Kingda Ka Construction Update

For how many times the trains rollback it'd wouldn't be worth it if the tires were to stop the train that high up with people in it. Taking people out at 420 or 456 feet isn't worth the risk. They should find a solution to reseting the system after a roll back much quicker and get the train positioned to launch again more quickly. If that can be done rollbacks wouldn't hurt the capacity nearly as much.

Because any moving parts at 420' are a pain in the you know what to maintain.

---

MrX said:

---

Jeff said:
Andy's right... those brakes are way over the top at the point where the front car is beyond its highest negative G's.

---

It's not really the front seat that they are worried about. Even with the "overlaunch" that they seem to be implementing on Ka, the negative G's are not going to be too high on the ascent.

---

This is simply wrong. The front seat and the back seat undergo the same forces when cresting the hill. The front will be even more intense because it's slowing down as it crests the hill rather than speeding up (i.e. you get launched into the lap bar in addition to be launched out of your seat).

It's not wrong at all. The arc is sharp enough that the direction of forces on your body is drastically different at each end of the train. Negative G's by definition are forces that pull your body in a direction away from and perpendicular to that point on the track. If the entire train experiences the same force vector, i.e., away from the ground, then that direction for each rider relative to their seated position is different.

But they don't experience the same force vector at the same time. They do experience the same force vector at different times.

As each seat crests the apex of the hill, the force vector points away from the track (which is directly up into the air) with a magnitude of:

F= mv/r^2

Since the front seat of the train and the rear seat of the train crest the top at the same speed (ignoring brakes or friction) because the CoM is at the same height, the magnitude of the vector at the crest of the hill is the same. Granted, the front of the train hits this point before the back of the train, but the actual force vector is the same.

Of course, the difference is that when the front of the train crests the peak of the hil, it's gone through the first part of the hill faster than the back of the train will and when the back of the train hits the drop, it does so faster than the front of the train did, but the peak intensity of force (the apex of the hill) has an identical vector for both the front and the back of the train. *** Edited 3/16/2005 6:26:09 PM UTC by ApolloAndy***

That's exactly what I said, and not what you said in your previous post. Like I said, it's the same force on the entire train, but the direction differs relative to each human body on the train.

I still don't understand your point. Let's work on that (before I try to decide whether I agree or not).

Are you saying that as each row crests the apex of the hill it expereinces the same force but in a different direction?

This may have been asked before and if so - sorry, but on TTD at the apex, are there not notches cut into the track so that the brake fins or 'whatever' make it over without scraping? So, in my theory wouldn't a brake need to be on a flat surface rather than a curved one?

The fins are on the track, not the trains. The trains have the magnets. The notches are for the catch dog. So no, the brake doesn't need to be on a flat surface (for instance, there are brakes all the way down the bunny hill).

Assuming a constant radius, every car would ideally feel the same force at the same time, but you have to factor in gravity. If the front car is at the very crest, and horizantal, there is a chance that the upward force is cancelled out by the downward force resulting in a net of 0, where the last train is still at an angle, so it will feel a net force that the front car does not.

I start by posting this amusing picture from SFGAdv and say "Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!":

http://www.sixflags.com/parks/greatadventure/images/golden_kingdom/95.jpg

And because I figure you want to see the rest of the Kinda Ka and Golden Kingdom construction pics, here's th link:

http://www.sixflags.com/parks/greatadventure/golden_kingdom/photos5.html

The station really seems to be coming along nicely as does the "Temple of the Tiger." Enjoy!

They just posted a great time lapse video. I know I didn't see this coming. Especially on the web :)

http://www.sixflags.com/parks/greatadventure/index.asp

Not to be *too* picky, but is that equation right? It should be F = MV^2/R, I'm thinking? Oh well, doesn't matter too much, I'm just bored right now!

Good! Cory has been paying attention in Physics.

The link to the timelapse video isn't working for me. Can anyone provide a suggestion, or more direct link.

I might be blind, but I couldn't see any of the mentioned breaking fins on the top of the tower in that video. Will they be added later?

I'm really curious to see how the airtime hill will feel - it seems rather flat, and the breaking fins start right after the apex, but the speed is so high on the other hand.

I speculate it's going to pull you out of the seat and then start braking the train when you're in mid-air.

Should be an interesting experience.

I'm sorry gang if this has been asked and answered already, but what exactly is diferent in the launch system between Dragster and Kingda Ka? I have heard a lot of talk about Kingda's "improved" launch system over Dragster's....but am not sure what exactly has been changed?

-M.-

I think that the single biggest change has been the location of the launch equipment.

TTD's launch system is in place about 3/4ths of the way down the launch track, allowing space for a small straightaway, then the ascent up the hill.

KK's launch building is housed around the bottom of the hill, so that small space of straight track has been removed, so to speak. While in actuality the track still exists, it is further used to allow more acceleration. There is basically just more time, and space, to allow for speed to be gained during the launch.

Pics can be found on both if you care to look into it. :)

Many differences are impossible to tell what exactly they are improving on. Some are more obvious.

1) There are 8 pumps instead of 4.
2) The launch acceleration is higher. The distance needed to accelerate from 0-128 in 3.5 seconds is about 380 feet. 0-120 in 4 seconds takes about 470 feet. I can't accuretly tell, but both launches appear to the about the same lenght. I need a better photo that shows Kingda Ka's full launch showing catch car brakes to compare the two.
3) I assume that Kingda Ka has a longer catch car brake run than TTD. Cannot confirm.
4) There are several new componets attached to Kingda Ka's hydraulics that are not connected to TTD's. I cannot identify some of these parts. Oil cooling, filtration, or other components.
5) There appears to be seperate reverse motors attached to the gearbox as opposed to TTD which uses the same motors to reverse. I cannot confirm is this is true.
6) The pumps appear to be slightly larger than those used on TTD.
7) There are many more return hoses that attach to the valve unit and other devices.
8) Larger Hydraulic room for faster pump, motor, and other equipment replacement.
9) Air cooling as opposed to water cooling. I don't know of any system advantages, but this will prevent death of fish in nearby water source.

This is purly from looking at the pictures. There may be other changes that cannot be seen at this point.

Air cooling won't work nearly as well as the water cooling if this is what they're really using...

I'm pretty sure that Hershey's used a chiller to chill the water then the water runs through a gasketed-plate type heat exchanger to cool the hydraulic fluid. I believe that the water was kept in a closed circuit for Hershey's since they had the chiller. As for CP, I'm not sure what they're using, but I've heard they dump the heat load into the lagoons.

Anyway, I just have to wonder how effective air will be since, supposedly, CP had issues with the fluid overheating on Dragster and they used water?

See, I paid attention in all 6 of my thermal science classes too! =)