RITA (intamin rocket) started testing at Alton Towers

Thought i would start a new thread as Rita has had its first test launch

http://www.towersalmanac.com/features/rita/constructionsite/rita_movie4.html

TowersAlmanac has been following the construction and has provided great pics and now video of this interesting and different rocket.

Takes those overbanked curves at a nice pace. Good addition to the park.

Heard a funny comment on a UK based forum

'Alton Towers will be running one train backwards so you can take RITA from behind"

Well i laughed.

Looks cool, although a bit short it looks nice and compact so it looks like those turns might be pretty intense. This shows how versitile these rocket coasters can be, with this one fitting in what looks to be a small footprint and staying below the trees.

Wow, that thing zips around a lot faster than I expected. Looks like fun.

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Alton Towers will be running one train backwards so you can take RITA from behind.

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I'm assuming that's a rumour only, as I imagine there might be issues with potential forces on riders with a backwards launch at the speed Rita goes at.

That's a very interesting layout. It sort of scares me though that the OTSR is becoming the harness of choice for all of the Intamin coasters since 2004.

Can somebody correct me on this?

~Rob Willi

Needless to say, that is the wierdest rocket layout ever (considering there are only 4). Why do they need OTSR though?

Hopefully it will be fun.

I'd love to take Rita from behind...I can only imagine what kind of thrust she'd get at the start...with her being tight and all... ;)

^LMAO. .

That's so bad yet so funny. . .

Rita looks awesome. . . too bad about the OSTR's though, it would be an awesome ride with just lapbars.

Rob, I'm hoping that you're wrong. It probably has something to do with the Superman accident though. . .

Thats pretty sweet. Hopefully will see a similar rocket like this here in the states sometime soon.

Richard said:

I'm assuming that's a rumour only, as I imagine there might be issues with potential forces on riders with a backwards launch at the speed Rita goes at.

Its not a rumor. Its a joke...and a funny one at that! How could anyone actually believe running a train backwards on RITA would be remotely true?

*user raises hand* ;)

I'll still be waiting in line for Nemesis!

-Jim

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Mamoosh said:

Its not a rumor. Its a joke...and a funny one at that! How could anyone actually believe running a train backwards on RITA would be remotely true?

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Uh, very easily. There are a good number of coasters that have at various stages of their life had backwards fasting cars and indeed whole trains.

Anyway, back to the point; OTSRs? Why?

Richard,

Rumor has it (and I REALLY hate that saying) is that Intamin has been recommending these restratins for their coasters now.

If the rumor were true and Intamin really did recommend the restraint change, then I believe we would see older Intamin coasters with retrofitted OTSR as well. So far, to the best of my knowledge, that hasn't been the case with the exception of the two Intamin super flume drop rides.

-Sean

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HeyIsntThatRob? said:
It sort of scares me though that the OTSR is becoming the harness of choice for all of the Intamin coasters since 2004.

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Its probably due to that accident on SFNEs Superman.

Do the Intamin trains with OTSR also feature seatbelts? When I rode EGF for the last time, they seemed to have a lot of problems with the wear and tear of the seatbelts - by the end of the day of my visit they had roped off about 50% of the seats in the train because the seatbelts had supposedly become unsafe.

So maybe another reason for the OTSR is to get rid of the seatbelts?

RITA looks fun - it doesn't look extremely spectactacular, but it seems to provide a really fun ride. A wonderful addition to Alton "How much coaster excitement can you hide in a forest?" Towers :) *** Edited 3/12/2005 5:09:16 PM UTC by superman***

Intamin probably thinks T Bars arn't that great now with the accidents on Hydro and Superman. They don't want to get sued again anyway..

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Sean Flaharty said:

Rumor has it (and I REALLY hate that saying) is that Intamin has been recommending these restratins for their coasters now.

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A thought; if Intamin officially recommends OTSRs and a park goes for lap bars, then does that absolve Intamin in the event of an accident?

I would think that Intamin would take a really good look at the current design of their T-bar and modify it drastically. Lap bars are obviously safe if they are designed correctly(see Premier's lapbars), so I don't see why Intamin wouldn' redesign their lapbars rather than recommending the OSTRs. Maybe its just us enthusiasts who notice the difference, but I'd guess the GP would enjoy the same ride if it had lapbars.

These OSTRs are the closest thing to a lapbar, and I'm in favor of them. While i can't say i've been on the modified Supermans from what I've heard and from the pictures i've seen i'd consider being in favor having these OSTRs put on them or any Intamin with t-bars. It's just hard to trust the them after all that has occurred on rides with them.

As for Rita, it looks awesome and the layout makes up from the lack of an top hat.

Richard,

Good question. I believe it would all depend on the situation, or state for that matter. If I remember correctly, in Ohio, if a ride manufacture recommends a change to a ride, by law, that change needs to be made. I am not sure how such a change is mandated in other states or countries.

Alex,

When riding Storm Runner, I never got the feeling that those restraits were more lap bar like in nature. I just checked out some pictures and see what you are talking about, but I would have to disagree that they are the closest thing to lap bars. I didn't find the restraints to be all that bad, although I found out the hard way that I shouldn't have put my arms up while riding. Ouch! Lar bars don't bruise shoulders. =:^)

-Sean

Am I the only one who still thinks the ride looks lame? Not lame as in boring, but just a coaster you ride for the sake of riding and get off thinking "okay now what's next" - which is totally not a reaction a ride like an Intamin rocket coaster should produce in my opinion.

Of course, thinking about it now, the Mummy at USF pretty much does similar things for the coaster portion and I love that ride to death (although it also has way cool dark ride scenes, special effects, and so much more, but I'm just talking about the "coaster" portion) - so maybe if this were indoors it would rock - oh and if it didn't have those horrible OTSRs :)