That’s definitely interesting. I’m certainly no engineer (not even close), but I guess center of gravity would play a part in the difference. As someone who is barely 5 feet tall, my center of gravity is pretty low.
Alpengeist
- Thread starter Zachary
- Start date
Interesting. I think it's obvious that I'm on the complete opposite side. Despite Alpie being my second favorite invert (Great Bear is my top); I hardly ever ride it because I get a headache almost the moment I come off due to the roughness I experience.
I've been riding Alpie since opening weekend and don't really find it any rougher than it used to be but I agree with @Connor that it definitely rides smoother with a full train. So with that being said, if the park needs to spend money to modify it they should just add a row of seats to the zero car and make that row #1 giving each train a total of 9 rows.
Hey hey, her drop isn't broken, it's just curvy.
In all seriousness, are there any B&M inverts that have a long drop akin to their regular hypers? I just can't imagine those existing but then again I haven't been on many either.
Height - I mean it could have a pre-drop, even Alpie has one, but I have yet to see an invert with a serious straight drop built by anyone but Arrow (BBW's 2nd drop if you don't count the turn at v the end)
Height, if you take out all the impulse and boomerangs (because why count them), Alpie is the tallest and longest drop, followed by Banshee, and Katun, all B&M's.
EDIT: Misread..... @Zachary 100% answered it the right way.
If you consider the mechanics, there is a really good reason to avoid straight drops on inverts. As inverted coaster trains start to descend a hill, the passenger areas effectively “scrunch” together. If the degree of decent is anything other than very gradual, the seat portion of the trains can get too close to one another and create a potentially dangerous situation for riders. Using banked drops with a relatively tight turning radius, nullifies this effect entirely as the turning radius “stretches” the passenger ride envelope.
Interesting - I'd think the sheer spacing of metal couplers for each row would prevent that issue, since gravity is unilaterally pulling a train down though I see where it could be an issue at the top of the hill.
However, I wonder if there's a park that'd want an inverted hyper which would challenge the engineering to make it possible?
However, I wonder if there's a park that'd want an inverted hyper which would challenge the engineering to make it possible?
While riding I've always noticed I'm just tall enough to touch the car in front of me with my foot. Imagine what could happen if the car in front of you suddenly got closer. Makes sense, though I always assumed that they did it so that everyone could actually look around and see anything other than the car in front of them during the drop.
Now imagine airtime where your legs would float upward and you have a recipe for bad things. On that same note, centrifugal force makes this a non issue in the zero g rolls.
Forgot to post this.
I took this from the Alpengeists queue.
I took this from the Alpengeists queue.
Fun Fact: Alps drop is relatively steep, coming in around 79 degrees.
In the back I personally find the drop to be very whippy and forceful.
Can take it or leave it - to be honest, I kinda wish it was a little wider, a little less forceful