LSM indeed needs a pusher-car hooked to the bottom of the train to launch.
The speed of any launch can be manipulated. With LIM or LSM, you simple re-type the launchspeed in the mainframe. :) Older rides which use a flywheel naturally differ in speed, this can be adjusted, I don't exactly know how though. The speed of air-powered and hydraulic launches can be manipulated simple by adjusting the pressure. This can also be done with your regular S&S spaceshot.. :)
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Dutch Coastin' :: European coasters, thrills and theming!
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"To get inside this head of mine, would take a monkey-wrench, and a lot of wine" Res How I Do
Peabody, just to correct you on the weighing in of the Thrust Air trains, Dodonpa does not weigh the trains because the train has a much farther distance to balance out the inertia before it gets to the hill. Hypersonic can not do this, that is why the trains are weighed in on that one.
This is not BS, I found out about this in one of my Amusement Today's that came out a couple months ago explaining the physics of Dodonpa. Getting the train to go through that enormous turn and then over the hill was decribed by the engineers as so hard to do it was like "writing your name with a 100 foot pencil".
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Just imagine the Cedar Point announcement, "420 feet high at more than 100 mph straight up and straight down with a twist!". "Nah uh, really?" : ) I'm much more patient when I can see exactly what they are building.
While it is relatively ease to adjust launch speeds, the rest of the ride dictates what the launch speed must be. Launch too slow and you valley out. Launch too fast and the G forces will be too high.
With regards to Dodonpa, it seems to be a major advantage over Hypersonic to have that long run to the first hill. If allows you to measure the speed of the train and them activate a trim is necessary to adjust speed. All in all a much easier way of doing things than weighing each train.
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