Kings Dominion announces Intimidator 305

So, like a few dollars per seat, plus installation?

Yeah, I'd say about that. It depends on the switch, the deal they can get on a large quantity, and the labor cost.

You'd be talkin about $500 for parts and 8 hours labor PER TRAIN. So, if you bill labor at $70 an hour (lowballing, of course), you'd be in for $450 of labor per train.

Grand total: $950 per train, or about $2,000 for a two train coaster.

Then again, I may be a shade off in my estimates, but I THINK I might be close.

The switches are already there! The trick is that all the seats in each car are wired in series to form a sensing loop. The reason for doing that is to dramatically simplify the telemetry from the train to the console:

                             /     /     /     /     /     /
restraint_OK_signal_car_n___/ .___/ .___/ .___/ .___/ .___/ ._________gnd
                            s1    s2    s3    s4    s5    s6

What they would have to do would be to replace the SPST switches with DPST switches. Use one pole for the existing circuit, use the other pole for a "go" indicator at each seat.

                             /     /     /     /     /     /
restraint_OK_signal_car_n___/|.___/|.___/|.___/|.___/|.___/|.___________gnd
                             |s1   |s2   |s3   |s4   |s5   |s6
                             |/    |/    |/    |/    |/    |/
+v__________________________./ .  ./ .  ./ .  ./ .  ./ .  ./ .
                            |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
                            |__)__|__)__|__)__|__)__|__)__|  |___0___. l6
                               |     |     |     |     |_________0___| l5
                               |     |     |     |_______________0___| l4
                               |     |     |_____________________0___| l3
                               |     |___________________________0___| l2
                               |_________________________________0___| l1
                                                                     |/\
                                                                     /\ \
                                                                     \ \(gnd)
                                                                      \

Your wiring challenge is to take six switches which are wired in series and figure out how to get parallel indicators from them. :) Oh, and remember it must be fail-safe. :)

--Dave Althoff, Jr

Okay, Rideman. Now you're just showing off. :)

But thanks for that very interesting schematic.

^^When you put it like that, it all seems so elementary. ;)

I think I see where the flux capacitor hooks up!

^ But where's the power source for the 1.21 jiggawats? I don't see Mr. Fusion anywhere!

It got buried under the coaster when they built Krustyland...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

^^^^^^^ (or whatever)

Wow. I have no idea what just happened, but I think I need a cigarette.

In the Closeup wallpaper (the 4th one shown) the creepy computer-generated riders are all sitting rigidly erect despite the physics involved in a snap roll of about 155 degrees to the left.

More appropriate would be the folks up front (who have completed the roll) holding their head or ears in pain while the riders behind them wince as they slam into the right shoulder restraint. Maverick riders at CP have developed a slew of techniques to deal with this unfortunate occurrence.

The ride looks very fun; hope to make it out to VA in 2010. I may bring a boxer's sparring headgear to cushion the blows though.

There is a solution to this neckbanging, you know...

It's called, "Holding On." :)

Depending on the coaster, holding on can reduce, but not always necessarily eliminate, head-banging.

This certainly feels like a "rinse and repeat" thread topic. How bout we wait till the trains even hit the track. Then decide.

Bah! Logic is so overrated...

Thinking about starting a new thread about the failure to identify THE seat that isn't locked on Toro...seriopusly, it takes forever to figure out who isn't locked far enough (already MUCH further than safety dictates), and in the meantime they staple the daylights out of everyone in the car. (Hello, ride-ops - common sense calling, saying the largest riders MIGHT be the ones who are sending the no-go signal).

Seriously, just in terms of operating capacity alone (not to mention comfort) - fix those trains. One of the best rides on Earth shouldn't be so completely hamstrung by a fix that costs THAT little to make.

Oh, back to Intimidator 305 - from looking at the track pieces and the working model, may be extremely fun and forceful....more "hills" might have been an improvement, but I'll wait to judge... ;)

lol Vater.. exactly.. Heck was I thinking..

I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but it appears a last minute support tower has been added to I305.

http://www.kdfansite.com/gallery/albums/P10/day%20156/IMG_3762_%28Large%29.JPG

This square support under the lift hill was not in the ride rendering, and interestingly enough, it does not appear to have any bolt holes for a connection to the red track structure. It looks like it was simply designed to "hold it up".

Its a temporary piece, as the track itself acts as the support structure, once the hill is completely assembled.

If it is temporary, why did they paint it yellow?

Edit: Unless maybe the tower is actually a support for somewhere else on the ride and the top section is just bolted on in the interim?

Because yellow is a nice color? I have no idea. Read the blog.