Alrighty since it has been brought up in other threads I think it's finally time that a thread devoted solely to the idea is made.
B&M has been rumored to be designing a launch mechanism for their rides pretty much since Hulk was made back in 1999.
Wait isn't Hulk B&M? Well hang on there Speedy Gonzales, B&M didn't make the launch track for Hulk. When USF contracted B&M to make Hulk waaaaay back in the day B&M was interested in making the coaster, but didn't want any business with the launching mechanism because it went against their philosophy of roller coasters. At the time B&M was building Hulk they still had kicker drops on ALL of their rides and the only two companies actively making launch coasters were Intamin and Premier, and both companies were having major issues with their rides at that time. Since B&M didn't want to make the launch mechanism for Hulk they contracted another company to build it instead, which with the friction wheels doing the launch it's pretty obvious how successful they were with future business.
Anyways, after about 8 years and plenty more companies jumping into the business of launch coasters (S&S, Gerstlauer, MACK, etc.) the rumors started to circulate that B&M would finally be building a launch coaster. The B&M execs themselves even hinted at the idea of a launching coaster, which the enthusiast community kindly ate up like their favorite dessert. Nearly every launch coaster built since 2008 has been rumored at some point to be a B&M launcher (even our beloved Verbolten), including the latest of Six Flags Magic Mountain's 2013 coaster and even Cedar Point's new coaster, those will be announced on the 30th and the 13th, respectfully.
Other rides that have gotten the B&M launcher treatment are Alton Tower's SW7, BGT's Cheetah Hunt, and Happy Valley's S&S launchers. So I'll go on and ask, when is one going to be officially built? It's been circulating in the rumor mill for half a decade now and no one has stepped up to actually have one built, meanwhile another totally different design has been designed, refined and built multiple times within those 5 years since the launcher idea started. So I'll ask this, is B&M going to actually build their own launch coaster, or are all of us just following some pipedream like Flying Turns @ Knoebels?
B&M has been rumored to be designing a launch mechanism for their rides pretty much since Hulk was made back in 1999.
Wait isn't Hulk B&M? Well hang on there Speedy Gonzales, B&M didn't make the launch track for Hulk. When USF contracted B&M to make Hulk waaaaay back in the day B&M was interested in making the coaster, but didn't want any business with the launching mechanism because it went against their philosophy of roller coasters. At the time B&M was building Hulk they still had kicker drops on ALL of their rides and the only two companies actively making launch coasters were Intamin and Premier, and both companies were having major issues with their rides at that time. Since B&M didn't want to make the launch mechanism for Hulk they contracted another company to build it instead, which with the friction wheels doing the launch it's pretty obvious how successful they were with future business.
Anyways, after about 8 years and plenty more companies jumping into the business of launch coasters (S&S, Gerstlauer, MACK, etc.) the rumors started to circulate that B&M would finally be building a launch coaster. The B&M execs themselves even hinted at the idea of a launching coaster, which the enthusiast community kindly ate up like their favorite dessert. Nearly every launch coaster built since 2008 has been rumored at some point to be a B&M launcher (even our beloved Verbolten), including the latest of Six Flags Magic Mountain's 2013 coaster and even Cedar Point's new coaster, those will be announced on the 30th and the 13th, respectfully.
Other rides that have gotten the B&M launcher treatment are Alton Tower's SW7, BGT's Cheetah Hunt, and Happy Valley's S&S launchers. So I'll go on and ask, when is one going to be officially built? It's been circulating in the rumor mill for half a decade now and no one has stepped up to actually have one built, meanwhile another totally different design has been designed, refined and built multiple times within those 5 years since the launcher idea started. So I'll ask this, is B&M going to actually build their own launch coaster, or are all of us just following some pipedream like Flying Turns @ Knoebels?
. I always thought (and heard) that B&M accepted the contract and sub-contracted someone else to do the launch. It makes a huge point in just how badly launching coasters went against B&M's philosophy back then.