Magnum

One of the ride prides stapled me really well on Sunday.  I was sitting in 21 (which does not have a silver axel cover over it) and she told me to put my feet down.  Well my feet were down because there was nothing to rest my feet on.  She then tighted my seatbelt and then pushed my bar down hard.  Frank was on controls and saw it happen and was just laughing. 
-----------------
MF: 199
Magnum: 2113 (152 more)
I need a skyward time check!

Dan, the same thing happened to me. I had my feet so my heel was on the floor and my toes were on the front. I can't remember her name but, it was probably the same girl who did it to you. She told me to put my feet down and reached into the train put my feet flat on the floor then slammed my lapbar down further than it already was. That was painful! Unlike Joe who even if that did happen to him, he would still be out of his seat on the third hill! ;)

-----------------
Force Laps: 407
VertiGo Shots: 32
6/11/01: Gemini 100

Yeah while I was riding the crew told her who I was so it didn't happen the rest of the day.

-----------------
MF: 199
Magnum: 2113 (152 more)
I need a skyward time check!

For me, it's not the crew who staples, it's the ride itself.  Magnum isn't the only coaster that this happen to me on (happened on PR yesterday), but it's really annoying and painful on Magnum.  I like some room for some airtime but I never get it cause the damn lap bar always comes down on it's own after the first hill. Grrrrrr

*** This post was edited by loriu on 10/16/2001. ***

That's something I disagree with on virtually all coasters that have forceful airtime. In fact, contrary to enthusiast standards, I pull my seatbelt tight on Magnum. Pete suggested this once on this very forum in reaction to someone complaining about the "pain" inflicted by the lap bar. You know what? It works. You get plenty of forceful floating and your thighs are spared.

Now that I've been on two of them, I find the Morgan belts do the same thing.

The most dramatic example of this I've seen is on X-Flight. At first, they were really stapling down that harness. Wouldn't you know it though, bottom of the first hill, and every outward "G moment" thereafter, you could feel the air between you and the seat.

-----------------
Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

I agree Jeff - riding with the belt fairly tight and the bar just a little bit loose is the best way to go on Magnum.  When I was working Magnum, the only time I ever forced a bar down was if someone was obvoiusly trying to keep it up.  This could have been either by someone holding their toes up, putting their feet up "under the dashboard," or even putting their hands under their bar.  Obvoius attempts to gain room will generally get you stapled with a good crew.  If you just drop the bar down, maybe one click up, and sit normally, you'll probably have better luck than if you try to cheat.  The only bad thing about Magnum, as someone mentioned is that if you're not stapleed as you leave, you often are when you return.  The soak city curve did it a bunch of times to me.

-----------------
-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

I always have sore thighs when I get off of Magum....I tried this the other night, and it seemed to work....when you're coming to the last stretch with the bunny hills, scoot forward in your seat, that way, the lap bar is actually almost in your lap. This kinda cuts down on the air time, but it saves your legs!! Also, speaking as a staple nazi, I have one thing to say in our defense....we are told to do it, plain and simple. But on a side note, those that do make it obvious that they are trying to get air time are more likely to get slammed....so just be natural about it :)
-----------------
Millennium Force Crew- 2001

---

Jeff said:
That's something I disagree with on virtually all coasters that have forceful airtime. In fact, contrary to enthusiast standards, I pull my seatbelt tight on Magnum. Pete suggested this once on this very forum in reaction to someone complaining about the "pain" inflicted by the lap bar. You know what? It works. You get plenty of forceful floating and your thighs are spared.
Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

What you described Jeff is what I do.  Pull the seat belt tight and leave the bar up one notch from my legs.  Unfortunately, the bar doesn't STAY there.  Like I said in my earlier post, Magnum is not the only ride this happens on, for me anyway.
Can't those bars be tightened somehow so they stay where they are orginally set when the train leaves the station?  I'm not trying to be a smart ass.  I don't know the full functionality of the restraints and it's something that I've been wondering about for a while.  Can anyone shed some light?

---

*** This post was edited by loriu on 10/17/2001. ***

Ok here is a question, why is it oonly CP that insists on seatbelts and stapling on everyride, PKI no problem, SFGAM, no problem, Holliday world, no problem you get the idea but CP geez i would liek to have kids someday ya know always with teh staplingi get by by loosening my shoesand just lifting up the ball of my foot leaves the heel and toes in place and flex my leg muscles, gives me an extra inch or too, sneaky eh?
-----------------

They are very anal about safety...safety is no mistake.

On the Racer, I literally stood up on the lift...yeah, I know it was stupid, but that just shows you how little their ops pay attention to the looseness of their lapbars. No op ever pressed down on my lapbar the whole day.

-------------
MF count: 23

I thought it was "Safety is no accident" ;)

Anyway, according to Jeff Hammersely (for CCI and Holiday World fame) one is NOT to push down on the bars to checke them. The proper way is to PULL UP to ensure the restraint has locked (HersheyPark does this on their coasters as well).

But like loriu, I have had problems with "self-stapling" lapbars, most noticably on the airtime machines Maggie, Gemini, and Blue Streak (suprisingly, it's never happend on Mean Streak :)).

As far as the PTC trains go, I know the restraints *can* have strong springs as you almost cant force the bars *DOWN* on the woodies @ PKD. But Gemini and Magnum are the only two Arrows I've ridden with restraints like those. Anybody been on Excaliber, Desparado, Pepsi Max...
jeremy

---

Jeff said:
That's something I disagree with on virtually all coasters that have forceful airtime. In fact, contrary to enthusiast standards, I pull my seatbelt tight on Magnum. Pete suggested this once on this very forum in reaction to someone complaining about the "pain" inflicted by the lap bar. You know what? It works. You get plenty of forceful floating and your thighs are spared.
Now that I've been on two of them, I find the Morgan belts do the same thing.
The most dramatic example of this I've seen is on X-Flight. At first, they were really stapling down that harness. Wouldn't you know it though, bottom of the first hill, and every outward "G moment" thereafter, you could feel the air between you and the seat.
-----------------
Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

---

I agree with Jeff regarding the belt. However, at my height and size the lap bars never come down very far on my legs so I am always getting airtime. This does lead to some bruising on my legs due to the lap bars. It happens on every type of coaster with U-Bar restraints for me. This is why I love PTC trains with the simple L-Bar restraints.

 
As to X-Flight never had a problem with stapling down of restraint. Usually found plenty of room for floating time there. If anything, I found my shoulders to hurt from hanging because I was so loose.  

*** This post was edited by coasterkingoftheworld on 10/16/2001. ***

Every park i have been too pulls up on the bars except for CP which pushes down like i said I have lost my "boys" too many times already. Although riding the Viper at SFGAM I lost em when i had the bar up a bit too far. LOL

You get some seriouls airtime on that thing.

geez.

-----------------

It's not stapleing that's the problem, (BTW once a younger boy in front of me on Magnum was trying to staple himself in, and a ride op kind of laughed and told him he didnt need to staple himself) it's just the weight of the lap bars, they just rest on you and push down as the g's take them...

Mistake...accident, there the same damn things. :)

-------------
MF count: 23

Safety is no accident

Stop accidents before they stop you

 

Do it right, do it once, do it safe.

-----------------
MF: 199
Magnum: 2113 (152 more)
I need a skyward time check!

Haha Dan, I knew that was coming! :)  Seriously though, I think people are imagining things.  The checking of bars at CP is no different than anywhere else - although some parks barely touch the bars as they go by.  I never stapled anyone intentionally, unless I could see that they were trying to cheat and get too much extra room.

-----------------
-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

No Kidding, when I went to PKI this year they bust out the staple gun for me, except they failed for the most part. :). After numerous staple attempts on Racer, when I got too Top Gun the guy felt the need to jam the OTSR down evening though it was already touching my shoulders. Yeah, Arrow suspendeds are know for there ruthless ejector air ;). I don't think I ever laughed so hard up a lifthill in my life.

As for lap bar tricks, they don't work. Those include sitting WAY up in the seat, lifting our legs off the front, and putting you hand underneath the bar. You have to use a more subtle, sneaky approach to get away with things as to not arouse suspicion.

As for Millennium Force, I have to bust out the quote of the year from the man of the year on this one.

"Nothing wrong with a little airtime." CEO Dick Kinzel Referring to leaving a little extra room between himself and the lapbar on Millennium Force

Um, I agree with Dick! I wont get into the details though. Just now that they have weeded out fat people from the ride (which is what the problem is) I think it is time to move on so we can ride in the safe enjoyable Kinzel way. :).

Right now though Millennium Force is a $27 million birth control device.

I don't know matt I have been to a lot of parks this year and I was only stapled at cp, everywhere else they let me keep a couple inches between me and teh bar, with all the cci's I have ridden this year belive me I was able to leave teh lap bar up. Although on my last trip to cp this year I did use the subtle approach i stated above, flexed my leg muscles and lifted up the arch of my foot, it gave a me a good couple inches and nobody ever noticed.
-----------------
Welcome back Magnum riders how was your ride?

---

MDOmnis said:
"The checking of bars at CP is no different than anywhere else - although some parks barely touch the bars as they go by."

---

Sorry, Matt, but my experience says differently. While most parks *do* push down on the bars, HersheyPark and Holiday World specifically pull up on the bars. On the other hand, of those parks that do push down, only BGT seemed to have the same "enthusiasm" with that particular job function.
jeremy