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Think about the tallest, wildest roller coaster you've ever been on. If a Southern California design firm has its way, you haven't felt anything yet.BRC Imagination Arts is proposing a that would give thrill seekers a stomach-churning ride including at least eight seconds of microgravity.The proposed ride takes cues from NASA's KC-135A aircraft, which was used to train astronauts and test equipment for spaceflight.
The aircraft, nicknamed 'the Vomit Comet,' flew specific flight paths to.The KC-135A could fly a series of large parabolic arcs, allowing passengers to experience about 25 seconds of microgravity at the top. Elsewhere along the flight, the aircraft could give the sensation of approximately two times the force of gravity on Earth. Instead of following parabolas, the BRC ride – first – would accelerate people on a flat path parallel to the ground, then shoot them straight upward. As their enclosed vehicle approached the top of a tall tower, passengers would experience a floating sensation for about eight seconds.'
The configuration would look something like the coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California called 'Superman: Escape from Krypton,' but BRC's Vomit Comet will be much taller and would create a completely different experience,' Bob Rogers, BRC's founder and chief creative officer, said in a statement provided to SPACE.com. While involve open-air seating, the capsule used in BRC's Vomit Comet will be completely enclosed. This will enhance the thrill, Rogers said, since riders will not be able to gauge their own movement against fixed objects or the horizon.'
The sensation is a bit like being in an enclosed room while someone fiddles with the gravity switch, turning it back and forth, between one-g, zero-g and double gravity,' he said.A wild rideThe system would operate similarly to other high-acceleration roller coasters, but more-sophisticated controls would ensure the proper amount of acceleration and deceleration to achieve the, BRC officials said.Rogers did not disclose the exact speed of the Vomit Comet, but the company has said the enclosed capsule will accelerate to faster than 100 mph, then turn and race straight up along the track. When it reaches the correct speed, the capsule will slow very slightly, and passengers will feel themselves levitating away from their seats.It will be as if the riders had been tossed in the air and the capsule was simply flying with them, BRC officials said. As the speeds slow, the vehicle will then take the passengers down the track – only it won't seem as if they are falling, since they won't be able to see outside the capsule.At the right moment in the deceleration, the riders will be pulled back into their seats as they experience the switch from microgravity to 2Gs, or double Earth's regular gravity.
BRC is aiming to give riders eight seconds of microgravity and possibly more, depending on the weight of the vehicle, the cost, and the engineering specifications. And while some may say that sounds too brief, Rogers insists the experience will be well worth it.'
I was privileged to ride the real KC-135A and microgravity is one of the most astonishing, amazing sensations you will ever feel,' Rogers said. 'Eight seconds of it will feel like forever.'
BRC estimates that it will cost $40 million to $60 million to develop the Vomit Comet, and the high price tag is largely because of how precise the ride has to be. In fact, since the weight of the passengers will vary with each ride, the capsule must be weighed and the 'flight' recalculated prior to each launch.During the ride, these calculations will be adjusted in real time to give riders the longest possible experience of microgravity, BRC officials said.More than a theme park attractionBut it won't be all fun and games.While the Vomit Comet would be primarily for entertainment, Rogers can foresee.
Experiment time on NASA's KC-135A, or other planned suborbital vehicles, is expensive and can sometimes involve a lengthy testing and approval process, he noted.' Provided your experiment is neither toxic nor explosive, you should be able to take your experiment aboard almost any evening on a couple hours' notice,' Rogers said. 'As a result, what started as a theme park ride could very quickly evolve into a very real and useful NASA research facility.
Imagine this: Real microgravity is now available for grade-school science projects!' Passengers also might be allowed to try fun, during the ride, such as seeing how microgravity affects a small rubber ball, piece of string, or even a cup of water.' Liquids are amazing in zero gravity,' Rogers said. 'When gravity is removed, surface tension becomes the most powerful influence and the water spontaneously forms balls which undulate and float like suspended water balloons – or at least they float until you go back into 2G, and then they just might splash in your face. No ordinary roller coaster can do that.'
BRC stresses that safety will be paramount in the design of the Vomit Comet.Passengers will enter the capsule much as they enter an airplane, and the design of the seats is expected to be similar to an airliner's.So is 'Vomit Comet' just a playful nickname, or will the ride be as stomach-flipping as it sounds? Either way, Rogers and BRC are going to be prepared.' All the angle changes would only be variations of one axis: pitch,' Rogers said. 'These are sensations that normally cause air sickness or sea sickness.
Perhaps someone might become nauseous due to nervousness or excitement, but for that, each seat is equipped with what the astronauts call an 'emesis management system.' 'Said another way, each seat will conveniently have a white paper bag. Just in case, right?You can follow SPACE.com staff writer Denise Chow on Twitter. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter and on.
The Meteorite in action at Worden Park
Round Up is an amusement ride consisting of a circular horizontal platform with a vertical cage-like wall around the edge. The platform is attached to a motor on a hydraulic arm. The ride starts out by spinning until the centripetal force is enough to push riders against the wall. Then the arm raises the horizontal platform to a vertical position in which riders, instead of spinning horizontally, are now spinning almost vertically.
The ride spins for a predetermined cycle until an automatic timer releases the hydraulic fluid from the arm, causing the platform to return to its horizontal position. The operator may be required to manually control the spin of the ride so that its exit aligns correctly with the exit gate. Most require the rider to be at least 42 inches tall.
In the United Kingdom, this ride is commonly known as the Meteor or Meteorite. The first such ride to arrive in that same country was with Rose Brothers in the 1950s and it came from Germany.
Although Hrubetz examples, exist in the United Kingdom other common makers, including Cadoxton and Sam Ward.
There are 70 Round Ups in the United States, 40 in the United Kingdom and 20 in Australia.
New Models[edit]
The new portable model, made by Dartron, is known as Zero Gravity. The lighting and appearance has changed and the ride has gone from tire rim drive to direct center gear drive, but its operation remains the same. The title is ironic because, the ride does the opposite of creating the sense of zero gravity, as it only gives off the illusion that there is an increase in gravity.
Another version, also made by Dartron, exists called 'Zendar', where the platform tilts on the end of the arm.
Locations[edit]
Name | Location | Opened | Notes | Ref (s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Electric Rainbow | Located in Ross, Ohio outside of Cincinnati | |||
The Black Hole | Located in Springdale and serving festival locations citywide | |||
Bulls Eye | Located at 1 mile past the Wayne County border in West Virginia | |||
Wonder Woman: Lasso of Truth | First known as Electric Rainbow between 1974 and 1986, then Turbo between 1987 and 1993, then Gordon Gearworks between 1994 and 1998 and finally Grinder Gearworks between 1998 and 1999. | |||
Riddle Me This | ||||
Zero Gravity | Replaced Round Up in the mid-2008 season. | |||
Bamboozler | ||||
The Revolution | ||||
Round Up | ||||
Round Up | ||||
Round Up | ||||
Round-Up | ||||
Super Spiral | ||||
Round Up | ||||
Super Round Up | ||||
Zero Gravity | ||||
Super Round Up | ||||
Super Round Up | ||||
Round Up | ||||
Super Round Up | ||||
Super Round Up | Closed | |||
Cyclone | ||||
The Genie | ||||
Nemesis | ||||
Zero Gravity | ||||
Zero Gravity | ||||
Zero Gravity | ||||
Zero Gravity | ||||
Zero Gravity | ||||
Zero Gravity | ||||
Zero Gravity | ||||
Zero Gravity | ||||
The Cage | ||||
Super Round Up | ||||
Wave Rider | ||||
Calkins Midway's Round Up |
Past appearances[edit]
Name | Location | Opened | Closed | Notes | Ref (s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Satellite | Later renamed Super Round Up, moved to Idlewild Park. | ||||
The Round Up | |||||
Round Up | |||||
Satellite | Unknown | Located on the north end of the park. | |||
Halley's Comet | |||||
The Milk Churn | Unknown | Unknown | |||
Spinnaker | Replaced by the Tidal Wave Shuttle Loop roller coaster in 1978. | ||||
Propeller Spin | Situated in the park's former Roaring 20s Airfield section it featured a large propeller spinning in the center. | ||||
Pharaoh's Eye | Was removed to make room for Racing Rivers in 1988. It was located in Grande World Exposition Of 1890. Psyclone and Sledge Hammer sit on the Former site of Pharaoh's Eye and Swing Of Siam (now Swing Of The Century across from Crystal Arcade in Action Zone).Pharaoh's Eye was bought by an amusement park in South America after the 1987 Season. | ||||
Super Spiral | Located where Tilt-A-Whirl is. Removed due to age. | ||||
Super Round Up | Unknown | Unknown |
References[edit]
- ^'Round-Up - Enchanted Forest Water Safari'. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
- ^'Zero Gravity'. West Coast Amusements. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ^'New Rides and Facilities To Be Found Found At Hershey Park'. The Daily Mail. Hagerstown, MD. April 20, 1968. p. 6.
- ^[1]
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Round_Up_(ride)&oldid=945547160'
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