[Wormy]

This is being addressed in a tangent thread or two, and while Jonathan probably doesn't want to toot his own horn, this read bears repeating in regards to the comparison of Behemoth and Leviathan, and the possible implications down here.

http://carowindsconnection.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3945

I think I'm in the right thread.

[saxrokinhomo]

Carowinds is not getting a winged coaster

in 2015...but it is not out of the question for the future

[intaminboy]

IMO, we are going to get a launched coaster before we ever get a winged coaster.

[saxrokinhomo]

give it a decade and we will have both

[mark40511]

If it's a 30 million dollar coaster, I would think it must be very large! I for one hope it's a B&M Giga, NOT Intaimin.....Nothing wrong with Intamin, I just prefer B&M over Intamin. Regardless, if Carowinds gets a Giga, that would be HUGE for Carowinds! There are not very many Giga coasters on this planet, and for Carowinds to be one of the parks that has one would be fantastic!

[Jonathan]

I'm curious to see what the future holds for the winged coasters. When the first couple were built I thought they would be the new B&M inverted in that we would see pretty much every major park installing one over the next 10 years. Now, though, I'm not so sure. They don't seem to have as much bang for the buck as the inverted coasters did and the reception does not seem to be near as enthusiastic (but maybe I'm just letting my own personal bias creep in).

I'm not sure that the views of coaster enthusiasts have much or any impact at all on the decisions parks makes, but nonetheless the response to these rides has got to be disappointing. Just look at where the B&M winged coasters finished on the most recent Mitch Hawker poll:

106 Raptor
108 Gatekeeper
112 X-Flight
115 The Swarm
117 Wild Eagle

Then look at some of the top ranking inverted coasters:

9 Nemesis
11 Katun
15 Pyrenees
16 Montu
34 Black Mamba
39 Monster
41 Afterburn

I would expect to see Banshee rate very highly next year. Is this indicative of anything that matters outside of the niche world of roller coaster nerds? Maybe not. Maybe every Cedar Fair park will have one within a decade. But then again, maybe they go more the direction of the stand-ups (only 7 built) than the inverteds (31 built).

[intaminboy]

Where is Alpengeist in that list?

[Jonathan]

48. The full results can be found here: http://www.ushsho.com/detailedsteelroll ... ts2013.htm

Literally every single inverted coaster B&M has ever built with the exception of Great Bear, Silver Bullet, Patriot, and Nemesis Inferno (no idea why this one is so low; it's fantastic) ranks ahead of the top rated winged coaster.

More alarmingly, all 5 winged coasters rank very close to one another, showing that differences in size and location don't really have any impact on the "meh" response coaster enthusiasts seems to generally have to these rides.

And again, I acknowledge this may be representative of absolutely nothing in terms of the success of these rides for their respective parks, but it is interesting nonetheless.

[DavidW]

If B&M would push the boundaries of the wing coaster, i could seem them ranking higher.

[Jonathan]

I think the flaw in them is that it's just not really possible to push the boundaries that much, at least not with the current design. Due to the size of the trains and presumably the forces exerted on the wings (but I am no engineer), it seems that all of the winged coasters so far have had very elongated elements and pullouts, resulting in a very controlled feeling ride. I think they are rides that require significant interaction with themeing/landscape to truly be effective at what they do, and most parks are not going to do that. To go back to John Wardley again and his philosophy, the ride vehicle as a means of moving the rider through the attraction rather than being the attraction itself.

[tarheel1231]

Based on the markings we've seen, and the city plans for Carowinds, we can assume the coaster takes place in the area circled below:

ss.jpg (161.49KiB)Viewed 3523 times

[FUBAR]

I think the flaw in them is that it's just not really possible to push the boundaries that much, at least not with the current design. Due to the size of the trains and presumably the forces exerted on the wings (but I am no engineer), it seems that all of the winged coasters so far have had very elongated elements and pullouts, resulting in a very controlled feeling ride. I think they are rides that require significant interaction with themeing/landscape to truly be effective at what they do, and most parks are not going to do that. To go back to John Wardley again and his philosophy, the ride vehicle as a means of moving the rider through the attraction rather than being the attraction itself.

It's almost like the B&M dive coasters. They are one trick ponies that require a lot of space to do what they do.

[intaminboy]

I hope it goes under the bridge.

[chknwing]

Not sure what this means if someone else could explain it I would appreciate it. What is this suspension letter fro the Centurion trademark?

Word Mark: Centurion
Status/
Status Date:
SUSPENSION LETTER - MAILED
2/4/2014

[CarowindsFan]

Not sure what this means if someone else could explain it I would appreciate it. What is this suspension letter fro the Centurion trademark?

Word Mark: Centurion
Status/
Status Date:
SUSPENSION LETTER - MAILED
2/4/2014

Read number 4 here: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/process/update/oa.jsp