Can floater airtime truly be considered airtime?

[Matt N]

Hi guys. I was reading the most recent trip entry on Richard Bannister’s website (which is an excellent read by the way! I’d certainly recommend checking it out; he’s ridden nearly 3,000 coasters, so has a wealth of excellent reports to read from a wide variety of parks!) from Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and this paragraph in Bannister’s report caught my eye:

Instead I found my way to the original B&M hyper coaster. Apollo’s Chariot is now well into its twenty-third season, yet it continues to deliver a top-notch crowd-pleasing ride, if one that is perhaps a little sedate by modern standards. Most of the hills deliver gentle floating, with only one real pop of airtime immediately prior to the on-ride photo. Two trains were in use today, and the operators were keeping them moving; I was able to walk straight into a back seat with no wait. During my lap I found myself wondering what it would take to upgrade the overall intensity; could it be done with a few booster wheels, or would the hills need to be materially reshaped?

(Bannister’s full report can be found here: https://www.bannister.org/coasters/trips/2021/0829.htm)
The bolded sentence in particular really caught my attention, as the fact that he says about how there’s “only one real pop of airtime” on Apollo’s Chariot implies to me that he doesn’t feel that the floater airtime experienced on rides like the B&M Hyper Coasters can truly be considered airtime.

While I admit I could be misinterpreting or overthinking Bannister’s choice of words here, he certainly wouldn’t be the first enthusiast I’ve heard argue that floater isn’t airtime. Quite a few think it, and I’ve heard “floater isn’t airtime” uttered many a time by enthusiasts.

So with that in mind, my question to you today is; do you feel that floater airtime can truly be considered airtime? Or do you agree with Bannister and other enthusiasts in thinking that it isn’t truly airtime?

Personally, I disagree. I think floater airtime can definitely be considered airtime based on the coasters I’ve ridden, because to me, it feels like I’m getting removed from my seat in just the same way as I do on a coaster with ejector. Well, perhaps not exactly the same way, but I certainly feel like I’m leaving the seat and getting that negative g sensation whenever I experience moments of airtime described by others as “floater”, so it’s airtime in my book.

But what do you guys think?

 

[Will]

For me, 'negative g/weightlessness/anything that creates a divide between bum and seat' is airtime, so yes.

Matt - I'm hoping you know me well enough not to take offense at this, but...

 

[Nicky Borrill]

Absolutely it IS airtime, might not be my favourite kind, (or the original writer's apparently,) but it's 100% airtime. Extremely enjoyable it is too. Especially when sustained for the amount of time B&M manage to sustain it over (some) of their hills.

 

[Sandman]

I'd be interested to hear an argument as to why floater airtime isn't airtime.

 

[James F]

It's zero to negative G-force, so yeah it's definitely airtime. I guess he was using a bit of a dramatic license.

Sent from my SM-A217F using Tapatalk

 

[CrashCoaster]

Yes. Moving on...

 

[Hixee]

I hate to say it, but I think this might be a case of you reading a little too literally into a few words on a random blog - however experienced (and a good writer) Bannister is.

 

[JoshC.]

I think this is how one should read the extract:

Most of the hills deliver gentle floating, with only one real pop of ejector airtime immediately prior to the on-ride photo.

 

[Matt N]

I wasn’t exclusively asking this on the basis of Bannister’s post, although I’ll admit that it did inspire me to make the thread. I’ve heard other people argue in the past that “floater isn’t airtime” in those very literal terms; heck, there are 2 votes for No in the poll on here.

 

[Hyde]

TL;DR Yes.

 

[CrashCoaster]

heck, there are 2 votes for No in the poll on here.

Probably @Grobble and @KIFan anonymously.