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TOP GUN


DA RIPPER
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Yep, I second TowerGuy. Top Gun`s cars have remained the same since the ride opened in 1993 (obviosly with new parts and a couple new shells after last years incident). The cars on Top Gun are the standard Arrow suspended cars. Now one park in Enlgiand i believe did remove their Arrow suspended cars for Vekoma designed floorless swinging cars, similar to the trains on inverted coasters, except that they can sawy side to side. I don`t believe we will be seeing these types of trains on Top Gun.

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The Bat's cars were "enclosed" as well. Interestingly, while many other design modifications were made after The Bat, the cars themselves from the prototype through recent (well...ten years ago <g>) installations look remarkedly similar. (Well, at least to a non-engineer like me <g>).

Apparently, there's a replacement train which can be used to retrofit existing suspended Arrows. Those cars are "ski lift-style" (legs dangling), sort of like a non-looping B&M. These trains were replaced on an existing Arrow model in the UK...if I remember correctly it was the "Vampire" at either Chessington or Alton Towers (can't remember which off the top of my head...)

There were rumors after the crash of one of TG's trains last season that PKI would retrofit TG's trains with the new suspended model. However, I guess that proved to be just that--a rumor.

Joel

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OK I guess it was the Mountain Dew buzz, I just can't get it out of my head that it was always enclose because I remember someone saying they had the cars enclosed because people was losing their shoes and wallets.

And I remember the matinance road below the ride covered with coins.

Oh well time to see the shrink. thanks smile.gif

Edited by DA RIPPER
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I'm not sure which ones but other Paramount parks have a rollar coaster called "Top Gun" and you feet dangle on those. That may have been what you were thinking of.

Here is a thought: Top Gun is probably a dying coaster at PKI, many people still ride it and I'm sure it has its hardcore fans...but does anyone think it would be a good idea to replace the current trains with trains in which your feet dangle?? I think that doing this would breath a breath of fresh life into a dying coaster.

(Then maybe they could re do the theming as I said in an earlier thread..haha)

Steve

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Perhaps it would breathe new life into it, but two new trains would be very expensive. It would also require a redesign of the station platform and the queue gates.

Also, Vekoma isn't the only company to make unenclosed suspended cars. Arrow themselves had a "bodiless" suspended train.

I really wish they would re-open the theming underneath the station. Going back to TOWER GUY's post, I too stood the full que when that ride came out with my Cousins who came down from NY at the time and visited the park. Top gun has always been enclosed, and has since been stated in this thread. But the idea of making the ride floorless is very interesting. Back to HelixSpirals post, i agree with you on the expense it would take to make this ride floorless. I dont understand though why you think that the Queue gates would need to be redesigned? I get nit picky sometimes, but IMO, this doesnt seem needed..and hence im not a Engineer (yet) so it doesnt make sense to me. LOL

But alas, i have had little sleep so dont hold this post against me smile.gif

m@ilman

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The queue gates below that station, along with the theming down there, have been damaged by wind, weather, animals, and people. Many of the electronic doors down there that contained the missiles and what not either don't work or have literally fallen apart. I have also heard that guests used to often pass out under there during the hot weather.

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The queue gates below that station, along with the theming down there, have been damaged by wind, weather, animals, and people. Many of the electronic doors down there that contained the missiles and what not either don't work or have literally fallen apart. I have also heard that guests used to often pass out under there during the hot weather.

ah, makes sense.. alas i was thinking of the Queue loading corral gates. my mistake.

Thanks!

m@Ilman

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I agree that floorless trains would be really nice and would help Top Gun, but they would be very expensive. They would have to put a floor under the trains in the station and other stuff like that. If they did install floorless trains the queue area below would probably have to be removed to make way for the new floor.

Each Paramount park has some kind of "Top Gun" coaster that is bellow the track...but each one is unique. Carowinds and Great America have a B&M inverted and Canada's Wonderland has a Vekoma SLC.

The park in Europe that has the Arrow with floorless trains is Vampire at Chessington World of Adventures. Go to the link below to find more...

http://rcdb.com/installationdetail784.htm

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I agree that floorless trains would be really nice and would help Top Gun, but they would be very expensive. They would have to put a floor under the trains in the station and other stuff like that. If they did install floorless trains the queue area below would probably have to be removed to make way for the new floor.

Each Paramount park has some kind of "Top Gun" coaster that is bellow the track...but each one is unique. Carowinds and Great America have a B&M inverted and Canada's Wonderland has a Vekoma SLC.

The park in Europe that has the Arrow with floorless trains is Vampire at Chessington World of Adventures. Go to the link below to find more...

http://rcdb.com/installationdetail784.htm

Anyone notice that The Bat head at the entrance to Vampire, is the same as used on The Bat's Cars?

just kinda cool I think smile.gif

http://www.rcdb.com/picmax/paramounts-kings-island/bat3.jpg

http://rcdb.com/picmax/chessington-world-o...es/vampire8.jpg

m@Ilman

Edited by m@ilman
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For all you who dont know what it looks like underneath here is a brief description as I remember it:

It was a themed que line. That is all it was. It was EXTREMLY well themed down there. It almost in my eyes looked like the insed of an aircraft carrier. There were monitors and stuff that were supposed to be like radars and there were a lot of fake missles and weapons and stuff like that.

Steve

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Whoops...I forgot that Kings Dominion didn't have a Top Gun coaster. I looked at the Vekoma website and it said:

"The Suspended Coaster trains are also suitable for retro-fitting, new trains can be installed onto various Swinging Turns tracks or Suspended Coaster systems. Upgrading an existing ride with these trains will give guests a completely new ride experience for a relatively low investment."

They really don't say how much the trains would cost excpet for a "low investment"

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What exactly is down there? Moving gates? Missiles? They need to open that thing back up!

There were some plastic missiles, smoke from black ice, music, some screens that looked like radar screens, some flags with logos of fake fighter squadrons, I think they may have had some of those random announcement-theming things they have outside FOF now. There were no moving gates, just some doors that opened electronically with the driver's key to reveal the missiles and such. The controls for it don't work now, and many of the props have been damaged or destoryed by weather, animals, rowdy crowds, and the like.

I have heard rumors, however, that it might be brought back. Don't know though.

Sounds too me like it would be a low investment with a big reward "BRINGING LIFE BACK TO AN UNDER-APPRECIATED RIDE!

Steve

Top Gun is one of the most popular rides in the park - it has more riders than Son of Beast (as you will learn, Steve). It just has a shorter line because we can dispatch the trains a lot faster because the ride is shorter and the bar-checks are not as intense and time-consuming. We once had a day in which 10,000 people rode it - a BAFFD, I believe.

Edited by SOB/Gun Steve-O
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That sounds like at lot..haha..

I didnt mean that it was the most unpopualar ride, but I think (or atleast it is for me) that Top Gun is a ride people ride just b.c it is there. It isn't one of the rides that brings most people back to the park. With the new trains it might be that way again.

Steve

ps. Top Gun has more riders than SOB?? That is crazy!

NUMBER 100

Edited by stephenmayes
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I'm not sure which ones but other Paramount parks have a rollar coaster called "Top Gun" and you feet dangle on those. That may have been what you were thinking of.

Paramount Canada's Wonderland has a SLC Vekoma called "Top Gun". You can see the trains here.

At PCW we also have a ride similar to Top Gun at PKI, It's called Vortex here. (Have to love the name switching between parks, haha) It's not as popular as it used to be, but the ride still gives a great rush. Instead of the Eiffel Tower our centrepeice after the fountain is a huge man made mountain, and The Vortex climbs up to the top of it then flies down over a lake and all around. The ride is incredibly fast. I rode Top Gun when I was down at PKI, and I didn't enjoy it as much to me it seemed really short even though it's almost the same length as our Vortex.

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"The Suspended Coaster trains are also suitable for retro-fitting, new trains can be installed onto various Swinging Turns tracks or Suspended Coaster systems. Upgrading an existing ride with these trains will give guests a completely new ride experience for a relatively low investment."

I wonder how different the ride would feel with the suspended floorless train? I think one of the best parts of the Arrow suspendeds is the "swinging" of the cars. I wonder if the floorless models swing, or if they "grip" the track similar to a B&M inverted or Vekoma SLC. If the latter is the case, I think the sensation of speed may actually be reduced. However, if the trains were floorless AND swinging I believe it would be an amazing sensation.

Regarding the under station theming...when TG first opened the mock "aircraft carrier" that you walked through was nicely themed. There was an article that appeared in Cincinnati Magazine in either February or March 1993 that talked about KI's acquisition by Paramount, and how themed attractions would be the focus of the "new" park. The article said that a fair amount of TG's budget went into the theming of the ride, which was a departure in focus from what KI had previously done.

Yes, new themed attractions became of the focus of PKI... Unfortunately, maintaining the theming in subsquent seasons has proven to be less of a focus.

Joel

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I think riding top gun in a floorless train would be awsome, the persons on the very front would have the actual feeling of flying. The first time I rode The Racer

was in 1969 at Old Coney Island I was 6 years old and riding with my sister

I came off that ride screaming bloody murder , my sister couldn't pry my hands off the bar my dad had to pull me out I never thought I would see The Racer going backwards, now that they started running the cars backwards did the line

volume take a giant boost? And what freaked me out back then still freaks me out today about that ride coming off the seat about 4 inches.

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Da Ripper, you can not have ridden The Racer in 1969 at Coney Island. The reason is that The Racer was built for Kings Island in 1972. Now, there was a white painted wooden coaster at Coney Island in 1969, The Shooting Star. The Shooting Star is a much talked about ride, especially for its tunneled finale, in ways a similar precurser to the ending of The Beast. Afterall, The Beast design started out as a copy of the Shooting Star. There is a similar copy of the Shooting Star (although it is a mirror image) up at Paramount Canda`s Wonderland.

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I dont think anyone here is an expert at the cost of rollar coaster trains...but it was mentioned that 2 new trains would be expensive to buy for Top Gun. Well does anyone know how much those would be??

Steve

I can't back this up, but I've heard that PTC trains cost $30,000 and up. That wouldn't be anywhere near the coast up retrofitting floorless trains for Top Gun, but that puts it in perspective.

Also, at the Boomerang Bay tour (November) Jeff Siebert said that the reason why the queue area isn't opened is because they didn't want to put the extra staffing in there for it.

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