Monty Jasper on Dragster

A small group of enthusiasts got to chat with Monty Jasper today. This is what he had to say about Dragster.

Xcelerator was essentially a "proof-of-concept" for Dragster. Its motor, at 8,700 horsepower, could even launch a dragster train the full 120 mph, but they aired on the side of caution with a 1,000 horsepower motor.

The ride has several hundred switches and censors on it, the most complex in the park.

The blocking, on the other hand, is probably the simplest. Trains will indeed move in pairs. There will be a seperate unload, for a pair, on the back turn. Down track of the load station, there will be two areas, one "hot" block for the actual launch, and one standby. As soon as the first train has cleared the top of the ride, the second will move forward to the launch. Once the train ahead clears the brakes, the second will be launched. When the second has crested the top, the next pair of trains are rolled up.

At this point they expect to use one person per train per side on the load, meaning four people. They'll have nearly 60 seconds to load.

The ride has a total of 32 motors connected to a planatary gear arrangement, 16 on each side of the drum you've seen in the pictures. A total of four valves will actually serve the motors from a number of accumulators (he wasn't sure off the top of his head how many).

Lighting has been tested, and it's said to be a pretty awesome thing to see.

The ride's power is fed off of the same dedicated line that feeds Wicked Twister. Dragster, by comparison, will likely be far more expensive to operate from a power consumption standpoint.

The foundations for the tower are only between 7 and 10 feet deep. Little did anyone know that they extend under the midway by about 50 feet, so you were walking on them all season long. They were poured last winter because they obviously couldn't tear up the entire midway during the season.

The launch will pull between 1 and 1.5 G's. WT, for comparison's sake, does about 1.7.

There will be sound effects to accompany the launch (i.e., squealing tires), and the "Christmas tree" on the tower will let you see from pretty much anywhere in the park when a launch will happen.

There was more, but I don't remember off the top of my head what else was said. Bill Spehn, VP of operations, was also there, and actually handled the more operational questions.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP - Sillynonsense.com
"The world rotates to The Ultra-Heavy Beat!" - KMFDM

I guess I was wrong about the unload stations then. I admit it! ;)

-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew
2003 Magnum Crew

Jeff.. typo notice here and on CB.. Don't you mean a 10,000 hp motor??

Just an observation...

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June 11th, 2001 - Gemini 100
VertiGo Rides - 82
Technical Services 2002
Fright Zone Screamster 2002

So was I. I really didn't think there would be any with that much time to kill. Shows you what we know!

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP - Sillynonsense.com
"The world rotates to The Ultra-Heavy Beat!" - KMFDM

Thanks Jeff for reporting all that back to us. I never would have guessed there would be sound effects included.

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Eric Morrison (Coast)
Point Hype
http://www.pointhype.com

That would be cool if Monty updated the construction diary.

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Just can't live in that negative way... Make way for the positive Day

Unloading in the curve? Great! Looks like MagnumForce owes me some lunch on opening day!

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- John
Support Rob in theGreat DDR Challenge!

I was wondering, does anoybody know what is the maximum amount of G's Dragster will pull. Mainly on the Pull-Up and Pull out.

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- Dennis
NYC Subways, The next best thing to riding roller coasters.

Jeff mentioned the G's in his post at the beginning of this thread

That was just the launch though. But still, looking at the curves, I bet they'll be less than MF.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP - Sillynonsense.com
"The world rotates to The Ultra-Heavy Beat!" - KMFDM

We actually saw the lighting test on the cams a couple weeks ago, it is pretty awesome looking. Though i'm sure it does not compare to seeing it in person.

Sound effects? I really really hope this does not turn into Disaster Transport part 2.

I'm really looking forward to seeing that Christmas tree on the tower at night, now that should be quite a sight to see from inside the park.

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GOCC member #335
DigitalThrills.net

I have a question for everybody. Considering that Dragster's launch will pull less G's than Wicked Twister's, does that mean Dragster's launch will be less intense? I would think not considering Wicked Twister goes roughly 0-50 in four seconds as opposed to Dragster which is 0-120 in four seconds. I am confused.

I'm kinda disapointed about the launch. Xcelerator's two-G launch was insane. I just hope I won't have any unfair hopes about Dragster.

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Jes
Jes's Roller Coasters DJ Jes
Six Flags Worlds Of Adventure Ride-Ops Crew 2002-2003! Have fun trying to find me!

I was thinking the same thing. I still think they are downplaying the intensity of the launch on purpose. If the video is accurate, the sled will detach from the train well before 4 seconds. Dodonpa pulls 4 G's I believe. 1.5 for TTD is hard to believe.

Perhaps the smoothness of the launch has something to do with it. To theorize, on Dragster maybe the increase in train speed is linear, meaning even throughout.

On the other hand Wicked Twister could hit a point on it's 4 seconds to 50 where acceleration reaches it's highest and slows down. This is probably right at the beginning of the launch where I think it is most intense (if that made any Sense)!

Jeff said:
As soon as the first train has cleared the top of the ride, the second will move forward to the launch. Once the train ahead clears the brakes, the second will be launched. When the second has crested the top, the next pair of trains are rolled up.

That's going to be handing out a lot of expletives from the second train after seeing the first launch. ;)

I can't wait...
*** This post was edited by Gravity 2/21/2003 11:11:24 PM ***

Gravity has a good point. I definitely want to be in the second train so I can see the train in front of me peel out and take off. Thanks for the info, Jeff.

I thought that Wicked Twister hit 50 mph in 2 seconds, not 4...that would expain the difference in launch intensities.

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What is most anticipated event of 2003? the debut of Dragster, the release of Metallica's new album, the release of Terminator 3, or the release of Matrix:Reloaded...tough call.

Was anything discussed about on-ride photos? Concerning where both of them will be and how the final picture will turn out? This is one of my biggest questions.

I'm also definitely gonna go for the second train. When Jeff 1st explained how the 6 train operation worked, I sat there imagining being in the second train and watching the train in front of you suddenly take off and fly down that stretch of track a faster speed that any other rollercoaster in the world. Then moving up for your turn.

I think Janice Witherow said they were not going to tell you where the on ride cameras will be. She said something about a before and after thing so I'm wondering if thats supposed to mean there will be one before and after the tower.
*** This post was edited by RllrCstrDude187 2/21/2003 11:37:06 PM ***

I wouldn't count on the ability to "pick" which train you're gonna be on.

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June 11th, 2001 - Gemini 100
VertiGo Rides - 82
Technical Services 2002
Fright Zone Screamster 2002