Kingda Ka Construction Update

Center loading might be nice, but if it's anything like Gemini... it could get very, very, crowded.

Don't forget Stormrunner is also set up with a center station loading both sides..

After watching videos of all the exsiting rockets, it seems that the magnetic brakes work stronger on the train the steeper the track they are on. Storm Runner's brakerun is somewhat steep and the trains coming to a pretty gradual stop. Xcelerator has an extremly steep brakerun and it seems to stop abruptly. TTD's brakerun is the most gradual of all them and it slows down after 2 to 3 seconds, now I know that speed of the trains are much different as they enter the brakes, but does this have any sense to the design of Kingda Ka's downward brakerun other than the space issue?

Great Adventure Source has some awesome aerial pictures taken on January 9th. They really give you a sense of just how much taller Kingda Ka is than anything else in the park.

You can find them here.

Hate to bring back an old topic, but better than starting a new one, I guess...

http://www.sixflags.com/parks/greatadventure/images/golden_kingdom/89.jpg

Check out the above pic posted at the SFGAdv Official Webpage. Seems the ride is all but done, Also seems to prove that the brakes do start AFTER the peak of the airtime hill and not just at the top of that hill or even on the incline to that hill.

brakes after the peak are going to suck! they should have put a helix at the end of Storm Runner, and for KK they really should have installed the brakes after the hill...

I think the breaks are in the best place possible,, the train has to come to a stop sometime

In this picture it doesn't look like the brake run is very long, for it to be going as fast as it is.

http://www.gadv.com/Construction/1905/4.jpg

The break run isnt that long but its also not going as fast because it starts over 100 ft. in the air

B R A K E

LOL Joe! In another thread someone mentioned how a saleman "tride" to get him to buy something. Yes...T-R-I-D-E instead of T-R-I-E-D.

Don't pay attention to Joe, you had it far too right the first time. This is a rocket coaster, for moosh's sake...

Now going back into my little hole where I don't post.:)

Is it just me or do those 18 feet indeed add to the phallic appearance of KdKs structure as compared to TTD.

NO!!!!!!! 18 feet just wanted to get the record. COME ON. I still want to go on it tho. teehee

RCDB has recently updated their page with some beautiful pics taken from the top of Kingda Ka...

http://www.rcdb.com/ig2832.htm

Absolutly stunning! And I'm sure you'll enjoy this other pic taken by another source...

http://img228.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img228&image=dscn10272qu.jpg

How much fun would it be to unwrap that present!

Enjoy!

I think y'all are missing another key element in brake run placement.

The steeper the slope of the brakes, the faster the train will travel through the brake run and the far turn around. If the brakes were on a flat piece of track, the train probably wouldn't even make it around.

I only rode TTD twice, but I seem to remember a large part of the main block was the train creeping its way down the final brake section. If the brakes are on the steeper hill, the length of the block will be significantly shorter (than it would be if the brakes were flat).

Keep in mind that the Cedar Point ride was adjusted by removing a lot of brake fins so that the train wouldn't slow down any sooner than it had to. My guess is that as it stands now it'll come to a crawl near the end of the run and that they'll remove them at certain intervals until they get just the speed they want.

I guess this is a question directed more at Jeff, from his last comment, but anyone may reply to it assuming you know your stuff. ;)

Is it REALLY that easy to do, just to unscrew and remove the fins? Or does anything need to be changed or recalibrated? Would seem easy for the park to do then if it's just that simple, assuming they ever need a quick-fix.

They're just copper fins bolted to the track...

track photo

I'm sure they don't just blindly start pulling them off, but with Dragster at least it would take several minutes if the entire set of fins were in place. Just look at how long it takes for a rollback to, well, roll back to the launch area without dropping the fins now and then.

I seen a photo of Xcelerator a couple years back of a guy standing in a crane bucket next to track. He was measuring the speed of the train entring the brake run with a radar gun.

From that they can calculate the worst case scenario. Xcelerator and TTD have a lot of brakes that lower. The goal is to have the train need to use some of the brakes that lower but never need more than there are. They then simply unbolt the number of pairs of copper alloy plates to get good performace and still be on the conservative side.

Each pair have an exact amount of force with the given number of magnets mounted under the train. The two factors that determine the deceleration is the force produced and the time the force is used. There is likely an algebraic formulae that can have train speed, train mass, difference in height, magnetic flux, # of plates, and a friction compensation component. The answer would be an exit speed or energy. Let a trained monkey run those numbers through and figure out how many plates to remove.

I roughly estimate that around 3 full track lengths will be removed when compared to the other rides and the number of brakes each has after removal. This might give you a second longer before you hit the brakes.

In my opinion, the brakes add to the ride, especially on Xcelerator. I think that the brakes on Kingda Ka's hill will enhance the ride even moreso.