Why does Hypersonic XLC have Rubber Tires?

Why? What advantages does this have over the regular poly-eurothene wheels? Why did they apt for this? How long do they last? Are the wheels on the bottom ply-eurothene?

And what if a rubber tire burst while mid-circuit?

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Spelling and grammer does not need to be corrected if the message gets across!

Well, the only question I can answer is that they use rubber tires because it creates a smoother ride on the I-Beam rails.

Those are aircraft wheels on there. Think for a minute the abuse that aircraft wheels get in the average day. What Hypersonic has to deal with is nothing by comparison.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

Think of this, would you rather drive a car with rubber tires or plastic? Which do you think has more 'give'? It's very obvious. It would be really cool if they could get the train's tires to spin right before the launch, but I know that's not possible.
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Coasters are like a fine wine, they get better with age.

It has pneumatic tires because S&S designed it that way. Simple as that.

As for what happens if a tire blows...The ride is equipped with some kind of a safety...I forget whether it is a flat bar or a steel roller...that the train will land on if a tire deflates.

For the most part, S&S's designs are reasonably failsafe.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Dave nothing is fail safe. A human designed it!

True, True, True, but Dave has a point, mostly failsafe. Ever see a car on a Space Shot tower come off? what about a VertiGO car? I'm just glad they didn't use Intamin Lap Bars on Hypersonic, because somebody eould have flown out by now. (Think S:ROS and Perilous Plunge)
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webmaster,
coaster-thrills.cjb.net

Yes it does make for a much smoother ride by design. But I do have a litle anecdote for Dave---our Double-Shot at Wild Adventures pressurized and was in the "holding area" about3-5 feet off the ground when we noticed a couple passengers whose OTSR's were completely up and unlocked. The screaming from the patrons in line got the attention of the op working the board, who stopped the ride in time. After securing the passengers (idiots?), the ride was sent with no problems. The fault definitely lies with the operation, but I would've thought there would be some signal/device to prevent launching unsecured riders.

To make a long story short, S&S does make safe rides, but they also require safe operation...P.S. We did go in to Guest Relations on our way out to let the park know, as there was a need for increased training (and I hope the ops working the ride are now making fries somewhere n the park)...

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the buzzer formerly known as gatorwoodie
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

rollergator said:
"After securing the passengers (idiots?), the ride was sent with no problems. "[/quote}]
Uh, no they would not be idiots. The responsibility to secure the restraints lies solely with the ride operators, not the guests. After working on rides for 6 years, I can tell that most guests take the initiative to help secure their own restraint, but not all. Does that make the few that do not idiots? I think not.

I think Cedar Point's Power Tower may be the only S&S tower that has a restraint interlock on it, and that was added in the ride's second year of operation. Most of the S&S towers I've been on, the bars don't even lock until the tower lifts the carriage to weigh. bigboy, I'd say that the responsibility for securing the restraints may lie with the rider, but it is the operator's responsibility to check before starting the ride cycle.

But that's not what I was getting at in my earlier message. Most coasters and coaster-like rides will allow the vehicle to be dispatched with the restraints open (though many require that they be locked, or use an auto-locking mechanism). That's not unique to S&S by a long..er...shot. My point is that mechanically, S&S...like most ride manufacturers...use "belt and suspenders" designs so that if a critical component fails catastrophically, it will not result in a catastrophic ride failure. The technical term for this is "fault tolerant design."

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I second that motion Rideman. Our very own Big Shot doesnt lock until the cars are lifted. Sure the ops push all the restraints down and make sure all the belts are locked, but they dont lock until you raise up.

I think the idea is similar to Disneyland's Space Mtn. where the lap bars dont lock until you leave the loading platform.

The rides are safe, I mean they go up and down, not side to side (except the TA2K's) so there is little chance of you going anywhere.

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"ok everyone go ahead and pull down on your shoulder restraint so you feel nice and stuck!"