S&S has new majority owner, Stan Checketts discontinues relationship with the company

I don't see the business side changing, but I do hate to see Stan end his consulting with the company.

I wish Larsen would push coasters from S&S more, though. Would love to see more 4Ds and even the launched ones, but I would like to see more traditional loopers, or their versions of some other types of popular coasters as well.

If they could perfect the 4D concept they would be on to a winner.

Pretty surprised at the news to be honest - there aren't many people who seems as enthusiastic as Stan.

I was talking to my friend about S&S last week - he was of the opinion that the company was a one trick pony with the (fantastic) tower rides and their other offerings were pretty gimmicky. I can see where that opinion would come from.

Perfecting the 4D coaster design would be huge. If they could put out a few reliable rides of this type, the company likely would go through another period of large growth and popularity.

I am surprised that Stan is leaving the company. He definately seemed quite the enthusiastic type when it came to this company. He was one of the only people that I actually seen standing on the very top of his tower rides. Gutsy :)

Did Eejanaika have issues like X? I was under the impression it was much better. Both the design and the rides.

Im surprised that more screamin swings haven't been built yet. Those rides are great and now seem to have had all their maintenance issues fixed.

^Wild Adventures removed their Screamin' Swing (2 arms at 4-riders each, a la Knott's).

Sorry to hear about Stan leaving...I'll never forget his granddaughter selling us wristbands/ride tokens at the Logan "proving grounds"... :)

Not only was the 4D a bit of a technical failure, but it was also crazy expensive because of the amount of steel required to build them. I remember when Arrow was still on its own, the CEO at the time mentioned that it was one of the barriers to entry for buying one, especially when steel prices were on the upswing.

What was the verdict with the new trains? Making them lighter was certainly a step in the right direction, I'm sure, but did they ride any smoother, particularly in the outside seats?

Pure speculation, but I suspect most of the company's daily business these days is Arrow parts.

Yeah, Arrow's backcatalogue is like the Beatles. Except that Stan wasn't Michael Jackson.

Jeff, no; I've ridden Eejanaika and X (before and after modification) and while the sensations are thrilling the ride quality is beyond horrible with the single exception of front row inside seats.

FWIW, don't forget the two new S&S launched coasters in China this year. I've not heard a review of them yet, but Powder Keg (IMHO) was phenomenal.

I think thats the first actual review of the Japanese 4D I've heard. Course, I loved X, but I rode in 'that seat', so...

Personally, I think the Arrow "back catalog" could be hugely profitable for more than just parts sales, if the company really wanted to exploit it. Seriously, the last rides that Arrow produced were a pretty good indication that their hardware was certainly better than the whole generation of gigantic megaloopers would have led us to believe (I am thinking specifically of Tennessee Tornado here...).

If you look around the industry right now, nobody is building those basic midsized steel coasters that were the foundations for so many major parks. There are a lot of Wild Mice out there, a few good portables, and then the Intamin and B&M stuff that is on a much larger scale. In between there is really not a lot being built. Premier Rides is showing some promise in this area (Sky Rocket, anyone?) but as new parks are coming on-line and older Arrow coasters are biting the dust, there is really nothing out there comparable to the old Runaway Trains or the Corkscrews.

That's not a big deal for the big parks for whom those are "old hat". But we've seen several new parks come on-line in recent years that could have benefited from those kinds of rides...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Their mice AND Tornado are fantastic, IMO. Wouldn't mind seeing more, in fact, I'd love a much larger version of Tornado.

@Dave

I'd suggest that the Euro-Fighter and X-Car are filling that gap at the moment?

I wish they would re-visit the Pipeline concept and perfect it. The possibilities with that design are endless. It was a shame that Arrow never finished it.

I also like X quite a bit but Eejanaika was terrible. I felt like I was in a boxing match for the duration of the ride.

I haven't been on X2 yet but I wonder if the lighter trains actual make the ride rougher.

I agree with Richard that their launched coasters have more potential. Powder Keg is a ton of fun.

Rick_UK said:

I'd suggest that the Euro-Fighter and X-Car are filling that gap at the moment?

Well, the Euro-fighters are at least... ;)

Stan is a genius, and I hope to see/hear more from the 'S', in S&S... (thinking his wife might be the first 'S', LOL)...

Tekwardo said:
Yeah, Arrow's backcatalogue is like the Beatles. Except that Stan wasn't Michael Jackson.

I'm not sure that's an apt comparison. Have you heard side 2 of Abbey Road? The transitions between songs are perfect. :)

LOL, I wasn't talking structure, I was talking profitability ;). The Beatles are far smoother any day of the week.