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0 Rating Posted by: spaminacan on 7/22/2007 5:59:00 PM

The first time I got on Apollos Chariot, I had only been on one B&M hyper coaster, Goliath at SFOG. Goliath was my number one before and after my first ride. After the second ride, I was questioning my number one slot. After about ten rides, it had me completely won over. For me, I think the first drop did it. It is so much better than Goliaths. The only thing that Goliath has over Apollos Chariot in my books is the helix, but the first drop makes up for it. Also, the MCBR hardly hits and provides a good pop of ejector air coming out of it. I love the variation in drop heights in the second half. In my opinion, night rides are also better on Apollos Chariot. It is just an all around great ride.

I too agree that the first drop is just unbelievably good with amazing ejector air time the entire way down.

No, the first drop is floater air. The drop out of the MCBR is ejector air.

I got ejector air time on the first drop when I rode it in the back seat, but yeah that drop after the brake run is madness. I wasnt expecting it and was launched into orbit.

AFAIK, the B&M hypers dont generally feature negative Gs (ejector air). Its Intamin that is willing to take the chance with negative Gs. There are accelerometer reports around the net that document this.

^most people seem to prefer leaving terms like "ejector" and "floater" undefined, therefore they can debate coasters attributes endlessly. taking accelerometers on coasters threatens the very fabric of the online coaster community.

Well, you can still get some pretty fun airtime with 0 G, like the B&M hypers do. Its just that B&M is more conservative than Intamin. You dont see handicapped people being chucked out of Nitro like happened with S:ROS. Not having negative Gs reduces the chances of riders being chucked from the trains. Also, excess negative G forces are dangerous to humans because they force blood up into the head where blood vessels could possibly burst. Not a likely scenario on a well designed Swiss coaster, but if you were being conservative its something to think about.

right. but my point is that since people dont have accelerometers they subjectively banter about what kind of airtime, how much airtime etc coasters have...AKA numerous voyage debates. btw, im totally an intamin camper. i like the "toss" feeling. maybe i dont have enough blood in my brain, cuase i crave those negs sometimes.

Yeah, I dunno. I dont think that ejector air is too hard to distinguish from floater. Do you get forcibly chucked out of your seat, or not? But, I see your point.

Ive actually contemplated getting my own accelerometer, and graphing out the coasters I ride. Some European dude came up with a hack to put one into a Nokia cell phone. Maybe Im not ready to plunge into being quite that nerdy yet.

I think the accelerometer would be a good tool for silencing people that claim there is airtime on coasters when there is most certainly zilch.

Yes, but that isnt fool proof, as we all know if you catch a coaster on a bad day it can give you no air time, but on a good day it can send you flying, Im sure even the "All mighty" El Toro has its off days.

"Im sure even the All mighty El Toro has its off days."

I can vouch for that. Moreover, whatever the reading on the acceleromoter, if my tuckus doesnt leave the seat, its not airtime.

Heck the ability to raise above the seat is quickly becoming a thing of the past. I predict in a few years theyre just going to nail you to the train. All in the name of safety, and because Six Flags cant check a lap bar. Part of why I liked Kennywoods Thunderbolt so much is because of the restraints. Buzzbar + no seat belt + no center divider = the best.

^same with the phoenix, and ive hit that buzz bar pretty hard a few times. the cyclones seats also remain un-belted, undivided...though the lap bar on that is quite a more medieval thing than a buzz bar.

I rode the Phoenix a few weeks ago, and it does have a center divider. No seat belt or ratcheting lap bar, though. Or am I hallucinating?

ah, maybe youre right. not so much on the side-to-side action, though, the phoenix.

Lets not forget one of my favorites, the oft-ignored Skyliner at Lakemont Park. Less than three short weeks ago I almost wound up in the car in front of me when I presumptuously threw my hands up in the rearmost seat going down the first drop. Ive got nothing against B&M (well, maybe not nothing), but please, lets talk about ejector air once youve had to grab the lap bar for literal self-preservation. Later, three Timber generations -- Timberpap, T2, and yours truly -- crammed into the front seat together for T2s inaugural ride on a big-league roller coaster. Try pulling that off at Disney World.

Meh. Ive been on Cyclops. If that last drop doesnt count as ejector air, nothing does. The rest of the ride is a snorefest though.

Id say that you guys being able to squeeze 3 into one seat says more about the "track gauge" of your derrieres than about the safety policies at Magic Kingdom.

I usually try to stay away from the term ejector air myself. The only reason I used it was because there is an accelerometer mounted on the back of two seats on Apollos Chariot. I rode it 35 times, and when I figured out what it was, I watched it constantly throughout the ride. Almost every hill had about 0 gs, except the one out of the MCBR. There were negative gs on that drop. And since it was not a parabolic hill, the instant drop in addition to the slight negative gs amounted to ejector air.

Which seats have that accelerometer? Ill look for that whenever I get back out to BGE.

Well, shut my mouth. That certainly sounds more scientific than the old method of checking ones drawers at the next bathroom break.

Ill soon be riding AC myself (thanks to my heavily-armed brethren at the NRA) and am looking forward to it. At least Ill have something to read if the ride disappoints.

I personally rank AC as the #3 US B&M hyper, behind Nitro and Goliath (SFOG). Its still a pretty solid ride, and the drop out of the MCBR is pretty intense in the back seat. Please note that you really need to be in the very back to feel that drop the hardest. Second to back doesnt do it as much.

If I remember correctly, they are on the back of row five, visible from six. I am not positive though, it could be on the back of six or seven. You will just have to see if you go. I assure you though, it was there.

I rode in the second to last row and didnt see anything.

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