Launched roller coaster

The launched roller coaster is a modern form of roller coaster which has risen to prominence within the last decade. In place of a traditional chain lift, the launched coaster initiates a ride with high amounts of acceleration via one or series of Linear Induction Motors (LIM), Linear Synchronous Motors (LSM), catapults, or other mechanisms employing hydraulic or pneumatic power.

Launched coasters mainly feature improved speed, and capability to accomodate more "thrilling" layouts. These coasters, however, can be less reliable than traditional chain-lifted coasters, and are considered to require heavier maintainence.

Electromagnetic

LIM / LSM

LIM and LSM coasters use propulsion via electromagnets, which utilize large amounts of electricity to propel the coaster train along its track into the ride elements (e.g. inversions, twists, turns and short drops). Two design companies managing these types of rides are Vekoma Industries and Premier.

Often large in scale, the rides often initiate by launching into a tower element achieving 200 feet (61 m) or higher, followed by inversions and an upward rise. Once momentum ceases, the train then falls by gravity end-first, and travels the route in reverse to end the shuttle (cycle) by a gentle braking into the station.

The amusement park chain Six Flags in the United States of America has 3 examples of such rides:

Batman & Robin: The Chiller 200 feet (61 m), Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson Township, New Jersey

Mr. Freeze 218 ft (67 m), Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington, Texas

Superman The Escape 415 ft (127 m), Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, California

The LIM/LSM tower rides are often tall, fast, and until recently were the state of the art in launched coaster design.

Fluid pressure

Hydraulic

Hydraulic-launched roller coasters give the riders high acceleration, yet with improved smoothness, over the electromagnetic and catapult launch mechanisms. The Swiss manufacturer Intamin AG pioneered this new style.

The heart of the system is a powerful hydraulic motor, often around 7000 to 10000 horsepower (5 to 8 MW). Hydraulic fluid fills up the top half of a cylinder, and the bottom half of the cylinder, filled with compressed gas, is separated from the top half by a piston. As the hydraulic fluid fills the cylinder, it pushes down on the the piston, moving the air into bottles, compressing it. When a valve opens up in the top half of the cylinder, the hydraulic fluid flows out, pushed by the expanding gas on the bottom half of the cylinder. The hydraulic fluid is shot into a giant turbine, which spins, and rewinds a cable attached to a pusher under the trains in a matter of seconds. The pusher moves in a groove in the center of the launch track with the motor at one end, and the waiting train at the other. While the train inches forward, the pusher moves back from the motor towards the train. Once the pusher connects, the anti-rollback braking system drops beneath the track, giving the train the green light to be launched.

These launches are considered capable of giving a far greater acceleration than the LIM/LSM styles. '\'Superman The Escape, the fastest LIM/LSM coaster, has been measured to reach 100 mph (161 km/h) in 7 seconds, climbing 415 ft (127 m) in the process. Yet Top Thrill Dragster (Cedar Point), at 420 ft (128 m) currently the world's tallest coaster, uses hydraulic launch technology to reach 120 mph (192 km/h) in 4 seconds. To be completed in 2005, the ride Kingda Ka'' at Six Flags Great Adventure will be even taller, at 456 ft (139 m), and capable of reaching 128 mph (205 km/h) in 3 seconds.

Hydraulic launched rides usually have a tower after the launch, with differing layouts afterwards depending on the park's financial resources. Top Thrill Dragster brakes after the tower, but Storm Runner at Hersheypark offers a series of inversions after its 180 foot (55 m) tower drop. Along with the height and speed, these coasters, named "Rocket Coasters" in the industry, are considered more comfortable due to a smoother launch than LIM-style launches.

A recent newcomer to the hydraulic launch industry is Vekoma, who recently opened a coaster called Booster Bike at Toverland in the Netherlands, said to give riders a sensation of racing on high performance motorcycles over a low twisted layout, at speeds up to 47 mph (75 km/h). The cars are imitate real motorcycles, and the the riders sit in the same posture as real motorists.

Pneumatic

Hydraulic launch technology faces competition from S&S Power, a leading manufacturer in vertical amusement rides, who in recent years created a new breed of coasters with pneumatic launch power. The ir coaster model, the Thrust Air 2000, was first built in Paramount's Kings Dominion under the name Hypersonic XLC. The coaster has been clocked to launch from the rest at station to 80 mph (128 km/h) in 1.8 seconds. The coaster proceeds to ascend up a tower at 90 degrees and descends vertically. Later that year, another compressed air launched coaster was built in Fuji-Q Highland. Dubbed Dodonpa, this coaster is capable of launching passengers from 0 to 106.9 mph (171 km/h) in 1.8 seconds.

Other styles

Catapult

In the catapult launch, a large diesel engine or a dropped weight, winds a cable to pull the train until it accelerates to its full speed. An example of this is also the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at MGM Studios in Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Florida.

The launch sends the rider into a tightly grouped coil of elements. These rides are often not very tall, and usually achieve speeds of 60 mph (96 km/h).

Inverted coaster

Inverted coasters can be launched as well, as exampled by the popular "Volcano, The Blast Coaster" at Paramount's Kings Dominion, in Doswell, Virginia.

"Impulse"

A recent style is the "Impulse" coaster, which features an inverted launch style. The trains launch forward into a tall spike, fall back into a reverse launch, and proceeds to climb another tall spike. The cycle is repeated several times, with heights from 180 to 215 feet (55 to 66 m). This can be seen in the Wicked Twister at Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio.

NodeWorks boosts web surfing!

Page Returned in 0.232 seconds - HTML Compressed 67.1%

This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.