Why not a Diving Machine?

Just was thinking the other day...Why dont we see more of the diving coasters, like Oblivion at Alton Towers? B&M made that one didnt they?
Just curious on feedback about that.
THANKS

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3-Words: Very Expensive Trains.

I would tend to think the reasoning would be that whenever Oblivion was built, Alton Towers has a "patent" so to say on that coaster. By the time the "patent" had expired, the diving coaster was out of the loop and no one really wanted to get one anymore. Kinda like stand-ups are today. lol

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a) Because B&Ms are extremely expensive.
b) Because they're a one-trick pony.
c) Because they're useless, now that "normal" coasters have the ability to perform 90-degree drops.

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ok..you say that "normal" coasters have the ability to perform 90 degree drops. I agree but I dont see straight drop coasters all over the place either. The old Ultra Twisters had straight drops like that. I figured there would be just a few more out there, maybe here in the US. Looks like a fun coaster just add some inversions. I like going into the ground on the first drop...haha

"I see black spots." -- Me after riding Titans second helix.

How about the most logical answer: because no other parks have asked B&M to design one!

Manufactures don't decide what parks get, parks do.

mOOSH

Short length, low capacity, high cost....also I think they would *work* better with some terrain.

These seemed to be yesterday's news even before they got their 15 seconds of fame...

You still have Zoidberg.... You ALL have Zoidberg! (V) (;,,;) (V)

Actually, the B&M Dive machines didn't have a 90 degree drop, it was more like 87.5-89.5, depending on the sources. small variance, but still a point nonetheless.

B&M made another version of this, G5, at Janfusun fancyworld in taiwan. There is also the Mine shaft of Terror built by Nauta Bussink that is at Gold Reef City in South Africa. Those are the only three that I know of that are actually considered Diving Machines. I think Rampage and Den and Zero-G hit it on the head. They don't do anything really. They drop and then they turn into the station. The cars limit the amount of inversions and transitions that they can perform (not sure how-if it is the excessive width or the lack of length-but I have heard this). Modern coasters-Expedition GeForce, Millenium Force, X- can have this steep drop with the same, if not better, effect while including much more

RollerCoasterManiac said:ok..you say that "normal" coasters have the ability to perform 90 degree drops. I agree but I dont see straight drop coasters all over the place either.

Mr. Freeze, Batman and Robin The Chiller, Speed the Ride, TTD, Wicked Twister, X, etc. And even if you don't consider those "normal" coasters, rides like Millennium Force come just about as close to a 90-degree drop as you can get without actually doing it.

[url="http://www.livejournal.com/users/denl42"]My blog[/url] You said, "I'm gonna run you down." I heard, "I'm an orangutan."

I love Oblivion! Its fantastc!
The whole appearance of the track and the cars is so impressive. Although I don´t like the concrete theming, the overall "dramatization" of the ride is brilliant. The slow creep towards the drop, the holding brake and the "Don´t look down" gimmick gets me everytime. The drop in the last row beats every freefall out there.
Actually thats what I would consider it to be: A luxurious freefall tower.

I wouldn´t say that dispatching 16 people every 20 seconds is too bad for capacity.

The original B&M design had an oval course, only a small tunnel and a water-splash section (!) immediately before the brake run. The drop wouldn´t go far below ground/station level, therefor the lift would have been longer.

Inversions are not possible with the wide cars.

Tricktrack, apparently you've never played RCT;). Actually, Jon Wardley said that he had looked into inversions for future incarnations, but there haven't been any. And how could any of us forget that *rumor* that BGT is getting one next year, with inversions. Wasn't this stated in an article in a respectable news magazine? I know its on this site somewhere, but I'm too lazy to go looking...

Weird you said that tekno, because, I was talking to an employee of BGT who is in my FTPLA club, and he said he saw the blueprints for "a Jaw dropping new B&M." weird.....

RCT? Is that the game with androgynous, constantly vomiting people who smack benches with karate chops? No, never heard of it.

Two years ago one of B&Ms engineers told me that they wouldn´t do inversions with those cars. Maybe they redesigned the whole thing?! This would make sense.

tricktrack said:
I love Oblivion! Its fantastc!

I agree with you tricktrack. I love that ride. Sure, the whole never ending, poorly designed, line from hell was a bad idea, but the ride more than made up for it.

The anticipation that ride provides is outstanding IMO. The drop surprised me with the amount of float time.

At one time, there was another B&M Dive machine supposed to be built (other than the two that are in operation now) but I never heard anything more about it as the news of the proposed park seemed to vanish.

I don't think the ride is limited to just a big drop and turn into the brakes. Like Mamoosh stated, if a park wanted one, B&M would build it if asked. I think the cost is the major factor in parks not wanting to get one. The whole feeling the ride provides is enough to sell it. At least, that's the way I look at it. It's up to the parks to come up with the high price tag.

The feeling I felt while riding Oblivion greatly differed from what I felt on the other near vertical or vertical drop coasters mentioned above. It was a brand new sensation to me.

The BGT rumor seems to have a life of it's own. I remember hearing it back in 1999 when I was at the park. Every so often it appears someplace else. If it is true, than that's great and I look forward to riding it. It not, it needs to die.

-Sean

Is it just me, or is the term "dive machine" just about the lamest enthusiast term in the world?

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^Isn´t it the original Swissmade name by Wally and Mabs?

RollerCoasterManiac said:ok..you say that "normal" coasters have the ability to perform 90 degree drops. I agree but I dont see straight drop coasters all over the place either.
Mr. Freeze, Batman and Robin The Chiller, Speed the Ride, TTD, Wicked Twister, X, etc. And even if you don't consider those "normal" coasters, rides like Millennium Force come just about as close to a 90-degree drop as you can get without actually doing it.

Don't forget the Deja Vu's, the standard Impulses, the Gerstlauer Euro-Fighters, and hopefully coming soon to a Paramount park near you, the proposed Adams Family Verticle Drop coasters.

tricktrack said:
^Isn´t it the original Swissmade name by Wally and Mabs?

I think you are correct. I remember their brochures saying Diving Machine when describing Oblivion.

-Sean

I think that if the coaster was more than a "One Trick Pony", i.e., had more to the layout than lift, drop, small hill, breaks, it could be great.

Look @ B&M's early standups. Not much to them, but they got bigger over time. I think the main thing is parks not wanting to pay such a high price for a coaster, when they can get their verticle fix from another company at either a lower price, or with more than just one trick.

Maybe, if the BGW rumor is true, B&M have improved the design, or Busch has decided that a Dive Machine would best suit the theme they have.

from what I have heard about the BTG rumored coaster, is that they are going to have to rearrange a whole section of the park to accomodate it. when I suggested the dive machine, the employee chuckled, and said that he couldn't confirm or deny the dive machine rumor.