Launched roller coaster

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The launched roller coaster is a modern form of roller coaster which has risen to prominence within the last decade. In place of a traditional chain lift, the launched coaster initiates a ride with high amounts of acceleration via one or series of Linear Induction Motors (LIM), Linear Synchronous Motors (LSM), catapults, or other mechanisms employing hydraulic or pneumatic power.

Launched coasters mainly feature improved speed, and capability to accommodate more "thrilling" layouts. These coasters, however, can be less reliable than traditional chain-lifted coasters, and are considered to require heavier maintenance.

1 Electromagnetic
- 1.1 LIM / LSM
2 Fluid pressure
- 2.1 Hydraulic
- 2.2 Pneumatic
3 Other styles
4 External links

[edit] Electromagnetic

[edit] LIM / LSM

LIM and LSM coasters use propulsion via electromagnets, which utilize large amounts of electricity to propel the coaster train along its track into the ride elements (e.g. inversions, twists, turns and short drops). Four design companies managing these types of rides are Vekoma Industries, Intamin AG and Premier Rides, and Maurer Söhne.

Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio has one LIM/LSM launched coaster, Wicked Twister, and is currently building a second, Maverick. Unlike most LSM coasters, Maverick has a relatively short drop (only around 100 feet), and LSM's are incorporated in two areas: One is the lift hill itself (drastically shortening the time needed to ascend the hill), and the other is inside a 400' tunnel.

A Cedar Fair Ltd. owned park, Geauga Lake, in Aurora, Ohio also has 1 LIM/LSM launched coaster, Steel Venom. This coaster is of the same type as Wicked Twister, though it only has one twist instead of two. A vertical straight section is used instead.

The amusement park chain Six Flags in the United States of America has 9 examples of such rides:

Superman The Escape 415 ft (127 m), Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, California
Mr. Freeze 218 ft (67 m), Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington, Texas
Mr. Freeze 218 ft (67 m), Six Flags St. Louis, Eureka, Missouri
Batman & Robin: The Chiller 200 feet (61 m), Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson Township, New Jersey (2 coasters running side by side)
Vertical Velocity 185 ft (56 m), Six Flags Great America, Gurnee, Illinois
V2: Vertical Velocity 150 ft (46 m), Six Flags Marine World, Vallejo, California
Half Pipe 98 ft (30 m), Six Flags Elitch Gardens, Denver, Colorado
The Joker's Jinx 79 ft (24 m), Six Flags America, Largo, Maryland
Poltergeist 79 ft (24 m), Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio, Texas

Kings Dominion has four launched roller coasters, three of which are LIM-launched: Flight of Fear, Volcano, The Blast Coaster, and the The Italian Job: Turbo Coaster. Flight of Fear, which was also introduced at Kings Island, was one of the first LIM-launched coasters and won an award from the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions based on the technology used for its launch. [1] The LIM/LSM tower rides are often tall, fast, and until recently were the state of the art in launched coaster design.

[edit] Fluid pressure

[edit] Hydraulic

Hydraulic-launched roller coasters give the riders high acceleration, yet with improved smoothness, over the electromagnetic and catapult launch mechanisms. The Swiss manufacturer Intamin AG pioneered this new style.

The heart of the system is several (usually eight) powerful hydraulic pumps, each capable of producing 500 horsepower (373 KW). These pumps push Hydraulic fluid into one side of several accumulators, and the other side of each accumulator, filled with compressed gas, is separated from the first side by a piston. As the hydraulic fluid fills the accumulators, it pushes on the pistons, compressing the air. When the launch valves are opened, the compressed air pushes the hydraulic fluid out of the accumulators. The hydraulic fluid is shot into a large number of turbines (32 in Kingda Ka's case), which spin a huge winch that rewinds a cable attached to a catch-car under the train in a matter of seconds. The catch-car moves in a groove in the center of the launch track with the motor at one end, and the waiting train at the other. While the train inches forward, the pusher moves back from the motor towards the train. Once the pusher connects, the anti-rollback braking system drops beneath the track, giving the train the green light to be launched. The system as a whole is capable of producing up to 20,800 horsepower (15.5 MW) for each launch.

These launches are considered capable of giving a far greater and smoother acceleration than the LIM/LSM styles. The acceleration from a LIM/LSM launch is greatest at the beginning and dies off rapidly towards the end of the launch, but the acceleration from a hydraulic launch remains nearly constant throughout the launch. Superman The Escape, the fastest LIM/LSM coaster, has been measured to reach 100 mph (161 km/h) in 7 seconds, climbing 330 ft (even though the tower is 415 ft. high) in the process. The first hydraulic launch coaster was Xcelerator reaching 82mph in 2.3 seconds Yet Top Thrill Dragster (Cedar Point), at 420 ft (128 m) formerly the world's tallest coaster, uses hydraulic launch technology to reach 120 mph (192 km/h) in 3.8 seconds. The world's tallest and fastest coaster Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, which opened in Spring 2005 is even taller, at 456 ft (139 m), and capable of reaching 128 mph (205 km/h) in 3.5 seconds.

Hydraulic launched rides usually have a tower after the launch, with differing layouts afterwards depending on the park's financial resources. Top Thrill Dragster brakes after the tower and Kingda Ka features a single 130 ft hill after the tower, while Storm Runner at Hersheypark offers a series of inversions after its 180 foot (55 m) tower drop. Rita - Queen of Speed at Alton Towers doesn't have a tower at all, only airtime hills. Xcelerator at Knotts Berry Farm offers two overbanked turns after the tower. Along with the height and speed, these coasters, named "Rocket Coasters" in the industry, are considered more comfortable due to a smoother launch than LIM-style launches.

A recent newcomer to the hydraulic launch industry is Vekoma, who recently opened a coaster called Booster Bike at Toverland in the Netherlands, said to give riders a sensation of racing on high performance motorcycles over a low twisted layout, at speeds up to 47 mph (75 km/h). The cars imitate real motorcycles, and the riders sit in the same posture as real bikers.

[edit] Pneumatic

Hydraulic launch technology faces competition from S&S Power, a leading manufacturer in vertical amusement rides, who in recent years created a new breed of coasters with pneumatic launch power. Their coaster model, the Thrust Air 2000, was first built in Kings Dominion under the name Hypersonic XLC. The coaster has been clocked to launch from the rest at station to 80 mph (128 km/h) in 1.8 seconds. The coaster proceeds to ascend up a tower at 90 degrees and descends vertically. Another compressed air launched coaster, built in Fuji-Q Highland, is Dodonpa. This coaster is capable of launching passengers from 0 to 106.9 mph (171 km/h) in 1.8 seconds.

[edit] Other styles

[edit] Catapult

In the catapult launch, a large diesel engine or a dropped weight winds a cable to pull the train until it accelerates to its full speed.

These rides are often not very tall, and usually achieve speeds of 60 mph (96 km/h).

[edit] Flywheel

Flywheel launches are used on some Anton Schwarzkopf designed shuttle loop coasters. A large flywheel is spun at high speeds and is attached to a cable that propels the train forward.

[edit] Friction Wheels

Another type is launch is by friction wheels. The launch track consists of a series of horizontal tires that pinch the brake fins on the underside of the train. One example of this is the Hulk Coaster at Universal's Islands of Adventure