Top Thrill Dragster 2022 Status

Doubtful, that idiot will probably have had his fill of the inside of a courtroom once Twitter gets done with him.

I know it's fantastical, but a giant airtime hill is one modification I could definitely get behind.

Why not both?

I'm probably way off base, but to me it seems like combining a loop and airtime hill is gimmicky, since it's a compromise between optimizing the geometry for a loop vs. for an airtime hill. Then again, I have no idea what I'm talking about, so it could be possible to optimize for both simultaneously.

Regardless if it's optimized for one or both, it's absolutely gimmicky. I'm just being silly since we're talking pipe dreams here, haha.

It's a gimmick that requires less support structure, so there's that.

Instead of heading back to the station we could just make Corkscrew proceed up the Dragster hill with a little extra push from an LSM ... CORKSTER! How hard could it be?!

We're trying to eliminate injuries not cause more

Not sure if this has been brought up yet but on Intamins website it says their LSMs can exceed 200km/h which is 124 mph.

Cool, but I doubt they make them. They're probably made by someone else.

Since I did my bet that it's just a LSM conversion, new theme, and no layout changes, I want to do my RCT (cheats enabled) pipedream as well like others.

Add 40 feet somehow to the structure to reclaim the world height record and a 200 ft zero g stall for world's tallest inversion. Use braking on the decline after the hill like Kingda Ka as well to put less stress on the brakes.

What about Linear Induction Motors??? The new LIM electromagnetic launch systems on US aircraft carriers can launch a 100,000 pound plane from 0-150mph in 300 feet.... over a period of 2-3 seconds. Dragster's trains are only 30,000 pounds and they have a longer area available for launch. Now going full military grade may be overkill and/or prohibitively expensive.... but I think that shows that an electromagnetic launch within the parameters of the existing track layout is not only possible but could provide the same (if not MORE powerful) launch experience vs. hydraulic.

EDIT: Wow.... the power use is absolutely insane. Just found this in an article on the USS Ford's launch system (Emphasis added):

One challenge is to scale a relatively new technology to handle the required weights and power. The EMALS motor generator weighs over 80,000 pounds and is 13.5 feet long, almost 11 feet wide, and almost 7 feet tall. It’s designed to deliver up to 60 MJ and 60 MW at its peak. In the three seconds it takes to launch a Navy aircraft, it generates an amount of power that could handle 12,000 homes. This motor generator is part of a suite of equipment called the Energy Storage Subsystem, which includes the motor generator, the generator control tower, and the stored energy exciter power supply. The new USS Gerald R. Ford Class carriers will require 12 of each.

1.21 gigawatts. Cue the lightning, Doc.

C Hertling:

...launch systems on US aircraft carriers...

All you need is a small nuclear reactor. Maybe the Navy is ready to retire one. They could just park it in the marina and run some power cables.

Hence the edit adding the power consumption and my amazement. Yeah, technically feasible.... but to go to military spec would be cost prohibitive to build and to power.

I don't know, I like that idea. Cedar point becomes their own power company and is also the first amusement park to operate a nuclear reactor. I think the cost benefit on that would actually be pretty good if they could find a good spot for the reactor. And then they wouldn't have to worry about power problems for their rides.

Here is an old Coasterbuzz thread with some fun math.

https://coasterbuzz.com/Forums/Topic/ttd-cost-per-launch

Hmmm… obviously speculation but intriguing

Capacity would be, what, maybe 400 PPH? Seems like a totally wise and reasonable investment of $50+ million.

I was really enjoying my day, everything was going my way, then came along …

...reality.

:-)