The Bat at PKI

Can anyone tell me about The Bat, any pics,info,press release. Any other info you can think of. Any websites.

Thanks

If you want to see the sign, click on my screen name above. :)

------------------
A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.

There's a pretty good history here. The effects of riding this smooth coaster can be found here.

Did The Bat really have that much headbanging?

------------------
Intelligence is a God given gift: Know how to use it.
*** This post was edited by CoasterKrazy 10/13/2003 4:09:06 PM ***

Not to mention that the Bat was honestly over-rated...

It may be one of those "historical" coasters that goes down as a severely missed coaster, but in all honesty... it wasn't that great from the specs & from actual rides who remember it fondly...

...if you ride Vortex at PCW... you've got a ride which is probably twice as fast, and even Iron Dragon at Cedar Point has a top speed faster than The Bat.

....er.... I just had to slip that in before everyone re-praises it again!

I'm surprised that, for all those problems with maintence, The Bat had this one positive: a perfect safety record.

Ironically, Arrow also built its last suspended coaster at PKI: Top Gun.
------------------
I was asked to describe Deja Vu in one word.
Here it is:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

It probably had a perfect safety record because it was almost never open, because of all those problems, which were mechanical in nature.

Anyways, you should find all the information you are looking for here.

------------------
The Phoenix, its Schmecktacular!

Great info! If you do a search you can find a modest amount of information on The Bat.

I know I at least rode it once...my very first trip to King's Island. I don't remember liking it as much as the Racer and Beast so it must not of been too special. I do remember the funky trains though, and especially that sign! (thanks again Den...)

-Tina

------------------
Gimme speed, height, airtime and plenty of LAUNCH!!!

*** This post was edited by coasterqueenTRN 10/13/2003 7:26:56 PM ***

DawgByteII: I respect your opinion, but my right-brain disagrees with your assessment. Did you actually ride The Bat, I didn't see it on your track record.

I find it impossible to beleive that The Bat did not have a higher top speed than Iron Dragon. (despite the fact that the article states a top speed at around 35) Looking at the pic of the layout taken from the tower in that article from coasterglobe (that's my pic BTW) there appears to be a large drop off the first lift. If that lift is indeed 102', then that drop (the first spiral, I mean) must be at least 50-60 feet worth of descent, which should at least get the train moving at 40-45 mph. It then continues a (more or less) downhill course until the bottom of lifthill 2. The pattern is then repeated (large spiral drop of 50' or so followed by downhill run until final brakes)

It seems to me that this layout would acheive much faster sppeds than ID or Vortex. Of course, the day I took that pic, I was all of 12 years old, and it was SBNO that day. This is all based on how I look at the pic and the fact that other people who claim to have ridden it say that it was really fast and out of control.

------------------
SCREAM with me... in 2003!

I'm not sure if people are mistakening G-forces for speed. Many people's perception of speed comes from G-forces, so a slower ride that goes through tight turns will seem faster than a fast ride that goes through broad gentle curves.

Where did the legend start about the Bat flying off the tracks and killing a bunch of riders? Up until now that's the only thing I ever heard about this coaster. Obviously it's just false rumor, unless I'm getting this PKI ride confused with some other coaster they tore out.

I too am in the camp who thinks this ride was way overrated. Today it would be one of the worst rides in the park. Top Gun is so much better. I can't recall how many times I rode it---but it was somewhere between 3-10 times. When the train came flying to the second lift hill the cars used to swing and hit a left support/fence/rail/ or something of the like. the left side of most the cars used to have scratches on it from this. It was a slow ride with non-existant g's. It had one coll S curve after the 2nd lift. The rest of the ride was a bore.

------------------
Give me wood! :-)
328 and counting!

No, I never rode the Bat...

But I have ridden a few Arrow Suspended... and although the layout from a top/down point-of-view really vindicts a cool layout with helix, left/right turns... it probably definately left a lot to be desired.

Iron Dragon goes a little faster, but still doesn't manage to achieve any G's, which is what the ride is all about. Vortex at PCW has an intense drop that gives the initial speed needed for wickedly sharp turns & an intense helix... I can't see how a 35+ mph coaster can manage to really hold too much intensity unless the angle of turning was really tight, or the shift from left to right turns were short... of which this layout doesn't indicate as such.

By today's standards... it'd only rate as an ok ride... as such, with their current crop of rides... probably Bat to PKI would be the same as Iron Dragon to CP. It dwarfs in comparison, but was fine for its day.

Just for the record. The Bat was one fantastic ride. It was the best at doing what suspended coasters do best (or worse if your a mechanic) - it was the best at SWINGING.

Suspended coasters have the potential to offer a unique sensation that no other ride can. It's that "pit of the stomach sensation" that occurs when the car is actually swinging.

The surprising thing about the modern suspended coaster is how little they actually swing. Most of the time, the modern suspended coaster does little more than bank suddenly. Carefully watch the difference between the angle of the suspended coach versus the angle of the wheel assemblies and track. On a second generation suspended coaster these two angles rarely are very different. This is the major reason why the modern suspended coaster actually works (although your opinion may be different if you're a mechanic) and the Bat didn't. Take a look at pictures of the Bat going around the turns or a "straight" track. The cars were always swinging off to one side or another. If you ever get the chance to see video or film of the Bat, you really can't understand that it was constantly in motion - from one side to another. One the most craziest things I've ever seen in my life is a slow motion video of the Bat coming out of the woods and into a right hand corner. The insane thing was that the cars were swung up to the inside of the right hand corner and then had to swing VERY SUDDENLY back to the outside. It was quite insane.

If you want to have an idea about what a ride on the Bat is like, use your imagination. Almost every suspended coaster actually swings as it comes up into its brake run. This is especially true if you're riding in the front car. Most enthusiasts comment regularly that this "end of the ride sensation" is one of their favorite things about the Big Bad Wolf, Top Gun, Vortex, Ninja, Draggin Iron, or XLR8. Now if you can take that sensation and imagine the whole ride with that "feeling", then you know what a ride on the Bat was like.

There is something very unique about the horizontal acceleration that a suspended coaster offers when it actually swings.

Unfortunately, as I've alluded earlier, the suspended coaster is a mechanical nightmare. It has all of the problems of a regular coaster, plus the additional problems of extra moving parts, a center of gravity that's much different than a traditional ride, and the extra moving mass of the car in motion. With all of these issues, it's no surprise the suspended coaster has more or less died off. (p.s. This is a very similar situation with the Arrow 4-D X coaster.)

One final comment, I personally think that it's in very poor taste for any enthusiast to make a judgment of any rides quality simply by relating one rides top speed to another. Is the Mean Streak better than the Blue Streak? Is the Viper at SFMM better than Batman the Ride? Bottom line, don't judge a book by its cover and remember what Yoda says. I'm sure he'd have to give some props to the High Speed Thrill Coaster.

Even if you can't agree that the Bat was the best suspended coaster ever, you have to admit it certainly had the coolest cars and sign of all time.

p.s. Drachen Fire wasn't that good... the Bat was.

Even if you can't agree that the Bat was the best suspended coaster ever, you have to admit it certainly had the coolest cars and sign of all time.

I could not agree more!

------------------
Give me wood! :-)
328 and counting!