PKI Coaster Questions

I've been to Paramount's Kings Island about 10 times this season, and I've had a few questions about their coasters and flat rides.

1. On Top Gun ( and other suspended coasters ) what role do the shock absorbers play, and what would happen if they were removed?

2. Is there any kind of mechanism on Delerium that keeps it from swinging past a certain height?

3. Why exactly aren't the trains on Son of Beast able to run the course very well?

4. What percentage of the Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle building actually contains the ride? I.E. Is any part of the building used for anything else, such as storage?

5. Is it true that Vortex was sold to Kings Island at a "discounted" price due to The Bat being removed? Also, was the station modified in any way to accomodate Vortex?

Thanks for answering my questions.

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Intelligence is a God given gift: Know how to use it.

1) I believe they help keep the car from swinging too far.

5) Supposedly, yes, they did get a discount, but ask Jeff Siebert. He'd know better.... The station's floor probably had to be modified to remove the old braking system and install the track for Vortex. (Originally, the Bat was braked under the car, as opposed to up top.) You can look at the top of the storage shed (to the left of the platform as you enter the station after riding) and see the half moon cutouts in the framing where the Bat track was.

That's all I know. :)

(edit: added sentence and fixed spacing.)

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Missing the Fallen:
King Cobra 1984-2001
The Bat 1981-1983
*** This post was edited by joe. 7/3/2003 2:58:00 PM ***

I'm pretty sure that Vortex was given at a discount because Arrow couldn't fix The Bat. It was their error that caused the ride to have to be removed, so they probably wanted to make Kings Island happy so that they would consider them in the future.

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President, C.R.A.P. (Coaster Rescurers And Preservationists).

1. The shock absorbers dampen the swinging action. They make it so that as the car swings towards its limit, its rate of travel is limited so that it won't bang into the stops. They also prevent the car from oscillating, which would be a Bad Thing™ when the train is approaching the station. You know how the tubs on the Flying Eagles tend to swing back and forth for a very long time as the ride ends? The shock absorbers on Top Gun prevent its train from doing the same thing.

2. I don't know if there is a mechanical stop, but it's worth noting that Delerium is gear driven at all times. You can see that as the thing comes to a stop. It is not a free-swinging pendulum like, say, the Viking Fury. So it isn't going to over-swing because the motors will stop it.

3. Have you read my article, How Roller Coaster Cars Work (or don't)? Son of Beast has, essentially, a PTC-style articulated train, which means one axle can roll, so the train can enter a section of superelevated (banked) track. But nothing can steer or yaw, so the car is going to tend to strike the outboard rail with its guide wheel, then drag sideways across the track. The Son of Beast cars differ from the PTC cars as well because they are extremely long compared with their wheelbase, which is unusually short. This puts the point of car rotation at about the center of the car, with the front seat well ahead and the back seat well behind, which magnifies the amount of translation those end seats do as the car rotates.

4. I don't know about the building's present configuration, but as the Phantom Theater, the building also housed an employee break area, and some storage space. Oh, and I think there is a nursery facility housed along one end of the building. I couldn't tell you percentages, but I believe the attraction and its queue uses most of the building.

5. Shaggy? :)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

2. Is there any kind of mechanism on Delerium that keeps it from swinging past a certain height?

Yes. The ride does not swing freely. It's motor will only make the gondola swing up so far...gravity takes care of the rest.

mOOSH

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A random Mooshter's Dawntionary listing: Pokemon [n.] A Jamaican proctologist.

I think there might be some clutch working as well.

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Dane
Staff PKIUnlimited.com
www.PKIUnlimited.com

Thanks for the information everyone.

RideMan, what kind of modification would have to be made to the Son of Beas trains in order to allow them to run well? ( OR: How much difference would there be between new trains that run well and the old [ now current ] trains? )
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Intelligence is a God given gift: Know how to use it.

Personally, I thought Premier was going to take the Flight of Fear cars, stretch them out, and reverse the wheel trucks to accommodate the wood coaster track design. There are basically two alternatives: either full articulation, or trailering. On Son of Beast, I think full articulation makes the most sense based on the trains they have now, because trailering with those long cars would probably give them a wheelbase length too long to go through the loop. That, or they'd have to switch to 2-bench cars, not unlike the switch from 4-bench to 3-bench on Papa The Beast. Mechanically, trailering is the simplest solution, but it brings up other issues that might be harder to solve on that ride.

I also think Son of Beast needs softer padding on the seats! But then, so do Racer, The Beast, Tornado, Blue Streak, Mean Streak, The Villain, and Raging Wolf Bobs. I'm still trying to find that apparent Ohio ordinance that says all wood coasters over 40' have to have lousy trains...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.