I beg to differ. Back seat, as always was the best. I for one liked the ride. I know I am nearly alone in this regard.
Hyper Sonic XLC
- Thread starter I305Evan
- Start date
Wasn't really that great. The launch was epic and the tower was cool but it was over rather quickly. The lines were always crazy long thanks to the dreadful capacity and the trains kept tearing themselves apart so KD had to get new ones on a yearly basis. And who could forget the car crash brakes that could be heard from across the park?
Cool concept. Very poor execution.
Cool concept. Very poor execution.
b.mac said:
I'm not sure what you're trying to say here? Are you implying all launch coasters are 'simple' or those that are made to literally be a one trick pony... aren't more than a one trick pony?
I mean I don't even have to try to name off launch coasters with some "substance". Also, I don't believe it's fair to judge a proof-of-concept ride so harshly. Built to prove a concept... a failed concept. Shame this ride kind of soured S&S's name at the time.
And again to be fair, when this ride was built it had only been 5 years since the first launch coaster had been built and opened to the public. Thrill ride innovation was at it's peak. There were new models and concepts popping up every few months. Parks were buying rides like this to try and stand out, and parks were willing to experiment with building prototype rides. Not so much anymore.
If I'm not mistaken this was also one of the first Roller coasters, if not the first with an actual 90 degree vertical drop.
RollyCoaster said:
I should clarify I meant the first LSM/LIM launch that give us the capability to have these mega-intense higher speed (and more practical) launches we have today.
Also, Powderkeg opened as Buzzsaw falls in 1999 and was later retrofitted as a launch ride(Powderkeg) by S&S in 03/04.
Formula one was never opened to the public and remains SBNO. Hypersonic WAS the first fully operational rideable, opened to the public Compressed air launch.
To my knowledge, Hypersonic was the only (operating 
) launched coaster to have an over 45 degree angle from the launch start point to the spike you go up. Other launches are too slow and Dodonpa doesn't have the spike as the first element. It didn't look possible. What a sick machine.
) launched coaster to have an over 45 degree angle from the launch start point to the spike you go up. Other launches are too slow and Dodonpa doesn't have the spike as the first element. It didn't look possible. What a sick machine.
Someone pointed out once, Nicole I think, that what Hypersonic lacked in substance it made up for in noise.
I was there on opening morning, and rode many times after. From launch everything was pretty much a blurr till you got to the top. The anticipation of the launch was probably the best part.
My personal XLC research has confirmed this. It's the one missed credit I regret. I was in KD, it was running, and I didn't ride because I was afraid of losing contacts. As far as I can tell it was the prototype, and DoDompa was the refined edition. XLC was the prototype because (again from my research) S&S wasn't sure how long it would take to make a new one and Ownership at the time wasn't in a mood to wait for the new one to be built.
From what I understand, XLC's maintenance record made Volcano look like a B&M.
Hypersonic was slightly modified to fit the footprint that Paramount wanted for its location in KD but other than that the majority of what made up Hypersonic was what operated at their Utah plant for demonstration. If I remember right, it was only the turnaround that was changed from the original demonstration prototype to the Hypersonic that we're all familiar with in the pictures.
Also when your ride requires rolling stock that only the airline industry uses, you probably should've looked at something else instead. Paramount was not a smart company.
Also when your ride requires rolling stock that only the airline industry uses, you probably should've looked at something else instead. Paramount was not a smart company.
Without any info to go on, and about 2 minutes of searching, it looks like the cost per tire could be anywhere from ~$1000-$2500 per this site. I305s road wheels can actually vary from $2000-$5000 depending on what the park decides to buy.
^^probably more like $100. Smaller and not Michelin. From the same site: https://www.aircraftsupply.com/specialty-air-hawk-aircraft-tires.html
Probably lasted LONGER than I305's treads also!
Probably lasted LONGER than I305's treads also!
Road wheels can be reused sort of. They can send them back to the manufacture to add new layers of polyurethane. They can do this a few times before they have to buy brand new wheels.
The thing with I305, is that it literally eats wheels. If the operators aren’t paying close attention, and know what to look/hear for, they won’t catch it before it’s too far gone.
^^-- don't you mean "unless" -- having done that many times I think that was the case, though a second ride before the mob was rare. It was an insane thing to ride first thing in the morning. i did get about 10 rides in 55 minutes once after a an extended T-storm closure, strategic night visit.
No, every morning I rope dropped that ride whoever was in the first car it seemed to take 10 minutes to load, check harnesses yada yada.....then the same seemed to happen for all the cars. I never even tried to ride after the first hour or at night because lines were always extremely long and barely moved.