Xcelerator a test for CP?

I believe that itd be going 80+ over the tophat, if youve seen the video it just whips right over.

Well, it normally goes about 15-20MPH over the top hat, so at a 117 MPH launch it would be going about 50 MPH over the top hat. Whoever said 86 MPH is ignorant.

Umm... at 117 mph, the train would only be going maybe 40 mph faster. I don't belive that it currently goes 40 mph over the top hat now. Also, the train was empty and thus losses speed faster. Granted, there is no *actual* proof in the video, there was several respected people from americancoasters and westcoaster who say they saw people from Intamin who were using a radar gun and the displayed numbers were 117. And it is on kazza witht the name of "xcel" and keywords "roller coaster" and "117".

Has any one been able to download this of Kazaa because I cant find it.

Dustin, its name is "xcel", it has keywords "roller coaster" "117" and "knotts" and is in the travel group. If this doesn't work, send me an e-mail with your AIM screen name and I'll get it to you that way.

speedy said:
Well, it normally goes about 15-20MPH over the top hat, so at a 117 MPH launch it would be going about 50 MPH over the top hat. Whoever said 86 MPH is ignorant.

I KNEW someone was going to do this. Don't call other people ignorant if you don't know what you're talking about. Height and speed do not scale together. The train will be going over the top at approximatly 86mph if it is launched at 117mph.

Speedy, your completely wrong. The cart does not release at all, the train has a tooth underneeth that is latched into the cart, and if the cart were to stop, the ride would still go. The train leaves the cart, the cart does not leave the train. The launch motor pulls the car with the exact some amount of torque every time...with less people in the train, the car is slightly faster, with more it is slightly slower.

And whoever said anything about rubber tires? I said "Polyuerothane Wheels" which is the material on the wheels of the ride
Look at your own picture...see the little red stuff on the metal wheels? The red stuff that rides on the track as the train moves? Those are polyuerothane wheels. There you go, in a language easier for you to understand.
And i want to know how the people that think the train hit 117 can look at a video and go "Hmmm, it sure did fly over that hill, it must have hit 117 MPH." I have yet to see a reliable video source, and i have viewed all the links. So far, nothing has proved to me that the train hits 117 MPH.
*** This post was edited by steelrider33 1/21/2003 2:06:18 AM ***

I'm not sure where the 117 mph figure for Xcelerator's testing came from, but I've seen video, and whether it's 100, 110, or 120 mph, it's going pretty darned fast, likely topping 75 through the overbanks.

I only wish that the park had executed this ride with a bit faster launch than occurred, as I still think the ride is boring and forceless. I only hope that TTD will outdo Xcelerator

Overbanks sukck! The top hat is taken at just the right speed though.

What's all of this talk about ignorance? Do any of you really think you'll crest that thing at 86 mph? Do you have even the slightest idea how many negative G's that would put on your body?

Think again... think really hard. It's all about potential energy. If the fastest this thing will go is 120 mph at the end, and people have calculated that gravity will only push it to around 117 or 118, it won't be going very fast across the top of the ride.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP - Sillynonsense.com Rave Cam 1/18
DELETED!

Jeff.. I believe they we're still trying to convince me and a few others who are using common sense that Xcelerator (not dragster) was indeed tested at 117 mph. Though 86 does seem to be a high estimate, it isn't too far off. Xcelerator was never tested at 117.

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Ryan McCanimal
Webmaster of Thrillgallery.com
"eye for an eye makes the whole world blind"

Ryan McCann said:
Xcelerator was never tested at 117.
I'm just curious, do you work for Cedar Fair or Knott's ride department? If not, the correct phrasing would be, "I believe, Xcelerator was never test at 117." All you "experts" crack me up!
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tambo

no i don't.. i'm glad i cracked you up.

Xcelerator was NEVER tested at 117.

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Ryan McCanimal
Webmaster of Thrillgallery.com
"eye for an eye makes the whole world blind"

Guys it was tested at those speeds. Speedy is to Knotts as what Jeff is for CP and shaggy is for PKI. They know what they are talking about in regards to those parks. Plus half of the members on the westcoaster message board have seen it tested at this speed. And Answerman, can I see some figures to back up what youmsya about the speed of the train?

I'm sure someone will ask this question on the Xcelerator backstage tour at Winter Coaster Solace to get a confirmed answer.

And Jeff is correct, going over the top at 86 MPH would probably work "wonders" for the supports.

Who cares what it was tested at. "AnswerMan" said, "The train will be going over the top at approximatly 86mph if it is launched at 117mph," which is clearly insane. It'll take that speed just to reach the top.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED!

Jeff, that was in response to Xcelerator being test launched at 117mph, which is what much of this thread has been debating. If Xcelerator was indeed launched at 117mph, it would crest the tophat at nearly 86mph (slightly lower perhaps because of the empty train).

I won't claim credit for working it out myself, but the math was done at rec.roller-coaster. You can search it on google...

Originally posted by Wolf:

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Let's see... Xcelerator is 205' tall...

I'll do this in metric, the units are more consistent.

80mph = 35.76m/s
117mph = 52.3m/s

E = KE+PE
E = (1/2)mv^2+mgh
E/m = (1/2)v^2+gh

At launch, h = 0.

E/m(80) = 639.4 (m^2/s^2)
E/m(117) = 1367.7 (m^2/s^2)

Over the top, 205' = 62.5m

KE/m(80) = E/m(80)-PE/m = 639.4 - 9.81*62.5 = 26.3 (m^2/s^2)
KE/m(117) = E/m(117)-PE/m = 1367.7 - 9.81*62.5 = 754.5 (m^2/s^2)

26.3 m^2/s^2 = 7.3 m/s = 16.3mph
754.4 m^2/s^2 = 38.8 m/s = 86.8mph

So, that extra 37mph at the launch is good for an extra 70mph or so once
you're 200' up. Speed doesn't scale with height.
There is no way that second launch was going 8x faster over the top.

Do you guys ever visit Westcoaster.net? I hit that site frequently during Xcel construction and the guys that run that site are close with some of the people at Knott's the same way that Jeff and Walt are with the people at Cedar Point. Anyway, the point is they talked to the folks testing the ride and said they pushed it up 95-100 mph, no more than that. Email Westcoaster if you want clarification, but nothing more about 117 mph, aight?

Mark B, you said the launch is longer so it doesn't pull as many g's. But yet I thought the coaster goes 0-120mph in 4 secs. That gives it tons more straight away track before the top hat.
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Coaster World : Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 Network
http://www.megacoasters.com/~nitrousoxide

Question about the speed they can test this at..

If Superman: UE could claim the record as tallest coaster, even though much of it's tower is unused track.. if CP pushes TTD faster than 120.. let's just say 130 MPH.. if a park went for speed record @ 125 MPH.. could CP say that TTD is faster?