Mantis floorless

Shawn, I was really asking if it was as painfull.

Oh sorry about that MilleniumMadMan, I misread what you said. I thought King Cobra was more painful then Mantis because on King Cobra, the headrests weren't too comfortable. Then again your not suppossed to relax on a rollercoaster. Mantis to me is only uncomfortable when around your legs. Mantis just pulls your leg muscles because your body isn't used to standing in that kind of position.

JuggaLotus said:
Mantis could easily make interval if every time it didn't have to load a bunch of retards who don't know how to stand up.

Personally I like Mantis and don't want it changed, except to maybe kick people out of the park who don't stand up when told to.

Completely agreed. I don't understand why people can't just walk onto the train, into their spot, and straddle the thing between your legs without sitting. It really isn't rocket science. All it is, is standing up normally except with the rest between your legs.

They need to do what SFGA did on Iron Wolf. The floor has little feet painted on it so you know the "proper standing position." *** Edited 10/14/2005 4:10:04 AM UTC by PKevin2004***

Not a bad idea.

I enjoy Mantis for what it is. Yes, it can hurt a little. Also, with the shorter seatbelts, I need help getting mine done

B & M stand-ups, in general, do not age well. People that travel around and ride others will agree with me on this. Iron Wolf was once my favorite stand-up. It blew the pants off Mantis! It is so intense! But, when riding it last year, I thought I was on an Arrow looper! It has turned into a torture device.

Again, this is B & M's very first coaster ever built.

Great! I thought it quite possible no one would reply. Cool.
Bholcomb: You're not serious. :) The simulator I use is NoLimits... http://www.nolimitscoaster.com/
0g: Yeah, I'm guessing "return on investment" is what would come to mind first. But if it was possible from an engineering standpoint I believe they could benifit from such a retrofit. It could be just one of "several new reasons to visit this season" (I just made that up myself...I think).
I understand we don't ride rollercoasters to relax, actually I do, but thats just me. I don't mind a rough ride. If that's it's percieved intent...MeanStreak for example. I use to work Millennium Force and while sitting at entrance I use to watch it a bit and I've always just thought that layout of the ride just beg's for backwards running trains. I dunno.
King Cobra had a more effective 90 degree spin perhaps because it ws just two wide. The ride was strange, short and uncomfortable. It was a good ride I thought... A little less rough in my experience.
I don't think Mantis is painful just too rough to enjoy and could also use a new name.

"Best Re-Engineered Rides on the Planet!" ;)

If I am remembering what a friend (known in my house as my "engineering guru") has talked about in the past correctly, there is not a realistic way to turn Mantis into a sitdown coaster, period.

All coasters are engineered specifically for the type of trains run on the rides, so the physics behind the elements of the ride, etc. will not allow for the addition of different trains. Granted, you could probably turn Blue Streak into a backwards coaster, but that is because of the type of ride. Mantis would probably not be ride-able for anyone if they switched to floorless or plain sit-down trains given the way it's built.

(I'm not an engineer, and can't explain it like my friend could, but I think you get the idea. :) ) *** Edited 10/14/2005 5:55:35 PM UTC by raptorgrl***

He was probably talking about the "heartline" of the coaster. Coasters are designed around an imaginary line, around which the G-forces are calculated. For instance, a bunny hill produces different G's on your feet as compared to your head, because your head is farther away from the track. If you move riders closer or farther from the track, you move the "heartline", therefore changing the effects on the body.

That being said, making Mantis a floorless sit-down seems possible, since the G's would effectively be reduced (at least in theory - I've never designed a coaster myself). I don't see why they couldn't just put on floorless stand-up trains (provided little platforms remained - not sure how that might work out), thus keeping the heartline the same and providing a more exciting ride - not that Mantis really needs it! :)

I'm pretty sure there is a coaster that exists, someplace, that has both a sit-down and stand-up train on it's circuit and you can choose between which train you want.

I don't recall where and I don't have the time to research it but I suspect there is someone that has more information about it that can chime in.

I found this "choose your position" ride at Drayton Manor: http://www.themeparks-uk.com/drayton_manor_ride_guide.html

"Apocalypse - The world's first stand-up tower drop, an incredible 200ft high ride where you can choose from sitting down, standing up, or 'stand-up-floorless'"....

I couldn't find anything on an actual roller coaster with two different train designs.
*** Edited 10/14/2005 7:36:28 PM UTC by Gravity***

I love seeing the word "whilst" used in context... hehehe. Just hard to say without smiling...

There is the a Togo in Japan that has sitdown and standing trains. It's literally called "Standing and Loop Coaster" in Yomiuriland.

*** Edited 10/14/2005 9:18:07 PM UTC by Scott***

http://www.rcdb.com/ig1219.htm?picture=1

Thanks. I knew I saw that picture before. But, if the choice is Togo or stick with what they got with Mantis then I say stand-up only it is.

That is definently a unique coaster. Accord to rcdb, the River King Mine Train at Six Flags St. Louis, my first coaster, was a floorless for a season in 1984. It was also double-tracked. I do not remember any of that, as I was too young at the time. That would also be unique, to ride an Arrow Mine Train standing up!

http://www.rcdb.com/id125.htm

djDaemon said:

That being said, making Mantis a floorless sit-down seems possible, since the G's would effectively be reduced (at least in theory - I've never designed a coaster myself). I don't see why they couldn't just put on floorless stand-up trains (provided little platforms remained - not sure how that might work out), thus keeping the heartline the same and providing a more exciting ride - not that Mantis really needs it! :)

um...A floorless stand up coaster? That would indicate Mantis would loose its floor, leaving only that 2-inch wide hunk of rubber between your legs for vertical support on a 4G roller-coaster. From a guys POV that sounds very, VERY painful. Just my 2 cents.

~the clean up crew~

WAIT!!! Scratch that out. Sorry djDaemon i missread your post. I guess I need glasses. I thought you were the craziest person on the planet for a second there. A floorless stand-up roller coaster, what was I thinking???

~the clean up crew~

How could Mantis become a floorless? What would you stand on to get into the train? The whole station would have to be re-engineered with a rise-drop floor.