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Kings Island | Orion | B&M Giga Coaster

I know the "tiny giga" joke has basically been beat to death at this point, but I find it hilarious how it manages to look so dominant yet noticeably compressed at the same time? That extra 38ft Fury has makes more of a visual difference than I expected
 
Had to swing by today to drop something off at the park so naturally, I brought the DSLR and my buddy Drew and we had some good clean fun getting legal shots from nearby parking lots that were open and accessed legally.

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From a distance, it looks so dominant. It’ll certainly be one of the first things you see on approach to the park.

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Flight of Fear is officially dwarfed! With the ride’s lift and drop complete, all that’s waiting is the keystone lift crest to bring it to its full height. I was wondering how this would look from the ground and this gave me a great idea of the scale of what we’re dealing with.

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Driving up to my home park and seeing a big bad giga sticking out of the trees was almost surreal. It’s the exact same visual impression you get from Fury or Leviathan as you approach their park’s on the freeway.

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It’s huge, but to me it looks that way because I know how big the other rides are and where they are and the like. But on Kings Island Drive it starts to really tower over you. You get a sense just how high up that structure is.

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It’s a great addition to the skyline for sure! Can’t wait to see the other three tall elements join it!

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When I make this drive for Winterfest, it should be at least topped off!


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bob_3_ said:
I think B&M hypers/gigas are the most beautiful coaster models
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That explains why they're the only thing you ever build on NL2 ;)

I think I have to agree though. I've only actually ridden one, Silver Star, and I thought it was poo. But there is something about the way B&M hypers/gigas look that feels so majestic and powerful. For me I think it's something to do with the parabolic hills, they just look... Classy?
 
In case you were wondering - it's been snowing.

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I also drove by the park en route to work in Cincinnati on Friday. You now get a great glimpse of Orion on I-71S, the first view of Kings Island. Looking forward to seeing the first drop in person during Winterfest.

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(Serious) can someone explain to me why on Earth would B&M build such high and long brake runs? I know they must have capacity to hold at least a couple trains, but I can't seem to wrap my head around why does it need to be 50ft+ high. It just looks silly (and so do the other B&M gigas), IMO.

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bernatc22 said:
(Serious) can someone explain to me why on Earth would B&M build such high and long brake runs? I know they must have capacity to hold at least a couple trains, but I can't seem to wrap my head around why does it need to be 50ft+ high. It just looks silly (and so do the other B&M gigas), IMO.

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The higher the train, the slower it will be going I guess??‍♂️
 
I've heard that with the height, the reduced speed allows a shorter brake run. I'd imagine some of it comes down to cost.

Also, it allows an extra block section. B&M seems to add double block sections, versus say Intamin and Superman SFNE, where the ending brake run is literally the block section before the station. If for some reason the first brake fails, friction brakes fail, and the backup generators go out (never going to happen), you have an extra block section to stop the train from crashing into the next. Versus Superman SFNE, there's no MCBR, only one brake section in between trains, so if everything fails (again, never going to happen), the trains would collide.

Over engineering is one of the reasons why B&M has a pretty much flawless track record. They add an extra block section every time where un needed.

Plus the height allows more block sections because of the reduced speed and shorter brake run needed.


It could also be so they can squeeze an extra airtime section in there. I don't know if that slope after the first brake run is counted as one or two block sections, and same with the straight before the station. Is that one or two block sections? I don't know. either way, my final guess is: Extra block sections and airtime moment, the extra material needed for the height is minimal. Also, the way the train stops as the front car is slowly going over the crest not really getting airtime teases you to want to re-ride and the view is cool, makes you remember how tall the lift was :)
 
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B&M's giga coaster brake runs are designed to be tall for the same reason that Intamin trains standardized over the shoulder restraints up until recently: rider comfort. Almost every modern ride uses magnetic brakes, and those brakes operate by a principle known as eddy currents. The key factor of eddy currents that drive both Intamin and B&M designs is that the force generated from the induced current is proportional to the input velocity - the faster the train hits the brake run, the harder it will stop. To make these physics relatable, remember your last ride on Top Thrill Dragster or Xcelerator. If your memory serves correctly, you'll remember your torso getting thrown forward fairly violently. To mitigate this, Intamin started putting their over the shoulder restraints on all of their rides as the straps catch your shoulders and torso and keep your body in a more comfortable position. B&M gigas simply solve the same problem in a different way. Instead of slamming into the brakes at 75mph and having your upper body roll over the clamshell restraint, B&M simply adds elevation to remove a ton of kinetic energy before gently slowing the train to a crawl. B&M's solution may cost slightly more in materials (taller supports) and look goofy to every enthusiast, but it allows them to maintain their high quality riding experience and rider comfort with the clamshell restraint, and probably helps with sequencing the trains on that long slope down to the station.
 
Antinos said:
B&M's giga coaster brake runs are designed to be tall for the same reason that Intamin trains standardized over the shoulder restraints up until recently: rider comfort. Almost every modern ride uses magnetic brakes, and those brakes operate by a principle known as eddy currents. The key factor of eddy currents that drive both Intamin and B&M designs is that the force generated from the induced current is proportional to the input velocity - the faster the train hits the brake run, the harder it will stop. To make these physics relatable, remember your last ride on Top Thrill Dragster or Xcelerator. If your memory serves correctly, you'll remember your torso getting thrown forward fairly violently. To mitigate this, Intamin started putting their over the shoulder restraints on all of their rides as the straps catch your shoulders and torso and keep your body in a more comfortable position. B&M gigas simply solve the same problem in a different way. Instead of slamming into the brakes at 75mph and having your upper body roll over the clamshell restraint, B&M simply adds elevation to remove a ton of kinetic energy before gently slowing the train to a crawl. B&M's solution may cost slightly more in materials (taller supports) and look goofy to every enthusiast, but it allows them to maintain their high quality riding experience and rider comfort with the clamshell restraint, and probably helps with sequencing the trains on that long slope down to the station.
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what about putting them in series like at the start of the brakes having a lower density of braking devices then increasing as the speed slows down?
 
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