Raptor Crack?

I felt the "trim brake-like jerk" on opening day too. I thought I was on crack or something and was just imagining things. I had to look at the track afterwards to make sure a trim wasn't added.

Raptor didn't feel "speed paint" fast on opening day, but that's probably partly because of how windy it's been.

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Troika/Chaos Triangle Crew 2002
http://www.msu.edu/~kemppai8/ --- My stupid website

If the wind is blowing off the bay it affects Raptor. If it is coming in off the lake side, Magnum is affected. The weather has been terrible this week from what I can see and no doubt has played major havoc with CP's ride operations. I'm hoping it improves when I go next week. :) Quite honestly, I didn't notice anything unusual about Raptor on opening day, but Joe would know what the heck he's talking about. He was there almost as much as me last year and I worked at the park! :)

-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

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When I read this header of this thread I thought that someone's addiction to Raptor had crossed the line. I was worried that they equated it to "crack".

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Well, after meeting Joe E. last year, I must concur that he does seem to have a crack-like addiction to the CP rollercoasters. Not that it's a bad thing. We'll just need to sit back and observe to see how we can all benefit from such a habit.

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Nobody tosses a Dwarf!!!

Raptor was down all day today. I think the crew was sent home early because I may have saw some on the Magnum platform around 6:30, so that probably why it was not up later even with the slowing winds.

My friend who was with me even noticed the little bump. We were in the back left hand side, nothing big like I said but noticeable.

I was there today and it was pretty windy. Every time that Raptor has been closed in years past that I can recall was on fairly windy days. Those trains seem less aerodynamic than your standard coaster train.

If something was wrong with it, they would be on it. Especially since it is one of the best rides in the park.

I think there is something they aren't telling us. Like raptor2 said, I agree, as I was also at the Point yesterday and it was windy, but if any ride should've been closed for wind yesterday it would've been MF and WT way before Raptor. Other than MF's electrical problem early in the morning, MF & WT were open all day. Aside from being narrower, WT's trains are very similar to Raptor's, why didn't Raptor start after every other ride was brought on-line when a major portion of the winds died down? If you were there you would've also noticed that it did get windly again later on and all the other rides were still being run. Also if you were there and saw the blackness over the lake (WT side) and the rain you could see over it a few miles away, you'd think they'd have closed that one for sure.

With all that said, please explain to me why Raptor did not run yesterday "Due to Weather Conditions." Thanks.

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cyberdman

Not to be rude, but chances are you have no idea what wind conditions cause rides to go down. I don't even know that much. What I do know is that Magnum can run in a very high wind (30+ steady with gusts over 40)provided its in the right direction. Raptor is slowed by winds that blow in off the bay and Magnum is slowed out in the pretzle by winds coming off the lake. I don't know why you say WT should have been closed because if there's any ride that should not be affected at all by wind, that would probably be it. The spikes are designed to sway, the ride is launched and is not going to roll back because of wind or anything. Direction has as much or more to do with ride closures than wind speed. Perhaps Raptor did have a mechanical problem too, but CP is usually good about taking care of those quickly to get the ride up. Maybe there's a reason that they couldn't fix the problem during the day (i.e. shooting sparks across the midway whole they weld the track or something). The point is, we just don't know. :) There was some reason (probably a good one too) that it was down. It has seemed so far this season that CP has had more rides down than usual, but the weather has been awful and hopefully it will improve. I'm not ready to say they're slipping in their operations and maintenance quite yet. A whole season of this, then I would, but not yet. CP has a reputation for the best uptime in the business.

-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

Yeah, I know. The spikes are designed to sway, everyone knows that. Wind direction? Okay maybe, but due to the fact that the wind was coming in off the lake from all directions seems a like stretch. Other rides were closed and then later opened while there were still intense winds from all over - all day. To me, it seems that since WT is right on the beach and being a smaller structure than Magnum, Raptor or whatever than it would be more logical to find that one closed in the wind situations we saw yesterday than some others. Additionally WT is not a complete circuit which I think would add some stability to the ride itself if it was a complete circuit. Anyway, enough about WT, I want to know about Raptor...

I am not knocking CP at all. I love CP and wouldn't be here if I didn't or did not appreciate them or their Maintainence folks, etc.. There was not one person I saw from maintainance there all day at the Raptor. Maybe it was down for mechanical reasons and they couldn't repair it then due to the conditions, but be up front about it and say so. Say "Ride closed due to maintainance operations" or some other verbage, not weather, that gives you the impression that they will at some point re-open the ride. They could have at least posted on the gate the Raptor will not be operating today. I would have been fine with that too. I just want to know.

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cyberdman
*** This post was edited by cyberdman 5/15/2002 12:00:03 PM ***

Fair enough - I understand what you are saying and even agree with your second paragraph.

As for your first paragraph though, just keep in mind that it is rarely integrity of the structure that is the reason a ride goes down for wind. None of the rides at CP are going to blow over in a strong wind (running or not). They all survive nasty winters without problems. It's more about the rollback potential than structural integrity. Also, winds don't usually blow from all directions. They might have shifted throughout the day a bit, but wind can't come from everywhere at once. ;) Anyone know if Raptor is back up today? The weather is much improved here in western NY. I looked at the WT webcam earlier and it looked as though that ride was down. :(

-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

Raptor was about the only thing up this morning. The bump is still there. It really does not feel like much but you can hear it good. It only works if you sit on the left side. Not sure when or if they will shore it up more or leave it.

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Also if you were there and saw the blackness over the lake (WT side) and the rain you could see over it a few miles away, you'd think they'd have closed that one for sure.

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Well if they saw on the radar that the rain was going to be contained a couple miles away, they won't bother unless it directly effects the ride.

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Back from lurking
New account, same name
KW 2002

Yeah, at least for the beginning of the day, Raptor was the only thing up on that side of the park. I heard the bump... it super-noticeable. whiiiiiiiiiiiii *CAchunk* iiiirrr

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TPFKAV
MF Count - 32

I will have to report back on this, I will be at CP tomorrow through Monday. I will definately keep an eye on Raptor and let you know. Thanks to everyone for the information! See you in line!

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-hyperlink :-)

I rode Raptor 3 times today and I noticed it. When I sat on the left I noticed it, when I sat on the right, I didn't.

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2002- Raptor Hot Shots
Force Laps: 427
Wicked Twists: 37

I really don't have a problem if Raptor has a crack or not in it...I know CP will fix it if they find it necessary to do so...Those daily inspections would have caught it by now and I'm sure that some of the employees will have notified the park about it by now...But the high winds thing, I completly understand....When I was at CP last year, I was talking to one of the ride ops on Raptor while we were waiting for the wind to calm down...I was told that they have to close Raptor down with gusts over 30 because the train will not make it completly around the 360 degree loop...The wind effects the speed and it doesn't quite have that right push to make it...Just going by what I was told...If I'm wrong, then I'm sorry, but it really does make sense if you think about it....That is quite a big loop...But I would much rather wait for the winds to die down and know that I would make it around the loop safely, rather than get stuck on the ride after not making it around the loop....

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Be wary of falling shoes while waiting in line for Raptor

It's not really a bump that you can feel, only hear. It sounds kind of like a Cha-Ching.

Raptor and WT are totally different. I don't see WT ever being down for wind. It's a LIM powered ride that can't have a rollback, or rather, is designed to rollback during normal operation. It's basically impervious to wind. Raptor's trains are wide, and I think it shuts down when the wind comes from a certain direction only. I could very well believe that it was down because of wind on Tues.

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It's very hard to drink all day...
Unless you start first thing in the morning.

I felt it today riding on the left side. It did feel like something grabbed the train a little, but it was really more of a noise than a feel. Even a friend of mine sitting next to me asked it I felt something weird, and he didn't know about the crack. Also, when I arrived around 11:15, Raptor did break down several times in a row. It seemed to be running fine in the afternoon.

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-Chris Woodard
"Thank you for replacing Mean Streak's square wheels with round ones."
VertiGo: VertiGone but not forgotten.

Yup, as stated above but since I have to state it for it to be real ;) the crack is there. I don't think it's as bad as closing day but you hear it only on the left. If I had not been paying attention and purposely listening for it no one would know it is there. Yeah, I took another trip, saw, Dan, JS, birdofprey and others I have forgotten already. I was impressed with the Raptor crew hitting intervals already with minimal stacking.

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This second hill is my favorite part of the ride. It is so Cool!
Gemini 100
"Hello, I've seemed to glue myself to myself" AP2
Raptor Flights: 504

Jeff said:
"One less "moron" on GTTP..."

...and one still here! :)

When I rode Raptor last Saturday night I didn't notice any bump on the bottom of the first drop; however, when I was there Monday, while walking by the first drop, I heard a "trim-brakish" sound and looked to make sure CP didn't install a brake. Seeing none, I dismissed it as me hearing things. I completely forgot about the crack last year until now, so I guess that explains it.

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Signature under construction...

Thanks for all your posts and opinions. Rollbacks due to windy comditions make sense to me. Does anyone know if the fix to this crack last year was a semi-permanent fix that they plan on having to re-fix over and over or have they worked out a permanent solution. Seems kinda scary to me that you are able to hear and feel (how ever slight) this supposed fix. I would think a permanent solution would be one you shouldn't be able to notice. I know CP wouldn't operate the ride if it wasn't safe, I guess I just want some assurance that the future of Raptor isn't doomed because of a quick fix. Thanks.

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cyberdman