Hersheypark (HP) Discussion Thread

[crazywolf88I teach at the school of donkey!]

I'd say my favorite part of that picture is that the wheel being chewed up is the upstop wheel.

[Big-MHoly crap you have a HUGE donkey!]

^^^The problem with I305 was that it sustained G's too high too long. Though I don't know the calculations myself (yet) my best guess is that since with an increase of G's, there's an increase of normal force and thus kinetic friction. The increase in friction should result in an increase of heat (I'm taking thermodynamics next semester; I'm just trying to do my best inferences here, which is why I used "should" instead of "will") and since the G's were sustained for more time on I305's first turn, that means that the wheels had more time to heat up without cooling down to their normal temperature. Since we don't have that amount of sustained G's on Skyrush, the quick G transitions will allow the wheels to cool down in a quick succession, thus they probably won't have to go through the wheels nearly as fast as I305 originally did. Time must be the more important factor rather than actual G's, because if that were not the case than Boomerangs would be far more legendary for their eating through wheels than they already are for their ubiquity and roughness (though I don't think they're unbearable in their roughness.)

Aren't Skyrush's trains heavier, though (just looking at the design). That would lead to an increase in friction because of an increase in mass, even though the Gs may not be as intense. Just a high school physics student speculating here...

[coasterbillI wish they would make Street Fighter Donkey.]

I'd say my favorite part of that picture is that the wheel being chewed up is the upstop wheel.

I was thinking the exact same thing.

[Tanks4me05Jar-Jar Binks smells like Donkey]

^^Ahh, that would as well, if I had reason to believe that Skyrush's trains were actually heavier, but I believe that Skyrush may actually be a little lighter (not by that much though; I wouldn't say more than 10-15% lighter without access to the plans.) Look at them carefully: Both cars have the same capacity, and I305's cars have "sides" to them. Skyrush's outer seats may have those extra supports under them to attach them to the sides of the inside portions of the car, but the design is VERY minimalist; there aren't any "sides" or even any seat backs covering up the restraint locking mechanisms (which I usually actually like aesthetically because I like looking at the mechanics.)

[DJeXeLThis button makes my penis erect.]

Those "pits" in the upstop wheels look like they are caused by something on the track like a sharp edge or track junction that hadn't been ground down enough. Stress seems like it would cause more of a crack or stress fracture. The damage to that wheel seems to be concentrated to a particular area.

[buckaroo234Holy crap you have a HUGE donkey!]

it could also be the wheel skipping and getting a few pits. But overall that looks like some bad joint wear and again its on an upstop so its going to be less critical to have super smooth profile than a side or road wheel.

I'd say my favorite part of that picture is that the wheel being chewed up is the upstop wheel.

[VigilI just made a donkey in No Limits!]

I will be at Hersheypark for the first time since Storm Runner was added tomorrow and Saturday. I want to have a bit of a strategy, so does anyone have any advice or suggestions about when to do certain rides, places to get food, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Here's a post from my friend Kirk on the Project 2012 Facebook group:

Sorry about the length of this post, but it's all necessary:

Just attended an informational session on “Skyrush: Behind the Scenes” presented by Kent Bachman at the Hershey Country Club this evening. Intamin/IntaRide “turned over the keys” to HP today and Kent was on the first ride with humans! As he told me- “words cannot describe it”. He was on a wing seat, and said he was holding on pretty tight!. Some of his more important comments clarified some things we’d been wondering about, and he also shared some new info, some of it from the accelerometers and/or Fred the crash test dummy. I took notes and think I have it all correct:
•The “advertised” ride height of 200’ is the actual drop; the 212’ (from the permit) is to the creek floor.
•Max g-force = just under 5.0 at bottom of first drop. (smile for the camera)
•Max NEGATIVE g-force is -2.0! Now that’s some airtime!
•Although published stats say 5 airtime hills, the data recorder shows 7, including the rear of the train over the lift hill, just as we suspected.
•Max speed has been 76.3 MPH, also at bottom of first drop. This is just outside the planned envelope….he said they MAY (his words) trim it just a shade to 76.0
•Ride time start of lift to return: 63 seconds
•Each train weighs 16 tons, EMPTY.
•I loved this one: 1.5 BILLION scan points were catalogued of all the existing rides, structures, terrain, etc. prior to starting design layouts
•Also as suspected, the two mis-painted cross braces on the south tower were just that, a mistake. They will eventually be blue. LOL
•300 cubic yards of concrete are at the bottom of the lift hill at the station. That’s 48 standard concrete-mixer trucks full.
•There will be no light beacon at the top of lift hill because of its proximity to the Kissing Tower.
•The mini-pile footers vary in depth from 30’ to 130’; Skyrush has 173 support columns for the track; in comparison, Bear has 196, for a coaster 800’ shorter. This was mainly possible due to the double-spine truss design of the track and was an important factor in keeping the costs down.
•And this surprising one… and I specifically asked to make sure I heard correctly: If you are over 6’5” tall, you will NOT be permitted to ride. There will be a guide stick for the ops that has the minimum 54” and the maximum 77”. It has nothing to do with arm reach, but rather the average length of the lower leg from knee to (pointed) toes, which I guess due to the train/seat configuration, could catch on something. That’ll upset some folks, but not as much as if they had half their foot hacked off.

When he means trim, I took a walk along Park Blvd this evening and there are 3 trims on the ride that are less than a foot long in length. Before anyone gets worried, they do not look like they will ruin the ride (remember, according to the info above, it's pulling -2.0g's).

In short, this is looking like a perfect storm of being a great coaster!

[SchotcherI own the website www.donkey.com]

Isn't 2.0 negative Gs nearly pushing the limit for a coaster? (Not complaining, just asking).