Rollercoasters Grow Faster and Scarier
July 2 -- With speeds up to 93 miles per hour and a 300-foot drop at an 80-degree angle, the Millennium Force at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, is two minutes and 20 seconds of adrenaline rush.
It scares even the most daring of thrill ride enthusiasts. And that's the point for the engineers who keep pushing the envelope to design rides that are faster and scarier than ever. Last year, an estimated 317 million people visited amusement parks, generating $9.6 billion in revenue.
The young and old the are soaring to new heights in search of adventure, with sports like bungee jumping and mountain climbing. And extreme sports enthusiasts are the same people who want the fastest, steepest and scariest thrill ride.
No Limits
"As a designer, it's important not to put limits on what you can design," said Jim Seay, a former aerospace engineer who now uses rocket science to design roller coasters, and is president of Premier Rides.
His greatest innovation: the linear induction motor, a technology that uses magnets and electricity to launch riders from zero to 70 mph in just seconds.
Computer technology allows designers to cater to the thrill-seeking crowd. The added bonus: you get to test the safety of the structure before the manufacturing begins.
"You are analyzing the stresses on structure; analyzing the G-forces that are being seen and only when the rides are completely designed on the computer does the first piece of steel or wood actually get fabricated," Seay said.
So as long as enthusiasts pay the price of admission, designers will continue to create more intense thrill rides. Some of the biggest new coasters reach speeds up to 100 mph, plunge 300 to 400 feet nearly straight down and twirl riders inverted eight times in 40 seconds.
Living on the Edge
"We all want to live on the edge but most of us aren't athletically equipped to do things like go whitewater rafting," said Scott L. Jordan, of amusementpark.com. "So these rides let everyone know what it feels like to jump out of a plane. It's theater without danger."
