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Flight of Fear the good bad and the ugly


Kingsislandfanboy2017
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It vibrates a lot, but I wouldn't call it rough. And there's not much you can do about the MCBR.  The way it works, it has to stay there until the train in the unload station is clear, so if you have a slow unload like it tends to do, its likely to stop there, which is awkward in the first 2 cars.  

Other than that, I enjoy it a bunch still. 

EDIT: Crossed out due to inaccuracies, but leaving the text up due to the posts where its corrected. 

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Flight of Fear gives me the same feeling I had about thinking about riding Vortex, Beast, or Racer... Love the ride but it does leave me feeling a little bit like a ball bearing in a tin can. Probably just too spoiled from the smoother rides I guess. Great ride though!

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I've always thought FoF is smooth as anything. It does have rapid changes in direction, and lapbars that will kill you if you're a big and tall guy like me, but I never thought of it as rough.

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That's probably it.. Not so much rough per say but the rapid changes in direction are probably what does it to me.

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It vibrates a lot, but I wouldn't call it rough. And there's not much you can do about the MCBR.  The way it works, it has to stay there until the train in the unload station is clear, so if you have a slow unload like it tends to do, its likely to stop there, which is awkward in the first 2 cars.  
Other than that, I enjoy it a bunch still. 
It doesn't have to stop in the midcourse if they are still a train unloading. They are a set of brakes outside of the unload station that will stop a train if it's unloading. Flight of Fear was designed to run 4 trains that's the only reason it even has a midcourse in the first place.

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1 hour ago, PKIVortex said:

It doesn't have to stop in the midcourse if they are still a train unloading. They are a set of brakes outside of the unload station that will stop a train if it's unloading. Flight of Fear was designed to run 4 trains that's the only reason it even has a midcourse in the first place.

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I'm not convinced those brakes before the station are block brakes though. There are rides where it seems to stop at the MCBR and doesn't, but I think those are when the train ahead is clear of the unload station.   I've had rides ranging from slow but still moving through the MCBR to being stopped for as much as 10-15 seconds on the MCBR.  

I'll have to experiment with it next summer in timing it.  

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32 minutes ago, silver2005 said:

I'm not convinced those brakes before the station are block brakes though. There are rides where it seems to stop at the MCBR and doesn't, but I think those are when the train ahead is clear of the unload station.   I've had rides ranging from slow but still moving through the MCBR to being stopped for as much as 10-15 seconds on the MCBR.  

I'll have to experiment with it next summer in timing it.  

The mid-course brakes and how long they hold can be adjusted (they didn’t always bring the train to a stop). The brakes before the unload station are in fact a part of the ride’s block system. For many years, while KI’s FoF only ran two trains, KD’s ran three (may still be this way). 
 

As someone upthread said: the ride was designed for four trains (Station to mid course, post mid course to brakes outside unload station, unload station, and another brake between the two stations hidden from view). 
 

I believe both KI and KD had four trains originally manufactured, but only ever ran with three. After a time, KI was reduced to two while the third received extended maintenance work in the regular season. Each train would get rotated out after two seasons (or something like that). 
 

It’s been a minute, though, so my memory may be fuzzy. @Shaggy, or someone, correct me if I’m wrong. 

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It would have to be a block brake outside the unload station.  The control panel is at the rear of the unload station and there is a window for the operator to see the train.  I’m sure it functions to both send the train on and bring the next one in. That’s also where the transfer table is and if it wasn’t a block you wouldn’t be able to stop the train for switch position.

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I love it and its one of my wife's favorites.   My only problem with it, it its not great-looking from the outside...I wish there was a better way to make it look there.  But the ride itself is great.  Roller coasters can get a little rough.I love that, but some people don't and I am 43...so at some point the rough ones may not be as ridable for me as they are now.  

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I love this ride, my #3 coaster in the park.  I don't find it rough at all.  And for those of you youngins, trust me, the lap bar is waaaay better than its original restraints.  The only critique if you can call it that is that you really have to plan your FOF ride if it's a busy day.  Ride it early to avoid the lines. 

The theming is fantastic, the cheesy video they play with the vintage "b-grade 90's X-Files" vibe, the launch is great...I absolutely love this ride and find it odd that it's considered a 2nd tier coaster within the park. 

 

13 hours ago, bjcolglazier said:

It's amazing! And if you ever manage to get on it when 1/2 the train or more is empty it launches faster than when the train is full. Completely more intense ride as a result!

We rode it a few times early in the season 1st thing on a weekday and got multiple zen rides and/or rides with just a few people...it was absolutely fantastic!

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13 hours ago, silver2005 said:

I'm not convinced those brakes before the station are block brakes though. There are rides where it seems to stop at the MCBR and doesn't, but I think those are when the train ahead is clear of the unload station.   I've had rides ranging from slow but still moving through the MCBR to being stopped for as much as 10-15 seconds on the MCBR.  

I'll have to experiment with it next summer in timing it.  

I would like to confirm that FOF has 6 blocks but currently only utilize 5. Station to the first inversion. First inversion to the block brake. Blocks to the "slow down"/ ready brakes before unload. Ready to unload. unload to waiting's. waiting's to station. The transfer block is in between the "slow down" brakes and the unload station. The ride is currently not programmed to ever stop there.

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Here's some FOF trivia for you... 

KI's and KD's versions were built simultaneously.  However they were constructed in 2 different ways.

KI first built the building and then constructed the coaster inside - partially utilizing the crane built into the ceiling.

KD first assembled the coaster, then built the building around it.

KI won - they completed construction first.

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I don't think it's rough now, but when it had the over-the-shoulder restraints, it was the most painful ride in the park. The lap bar is tight, but man when it had the OTSRs, it felt like sticking your head in a pinball machine. 

Ride itself is fun. I've been on a few launch coasters, but this one's launch is one of the most effective; I think it's because the ride is indoors and you're staring into straight darkness. The launch is load, sudden and you don't have context of what you're going to. It's great. Aside from the slowdown mid-course, it's one of the great wild rides at KI. Sometimes, if the ride is just right, we hit the end brakes and I actually feel like we've stopped on an angle because I'm so discombobulated. 

If I had one thing i'd recommend changing, it might be to update the theme. The video has always been purposefully cheesy but now it just looks old (although I love the look of the hangar, the UFO and the launch station). Maybe update the story and some of the multimedia -- if they're turning the entire X-base into Area 72 with Orion, maybe create an overarching story. 

Also, I'd love some subtle updates in the spaghetti bowl. Nothing elaborate, but something that shakes the reminder that you're just looping around in a giant tin can. Maybe a way to make a starfield so you feel like you're hurtling through the cosmos. Play with the lighting and some effects work. Maybe just some fog (although not sure if the moisture would hurt the ride). But I feel like we're launched from some pretty good theming into what feels like a roller coaster set up in someone's garage. 

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I would like to confirm that FOF has 6 blocks but currently only utilize 5. Station to the first inversion. First inversion to the block brake. Blocks to the "slow down"/ ready brakes before unload. Ready to unload. unload to waiting's. waiting's to station. The transfer block is in between the "slow down" brakes and the unload station. The ride is currently not programmed to ever stop there.
Obviously the block between the station and first inversion can stop a train, but is it really considered a block? The train can't complete the course from full stop there.

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I rode FOF again this past October after not riding it for many years. It was mostly due to waiting for my son to be tall enough to ride.  I just didn't want to ride anything that he could not. I found it highly enjoyable. No complaints. It does feel jerkier to me, but I'm positive it's just me getting older.  

I, like many others here, rode it with the OTSR's when it opened. A lot more painful ride. Adding those lap bars made it a much more enjoyable experience.

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32 minutes ago, tuxedoman52 said:

Obviously the block between the station and first inversion can stop a train, but is it really considered a block? The train can't complete the course from full stop there.

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The station/launch is considered one block, which is immediately followed by the first block of the ride (which continues through the midcourse). What you are talking about is not an issue because you can't launch the train until the midcourse brakes are clear.

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The station/launch is considered one block, which is immediately followed by the first block of the ride (which continues through the midcourse). What you are talking about is not an issue because you can't launch the train until the midcourse brake is clear.
Exactly what I'm saying.

Also, has anyone seen the turnaround into the loading station used as a block since FoF went to 2 trains?

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1 minute ago, tuxedoman52 said:

Exactly what I'm saying.

Also, has anyone seen the turnaround into the loading station used as a block since FoF went to 2 trains?

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Yes, it's still used. You can have a train loading in the station and a train right behind it around the corner in the waiting brakes.

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