Stupid Diamondback questions

Speaking of 'weight' :)

During Ride Warriors....I got in line for FoF knowing that I had - well lets just say 'grown' over the winter.

I've always just barely got locked in the past and was pretty much expecting not to be able to ride this time but decided to try anyways.

As anticipated, I couldn't get the buckle to lock - I figured that I was done and waited for the attendant to help me get out. However I was totally surprised that not just one, not just two, but three attendants came over, pushed, pulled, squished and managed to get me locked in! Way to go guys!

But since is was embarrassing as hell to have to have three people get my big butt in - I'm not riding FoF again till I loose some weight :)

Which Diamondback did you ride? They're strong up and down on pretty much every hill. I think that's why it was hard to marathon the ride. After five or six laps without getting off, I was wrecked from being popped and dropped.

The high turn around is not particularly strong, but the bottom of the turn to the mid-course, about where the on-ride camera is, pulls pretty well.

...And as for braking on Diamondback, that varies from ride to ride. There is a single trim brake which may or may not tap the train, and the mid course may or may not slow the train a little. In any case, it's all dynamic, based on the train speed, or perhaps on the average train speed. You might ride it once and get slight braking, then ride it again and get no braking at all. Of course it has to have trim brakes on it...this is Kings Island, after all!

A tip for dealing with Flight of Fear...
When you go to fasten the safety belt, check carefully before you go squeezing down on the lap bar. I took a ride in the front seat of one of the trains and couldn't get the belt to latch even though I could feel the latch bottoming out on the tongue. Before the attendant could come around and try to put my lap bar five or six notches lower, I whacked the back of the buckle hard against the side of the lap bar and tried again. That time, it latched. Be aware that some of the trouble with the belts on Flight of Fear is actually because the buckles are basically garbage.

Also, note that in the odd-numbered rows, the left-hand seats are more accommodating; and the even-numbered rows (back seats) are more accommodating than the odd-numbered rows. Aren't retrofits fun?

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

RideMan said:
Also, note that in the odd-numbered rows, the left-hand seats are more accommodating; and the even-numbered rows (back seats) are more accommodating than the odd-numbered rows. Aren't retrofits fun?

Hmm....intresting that you say that...I was in the front seat of the car on the right side....

Uh-huh. did you notice that little half-inch tall steel plate under your right foot? Odds are that made the difference between the lap bar closing or not. There isn't such a plate on the left-hand side.

Interesting side note...Mr. Freeze has the plates on both sides, but again, not in the even numbered (back) seats.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Does anyone know: Was Diamondback's planning started when Paramount still owned the park?

Nope. It was a Cedar Fair arrangement, as the GM (a Cedar Fair alumnus) talked in our interview about walking the site for the first time with B&M.

It doesn't surprise me at all. CF is totally in love with hypers and for whatever reason, Paramount was not.

I think it's more the attitude that Kinzel thinks you can bottle "the Magnum effect" over and over. To some degree, I think that he's right. But would Dorney or Valleyfair be OK without one? My guess is yes.

Agreed. But a good hyper has been a long time coming for Kings Island, in my opinion.

No doubt. The park has needed a true signature ride for a very long time, beyond the Beast.

Next up? Carowinds is my guess. Another example of a fine park that needs a boost.

Carowind's B&M hyper for 2010 is the worst-kept secret of 2009 (and for some, 2008).

Why does the 3rd row of wheels on all of the Diamondback trains have one wheel that appears different than all of the rest?

Take a look at this image of a Diamondback train. Notice the wheels with the yellow circle are different than the red. Why is that? Rideman?

I'm gonna take a stab at this:

The had to replace a wheel and all they had left in stock was one with holes in it. Rather than shut down a ride, over a wheel when they HAVE one that WILL FIT.

^I'd bet strongly against that considering SVLFever said it's on all three trains - there has to be a purpose (cooling?). It was interesting to read that the water scoops are designed to be slightly different on all the D-back trains...I sure didn't notice it when I was there.

I've noticed that on a lot of B&M's. Sometimes the thickness of the polyurethane looks different on different wheels as well. No idea why, though...

I believe the thickness of the polyurethane has to do with the way the train rides. If I recall someone mentioned that each wheel on Behemoth was tested with different types of wheels to find the ones that rode best for that axle. I could be completely wrong on that though...