NEW THRILL RIDE PICKING UP SPEED.Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff WriterWith none of the fanfare that usually accompanies the inauguration INAUGURATION. This word was applied by the Romans to the ceremony of dedicating some temple, or raising some man to the priesthood, after the augurs had been consulted. It was afterwards applied to the installation (q.v. of a new white-knuckler, the new Superman Superman invincible scourge of crime. [Comics: Horn, 642–643] See : Crime Fighting Superman superhero under guise of Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter. The Escape ride at Magic Mountain quietly opened this week - 5 mph short of the promised 100 mph. In fact, the roller coaster What a bad CD-R disc is often called. See CD-R and underrun. to end all roller coasters While there have been hundreds of different roller coasters built, there have been just a few that were notable for specific reasons. Some reasons include:
The general public will be able to ride the attraction during the first quarter of 1997, park officials said Tuesday. Plans for Superman - originally scheduled to open at the start of the park's 1996 summer season - drew applause from roller coaster lovers nationwide eager to hit the 100 mph mark on the rails. But engineers still are fine-tuning electromagnetic motors that enable the coaster to reach its maximum speed. Nevertheless, park officials wanted to honor a promise that season pass holders would be able to ride the attraction by the end of 1996. ``Our season pass holders purchased season passes with the promise that they would be able to ride Superman The Escape,'' said park spokesman Palmer Moody. ``We are fulfilling our commitment to them as season pass holders.'' About 200 guests rode the coaster Tuesday, Moody said. Several thousand more are expected to take advantage of the special invitation during the next two weeks. He said the 41-story-high ride drew positive reviews from visitors who stood in line for repeat rides. ``We got a very favorable response,'' Moody said. ``They said it was very fast.'' The ride's summer debut has been pushed back months by mechanical problems that include electromagnetic motors mounted on the undersides of the 15-passenger cars. The magnets are attracted and then repelled by electromagnetic elements, which are powered by a linear synchronous motor Synchronous motor An alternating-current (ac) motor which operates at a fixed synchronous speed proportional to the frequency of the applied ac power. that runs the length of the 900-foot track. Engineers are working on synchronizing synchronizing, n a technique that a therapist uses to coordinate his or her breath with that of the client; builds trust and establishes relationship. the motor, which depends on split-second timing to achieve the desired 100 mph speed. Once the system's bugs are worked out, park officials said the technology will catapult catapult (kăt`əpŭlt'), mechanism used to throw missiles in ancient and medieval warfare. At first, catapults were specifically designed to shoot spears or other missiles at a low trajectory (see bow and arrow). riders to the top of the 41-story-high tower where they will experience 6.5 seconds of weightlessness weightlessness, the absence of any observable effects of gravitation. This condition is experienced by an observer when he and his immediate surroundings are allowed to move freely in the local gravitational field. before dropping back down to the station. Moody said such mechanical difficulties are expected when experimenting with new technology. ``We recognize this as breakthrough technology in the theme park industry,'' he said. ``These electromagnetic motors, and getting it up to 100 mph is taking longer than we expected but it's going to be an awesome ride. This is cutting edge technology that has a lot of potential and will possibly change the theme park industry into the future.'' The fastest ride at the park now is the Viper roller coaster, which reaches speeds of 70 mph. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: The electromagnetic system that propels Superman The Escape has yet to achieve the 100 mph speed designers had in mind. |
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