Vekoma offers new restraints, no OTSR

Just think...T2 & Thunderhawk without the concussions! I like...I like.

^ Don't forget Mind Eraser at SFA, man you take a bruisin'.

Mind Eraser at SFA is horrible, it really holds up to its name.

I like what's coming out of Vekoma! Very nice.

I'm not gonna keep typing this out, IoA had *better* change the name before the ride opens...

Sylvester McMonkey McBean's Very Unusual Driving Machines....longer than TCFKAB, LOL... :)

edit: Beast7369 - there's one Premier left in the US (aka, that I know of) with OTSRs, and Speed does fine with OTSRs due to layout configuration...

edit #2: If these really ARE just for the Junior Inverts, then my first post rings *exceptionally* true...LOL!

*** Edited 3/24/2006 1:26:34 AM UTC by rollergator***

I do have to admit that even though I poke fun at them along with about 90% of the coaster community...what they've been up to the past couple of years has been really good.

I've been told by a friend, though it's not one our their inverts, he thinks BORG is the smoothest Vekoma he's rode personally. Since vacation spots have changed to Myrtle Beach, maybe I'll find out for myself this summer.

It's just too bad these new restraints cannot be used on existing coasters as mentioned earlier. *** Edited 3/24/2006 3:02:02 AM UTC by Floorless Fan***

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coasterniece said:
Mind Eraser at SFA is horrible, it really holds up to its name.

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Depends greatly on which seat you're in.I choose to ride up front in the righthand side of the train & the only really brutal part for me is the sidewinder.

I don't really see why a retrofit to the existing train design isn't possible,the trains shown in the picture clearly use the new outside guide wheel configuration but all that would need to be done is simply change the seating assembly on the existing trains.

Has anyone ridden Gauntlet (Magic Springs' SLC)? I haven't, but according to:

http://www.rcdb.com/id2421.htm

...they at least *tried* to deal with the banging on that one by fixing the wheels...?

To answer a few questions:

Rideman asked: "My German is a bit rusty, but does that say they are converting a monorail at IOA into a powered coaster? So is this the Driving Machines, or a makeover for the Pteranodon Flyers?"

Mack will provide a new powered coaster for the never used Driving Machines. They plan to use the majority of the existing support structure. The article says that the coaster will offer a few surprises which are not yet publicised. My speculation after looking at the track would be a combination of a powered coaster with the new Mack "e-motion" cars which can wiggle and tilt on various axes throughout the course. Check: http://www.mack-rides.com/en/products/coasters/e-motion-coaster.php

(another Mack info: a big US park chain has bought a Mack Super Splash water ride for installation in 2007)

John Peck said: "I don't think those restraints are for the SLC... I think they are only for the Junior inverted. "

I checked the article again: The lapbar system is used for the non inverting coasters, while the attached rubber vest will indeed be used on all inverting rides.

Smart move from Vekoma: The trains for the various rides are identical, they only have to add the vests as needed. That saves them manufacturing and storing costs!

I think it will be interesting to see how they manage to adjust the vest to different sized riders. How will the same device secure a child and a Dunkin Donuts enthusiast at the same time?

Kitsch, great annalogy and thanks for the plug.

Tom (Dunkin Donuts, National Sales Manger)

The answer, kitsch-transporter, is that, like Intamin, they will not adjust the vest. That means that when the doughnut-eater sits down, the vest will prevent the lap bar from coming down the way that it should, a situation that is actually worse than the old shoulder bar.

Either that or they will do what B&M does with their flying coaster, connecting the vest to a pair of webbing straps running on retractors. Retractors which are never in sync with one another, for starters, and second that tend to apply way too much force when the rider's shoulders are above the belt slots, again probably resulting in lap bar interference.

The same device COULD secure both the child and the doughnut eater adequately because the geometries of the two people are remarkably similar when you drop the lap bar into place. Their legs tend to be in the same locations, they bend at about the same place, and really the only critical issue is in making the seat deep enough that the adult cannot drop his legs down straight at the thigh, yet not so deep that the kid can't bend his legs at the knee. That is where the rider needs to be held in place, and the lap bar will do it very nicely. Just look at how it works on the Setpoint coasters.

I can't for the life of me understand this industry's obsession with taking people who need to be held at their CG and grabbing them by the neck and shoulders instead.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

*I* am a Dunkin Donuts enthusiast....KK is for kids and animals, and that's ALL there is in my town... :(

The vests seem to accommodate a WIDE range of rider sizes on the flyers, so... *shrug*

bit0mike - opinions varied. Some who rode Gauntlet thought it was indeed smoother (newness?, dunno)...I thought it was the same old SLC, but with longer trains a bit more...."exciting" for riders in the back. I thought I had taken a picture of the sign in the station, apparently not, along the lines of "Experienced riders only in the last two rows, it provider a more intense ride"....er, um, headbanging. One ride in the back was enough, I had HAD my *experience*...

Whenever I get to IoA, I'll be sure to post *whatever* activity I see around "SMMVUDM"....last time they def. WERE working around the queue area, and regardless, this is NOT going to be a quick project.

^^From the looks of things the system vekoma intends to use is no different from the B&M flyer restraints except for the lack of a ratcheting locking device in the bottom portion attached to the seat so the vest should easily be able to accomodate riders of varying body types just as easily as the flying dutchman can.