Timed rides

It was closing weekend of 06 (I think, maybe it was 05) and the crew was just not moving. We finished our run before they had even put all the horse-collars down. Now I don't even bother riding when there's 3 trains on the track.

loriu said:
TTDs speedometer worked every time we rode it last summer.

It wasnt working when I was there Oct 5th and 6th.

There are many times it isn't visible in bright sunlight.

Sometime about a year ago, MDOmnis stated the fast and slow times for Magnum that he knew. I remember because they were a lot further apart than I would have ever thought. Although I have experienced teeth-chattering rides through the helix, as well as crawling over the 2nd hill.

I tried searching for the thread to no success. I really should start using that "favorites" feature.

The fastest I've ever seen on Magnum is 53 seconds from dropping off the lift to the safety brakes outside the tunnel. This was a fully loaded train on a warm day and the trims "had no air pressure."

Then there were some test rides on cold/windy mornings with an empty train that came in at near 70 seconds. Let's just say waiting for those trains to come back was some nervous times. I rode one of them once and it wasn't like Magnum. It was more like Apollo's Chariot or Nitro - just weak floater air.

We aimed to keep timings between 58 and 60 seconds when I worked there and we'd call maintenance to adjust the trims if things got outside that range. Last year, I swear the trims were on so hard after the "incident that every ride had to be over 62 seconds.

Interestingly enough, I find that the pretzel has less teeth chattering with the trims off than on. The trains just glide through with no trims. The trims must cause a bit of side to side shifting or something.

^ That's definitely true. Maybe it's all psychological, but the pretzel seems much, much smoother with the trims off. I was wondering if at the slower speed the train bounces its way through the turnaround rather than just flying and pushing its way right through it.

Just another reason to keep the trims off! :)

I love trimless Magnum rides. It definatly makes the ride experience (for me) better.

As for Dragster's speedometer, I can't recall a single trip last year when it wasn't working. There were times when I thought it wasn't but was just difficult to see with the sun shining on it. And I love hearing people talk when it rollsback. They're always relating the "required speed" with it making it over the tophat.:)

The one test ride I got on Magnum was by far the greatest ride I had on Magnum.

The best ride(s) I have ever had on Magnum was during the Joe Cool Night this year. The train was about half full, and we got 9 out of 10 trimless rides without getting off in an hour. Great time.