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MBT

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Everything posted by MBT

  1. I'm not aware of any wireless component on Firehawk, but my knowledge of the ride comes mostly from 2007 & earlier. The reclining on the lift was exceedingly rare. The entire project for Six Flags was rushed after Paramount ended their agreement with Vekoma. It was essentially less than 230 days from the verbal agreement to when the ride was supposed to open in Ohio. The contract wasn't even signed until January of 2001, after construction had begun! The project was met with numerous challenges and failures caused by the compressed timeline. In year one, the ride struggled to even open. After the first season, additional programming and mechanical work was performed in an attempt to get the ride to recline on the lift on a consistent basis, but that didn't last very long in 2002 before it was abandoned. Relations soured between Six Flags and Vekoma and the two have never built another coaster together since.
  2. The ride did not use wireless transmission. It used a bus bar that followed the length of the track in certain areas to provide power and to relay a signal back to the PLC. The train had "fingers" on certain cars, including the lead car that made contact with the bus bar. The grey rails on either side of the track, and most of the fingers were removed when the ride was moved to KI, as well as the onboard motor that could raise or lower the car. It still has the smaller locking pin motors on board, however. You can see the "fingers" sticking out in this shot. One more bonus photo, as far as I know this is the only existing photo of a train leaving with the cars in the upright position, dated May 2002. But back to the wireless, Firehawk still uses the same bus bar method in the station(not wireless), albeit far fewer contacts are needed. You can just barely make out the contact pins to the right of the white nylon wheel on the left side of coach 1.
  3. I think the difference is that you are always welcome to personally accept risk, but it would be unreasonable to ask the park to also join you in taking on that unnecessary risk. Even if you weren't the kind to sue after you were injured due to a freak accident- the park has to balance the potential for negative publicity and traumatized onlookers.
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