said:
Personally I agree with Makel,there is no proof yet that the trims will always be on and they certaintly look like optional/safety brakes to me

Uh, check again.

The brakes at the top of Kingda Ka's tophat are fixed magnetic brakes. That is, they don't move. Since you can't "turn off" magnetic brakes, and since they're permenantly fixed to the track, they're always going to be on. Like I said, people should learn how magnetic brakes work before posting about them.

-Nate