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Diamondback Construction Thread (Updated 3-19-09)


BoddaH1994
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Wait, GAd has is own gas station? Are the prices jacked up?

No, the prices are a bit higher than WaWa, naturally, but not that much. And even the NJ Turnpike gasoline prices are reasonable. Gasoline sells for very low margins in New Jersey. Most of the original Six Flags parks had gasoline stations. A few still survive, and are only open when the parks are!

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Also, as a side note... anyone who attended the tours on Saturday sick? I have a terrible cold and now people are laughing because of me going down to KI when it was so cold. I guess it really is like Avatar put it on our walk out, "I guess this truly makes us enthusiasts!" I don't think at this moment IMO their could be a different definition.

When I got home about 40 minutes later, I grabbed some Zicam. I put some on then and about six hours later. It worked perfectly!

I had a feeling a "cold" discussion would pop up.

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Wait, GAd has is own gas station? Are the prices jacked up?

No, the prices are a bit higher than WaWa, naturally, but not that much. And even the NJ Turnpike gasoline prices are reasonable. Gasoline sells for very low margins in New Jersey. Most of the original Six Flags parks had gasoline stations. A few still survive, and are only open when the parks are!

I had always heard the cheaper gas was to persuade the intimidated (such as myself) to get gas in NJ instead of PA...and more short-hand, I'm tellin' you, Terpy, forget KC....TB in Mer-ville!!! :D

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Yeah I think the trains will help the thrill factor on Diamondback. The open air is what is going to freak me out. Millennium does a number on me being open air. However, the seat beat is what calms me there. Diamondback having no belts is going to triple the thrill for me.

Also, as a side note... anyone who attended the tours on Saturday sick? I have a terrible cold and now people are laughing because of me going down to KI when it was so cold. I guess it really is like Avatar put it on our walk out, "I guess this truly makes us enthusiasts!" I don't think at this moment IMO their could be a different definition.

I know BM coaster has no belt but it still thrilling coaster, but somethime it kind scared me because it happen with a man who flew off seat from coaster superman ride of steel new england in 2006. Superman ride of steel was make by Intamin AG , they have lap bar and seat belt but BMs coaster dont it make me wonder how those lap bar hold people in.....

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^B&M's safety record is flawless in terms of mechanics and the ride itself. The biggest problem for B&M seems to be people running underneath their rides for one reason or another and getting smacked by the train or by a guest on the train. As far as I have heard and read, B&M has never had any serious mechanical problems that endangered any riders.

So you have nothing to worry about except enjoying the ride!

EDIT: and the incident you speak of was not completely the ride's fault. From what I have been able to gather, it was primarily a combination of negligence on the part of the ride ops and the rider.

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Yeah I think the trains will help the thrill factor on Diamondback. The open air is what is going to freak me out. Millennium does a number on me being open air. However, the seat beat is what calms me there. Diamondback having no belts is going to triple the thrill for me.

Also, as a side note... anyone who attended the tours on Saturday sick? I have a terrible cold and now people are laughing because of me going down to KI when it was so cold. I guess it really is like Avatar put it on our walk out, "I guess this truly makes us enthusiasts!" I don't think at this moment IMO their could be a different definition.

I know BM coaster has no belt but it still thrilling coaster, but somethime it kind scared me because it happen with a man who flew off seat from coaster superman ride of steel new england in 2006. Superman ride of steel was make by Intamin AG , they have lap bar and seat belt but BMs coaster dont it make me wonder how those lap bar hold people in.....

The first such incident on an INTAMIN Superman: Ride of Steel happened at Darien Lake on its opening weekend. The ride did not have seat belts at the time. Only afterwards were they installed, along with many, many, modifications to the restraint systems on those rides. When the B and M hypercoasters first debuted (see Nitro, for example), there was a small cable that attached from the rear of the restraint to the train body (see Flight of Fear's 'seatbelt' for a nearly analagous example). The cables were soon removed.

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The problem at SFNE was that the ride sensed that the lapbar was down but it wasn't safely down. The man was overweight but they have a new system now right? It makes sure the lap bar is down to a safe point and if it's not they have to push down as far as it can go until they system says it is down.

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When the B and M hypercoasters first debuted (see Nitro, for example), there was a small cable that attached from the rear of the restraint to the train body (see Flight of Fear's 'seatbelt' for a nearly analagous example). The cables were soon removed.

I believe Nitro and Raging Bull were the only B&Ms to have the cables... and it was, more or less, a Six Flags novelty. At least that's the only ones I rode that ever had them. Apollo didn't. But as you said, they were short lived. I've never had it confirmed, but I've heard several ride ops sliced fingers on the cables when the plastic covering on them wore down... thus the removal. Seems like at an IAAPA I attended around 2000, B&M were showing off the new "security cables" on a displayed hyper car.

B&M hypers all use a much simpler, but effecive way of securing a harness. There's a little "line" on the pivot axle at the base of the restraint pole. The restraint must be pushed far enough in so that the ride op can see the mark on the base of the restraint. It's the same idea as those "Power Surge" rides where the Ride Op must push the restraint in far enough that a signal light above the rider goes out.

I've ridden the Superman Rides both prior to, and after, the restraint modification. The earlier restraint system was flawed for sure. Specifically at SFA, I could push my restraint slowly forward after locking, and no I didn't do so on purpose. I remember riding, having my lap bar push forward from my body weight mid-ride, which scared me to death. Upon exit, I told the ride op, who said "Yeah, we know" and shrugged it off. I didn't ride the coaster anymore that day. I was not shocked in the least when the person was thrown out at the other park. It was obvious that an obese person could easily cause the restraint to fail.

Shaggy

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In the same vein as this recent restraint-oriented tangent, has B&M adopted the hydraulic restraint system, or do they still use the ratchet system? I haven't been on any newer B&Ms to know myself. I know B&M is very conservative and traditionalist in their designs, but I was curious as to whether or not they have embraced the newer (and i would think better?) safety mechanisms Intamin implements. Unless, of course, Intamin has exclusive rights or something.

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Here is something I found for Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point I am also wondering how lets just will say one did fail. I know the lap bars on Dragster have a fail safe hydraulic restraints. There are two for each lap bar. So if one fails there is still that one on the other side working. I know Dragster is different from this coaster but I am just wondering about what Diamondback will use.

Here is a picture I found showing Top Thrill Dragster's lap bar,

9810hydraulicgi00000003cc5.gif

Two simple hydraulic valves ensure that riders of Top Thrill Dragster are held safely and securely in place by a padded lap bar. The accumulator is physically attached to the cylinder, and each lap bar uses two of these circuits — one for redundancy.

I found this on this site, http://www.hydraulicspneumatics.com/200/Is...alse/9810/Issue

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I have a question about the restraints on Diamondback. Since I have never been on a B&M hyper before, I'm wondering how forgiving the restraints are in terms of rider size. I know last year, there wasn't a ride I couldn't ride, including MF and TDD at CP. But I hate to say I've packed on a couple inches during the winter. I'm working right now to slim down back to where I was last yeat. Currently I have a waist size of 38. Will this be a problem on DB or should I not worry?

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I have a question about the restraints on Diamondback. Since I have never been on a B&M hyper before, I'm wondering how forgiving the restraints are in terms of rider size. I know last year, there wasn't a ride I couldn't ride, including MF and TDD at CP. But I hate to say I've packed on a couple inches during the winter. I'm working right now to slim down back to where I was last yeat. Currently I have a waist size of 38. Will this be a problem on DB or should I not worry?

I don't think you should worry. In particular, B&Ms typically have "Big Boy" seats set aside, with a little more "room" for the larger patron. Not that you fit that category. I also know from experience that the B&M Hyper seats tend to be quite roomy and IMO very comfy. (I still want a seat to put in my living room to sit in and watch tv, complete with TV Tray restraint LOL) The good news is that there will undoubtedly be a test chair at the queue entrance for larger folks to avoid embarassment, and a wait for nada.

Shaggy

P.S. My 34" pants are feeling very tight these days... I blame winter too... ;-)

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I have a question about the restraints on Diamondback. Since I have never been on a B&M hyper before, I'm wondering how forgiving the restraints are in terms of rider size. I know last year, there wasn't a ride I couldn't ride, including MF and TDD at CP. But I hate to say I've packed on a couple inches during the winter. I'm working right now to slim down back to where I was last yeat. Currently I have a waist size of 38. Will this be a problem on DB or should I not worry?

I don't think you should worry. In particular, B&Ms typically have "Big Boy" seats set aside, with a little more "room" for the larger patron. Not that you fit that category. I also know from experience that the B&M Hyper seats tend to be quite roomy and IMO very comfy. (I still want a seat to put in my living room to sit in and watch tv, complete with TV Tray restraint LOL) The good news is that there will undoubtedly be a test chair at the queue entrance for larger folks to avoid embarassment, and a wait for nada.

Shaggy

P.S. My 34" pants are feeling very tight these days... I blame winter too... ;-)

Just to add to these sentiments...I think you should be fine!!

The one thing I noticed about the Behemoth seats compared to the seats of the other, older, B&M hypers is that they're deeper and the edges come up a little bit more so you're sitting deeper in the seat (only tall people will be touching the floor).

But anyway, I've been on both Behemoth and Nitro about 65 times each and have seen ONE 'walk of shame' on Behemoth and about 6 on Nitro with the older seats.

The walk of shame on Behemoth was a guy who was very huge...at least a 46" waist, if not bigger.

As I've been saying to people, if you can fit on Vortex right now you'll have no probs, and probably even a 44" on D-back should be completely fine.

P.S. Do B&M hyper trains have Big Boy seats? I've never noticed or paid enough attention to that?

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