Relations with Intamin
I always thought TTD was a prototype. I don't know too much about Xcellerator.
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Millennium Force is MY baby.
Where would we be without CP?:)
Tom said:
89 was my first year at the point, and Gemini has been consistent the entire time IMO. Magnum is not as good as it was that opening year, it was significantly smoother in those early years. Of all the Arrows I have riden, Magnum and Gemini are the best, which is probably a testament to CP maintanace.Tom
Don't forget that both of these coasters opened as the largest of their kind. It's really great that they have been able to keep them im as great a shape as they currently are.
Back to topic: Yes, it does have a different support structure, but the ride/launch concept itself is still the same.
I have time on my hands, so I looked up the deffinition on www.dictionary.com
pro·to·type ( P ) Pronunciation Key (prt-tp)
n. An original type, form, or instance serving as a basis or standard for later stages.
I think the rest is pretty much self explanatory.
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AKA Cobraroller on Cbuzz
Cars, airplanes, amd circuit boards are examples of products with a distinct prototype. In these areas, prototypes are a testing phase in the design of a product. Prototypes are the first complete product made that are throughly tested for proper operation. The advantage to these kinds of prototypes is that the finished product will be reproduced exactly. (this excludes interchangeable options) Roller Coasters are a completely different ball of wax. Very few designs are exactly alike. They are almost always engineered on a case by case basis. There is a vague line between a prototype or not. The hyrdraulic launch system was originaly designed for Top Thrill Dragster, but it's used in Xcelerator also. It's more correct to say that neither Xcelerator nor Top Thrill Dragster are prototypes than Xcelerator is and TTD is not. There was a test system before either of these rides were built.
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Eddy the retard is awesome.
Just because it's the first to do something doesn't mean it's the prototype. Unless something was built as a test model it's not a prototype.
Example: Hypersonic XLC was the prototype device at the S&S ranch and was turned into a full coaster. So, we can say that XLC is a prototype.
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- John
I Snap Flyers
Considering Top Thrill Dragster a prototype is, for the lack of a better word, fuzzy.
In either case, it doesn’t change the fact that an unknown problem with the hydraulic system wrecked havoc, causing TTD to be down most of June. July for was pretty bad also.
The ride ran most days in July, but before the water cooling system, they were lucky if they could go longer than an hour without a breakdown. The biggest problem with the water cooling system is that the ride can’t run in dry mode. As mentioned before, dry mode increases the efficiency of the ride by quite a bit. Apparently, Intamin is working on an improvement that will remove the necessity for the water cooling system.
The latest problem with the ride is poor operation in cold/windy weather. With time and fine tuning, that problem will reduce. When the weather changes quickly, the ride system might have problems adjusting quick enough. In consistent weather and some fine tuning, it’ll start operating better. I’m personally expecting the ride to perform about 50% better in windy/cold weather this fall rather than last.
As for running 6 trains efficiently, I don’t know. I haven’t seen it run in dry mode but from what I’ve seen otherwise, it would take major changes to the braking system. Clearing the brake block so that the next train can launch took too long. If dry mode improves those problems, then that might be the key to running 6 trains efficiently.
It’s unknown if the business relationship between Cedar Fair and Intamin has been significantly affected. I think it really depends on how well TTD runs this summer.
I went here and asked “Will Top Thrill Dragster run well this summer.” The reply “In your dreams.”
:edit: The post clumped together on me.
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Eddy the retard is awesome.
*** This post was edited by SteelMonsters 1/3/2004 6:52:08 AM ***
SteelMonsters said:
In either case, it doesn’t change the fact that an unknown problem with the hydraulic system wrecked havoc, causing TTD to be down most of June. July for was pretty bad also.
Bah. That's the official story. The only significant problem that they didn't expect was the nylon replacements in the pusher channel. The heat problems they asked for and any hydraulic system will fail if the fluid is contaminated.
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Jeff - Webmaster - GTTP - My Blog
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