Construction Webcam

[Adam]

Europa park is showing the construction of their latest attraction in real-time over the internet... http://www.europapark.de/webcam.html It would be great if they did this with Superman.

[teki]

LoL about the joke with superman if they did it with the ride cam Alex B started the thread with it would be like riding a SUPERRRRRRRRRR roller coaster. So this ride must be a Water Roller Coaster because of the name and the roller coaster. (If I'm wrong im only presuming)

[T-bone]

I am so going to keep upto date on this webcam. Hey, it's daytime there.

[teki]

Of coarse it is they're like 5-10 hours behind us depending on where in Euroupe.

[zoggyno1]

Im preety sure that Europa land is in Germany

[Adam]

Europa park is Germany's biggest theme park. Mack have always been very innovative, and this is a great way of generating interest before the ride has even been completed.

So this ride must be a Water Roller Coaster

Yup, its a Mack Water Coaster. It includes a reverse drop connected by two turntables and a double drop.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

LoL about the joke with superman if they did it with the ride cam Alex B started the thread with it would be like riding a SUPERRRRRRRRRR roller coaster. So this ride must be a Water Roller Coaster because of the name and the roller coaster. (If I'm wrong im only presuming)

Teki... speak english... i have no idea what you just said....

[Nebuchanezzar]

I'm pretty sure you did, you're just trying to be difficult. Anyway, this thing just seems stupid to me. Videos and pictures of Roller-coasters on the net is one thing. But a continuous video of a ride being built? That's a bit extreme.

[Adam]

What if they were adding a Resident Claw to Dreamworld, would you like to see that being built? It might not be everyone’s thing but many websites are solely dedicated to providing information on upcoming rides and attractions, and while these sites provide some photos of new attractions, they are often old or taken from obscure angles (depending on the ride’s location). Nothing could be more up-to-date than a live feed (it’s not actually a steaming video feed, it’s just a still photo that is taken every 20 seconds or so).

[Gazza]

A webcam can be an efficient way of doing things, if you place it in a spot with a nice view you can get a good outlook over the ride and collect a nice bunch of photos automatically instead of having to have someone go out there and take photos. Not exactly a new thing though, CP has been doing it for years.

[Adam]

Ok, progress has advanced steadily on this new Mack attraction and on the 28th of February the first boat arrived. I have a couple of questions. Is the fin under the boat used for the air brakes? I am assuming it is. Are the two metal plates at the front of the car used to slow the car on a cold day? If not, where would the magnets be located? Or is this process not done with magnets? Looking at the carriage, where do you think the drive wheels would contact? Any specific place or doesn’t it matter? Also, does the turntable have a drive motor located to the side and when that spins, it connects with teeth on the side of the turntable causing it to turn? Or is it a big motor underneath the turntable that is connected directly to the turntable? (this is for any turntable as well) Thanks.

[Gazza]

Yes, I imagine the fin is for the brakes, the drive wheels would also utilise the brake fin (the fin goes between the two drive wheels and it forces the car along (similar to a pitching machine) What the hell do you mean about a cold day though? You've lost me there. Not sure about the turntable though but i think the teeth system would be more likely as it would enable a small gear on the outside to turn the large gear on the outside of the turntable, acting like a force multiplier and also enabling more precise control than what a direct motor link would offer.

[Adam]

Thanks Gazza for your reply. The drive wheels are similar to those used on Scooby for this ride and push up against the bottom of the carriage. I was just wondering if they would contact a metal plate or something on the bottom of the carriage or not. What do you think?

What the hell do you mean about a cold day though? You've lost me there.

On colder days induction brakes are used on the drop to slow the boats so the passengers don't get as wet. Is this a magnetic system? I assume it's similar to an LIM launch? Thanks.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

ive never heard of LIM's being used on a flume drop..? as far as the metal plate on the front, I would think that it would be the mouting plate for the front buffers, to stop the boat ramming the boat in front in brake chutes and station runs, and also to provide a chock for the lift? Most flumes I have seen have used a drive belt, rather than a drive wheel. If the drives on this are your standard tyre drive, then it is most likely doing to be a direct drive system, which would wreak havoc on the motors. Flumes, such as Sea World's Viking's Revenge only use propulsion systems in the flat spots such as the station and the lift hill, and they are rather large and flat drive belts, nearly the width of the boat itself, with a raising bar at the front (could be what the metal plate is for) to lift the train up, to reduce the motions from the rushing water. who knows? probably best to wait for more info from Mack or the park itself...

[Richard]

Naturally you can expect that fin to be used in a braking system, aso there's no other logical use for it on a ride like this. The tyre drive system on this ride is, like Scooby-Doo and other Mack rides a horizontal system, not a vertical pinch system, so this fin won't be used with the tyre drive. Next to the fin you can see the permanent magnets which will be used for magnetic braking. There will be an alloy fin on the track that slots in between these two magnets. Magnetic braking systems have been used on water rides for a number of years now. As rides become larger the force required to stop them has exceeded that which a reasonably sized splashdown section can offer. Rides like Perilous Plunge, Jurassic Park River Adventure and others use similar systems. Magnetic brakes work on the same basic principal as LIM launches, only in reverse (convert motion to electrical energy, whereas LIM converts electrical energy to motion). Those two metal plates are what the tyre drive system will grip onto. There is one on each side because the tyre drive system is to one side of the track, and this will allow boats facing either way to be propelled by the drive system. As with most motorised mechanisms, the drive motor is located to the side. In this case the turntables have a belt drive system connecting it to the turntable.

[Adam]

Thanks Richard for the detailed explanation. The only thing I didn't quite catch is the location of the permanent magnets on the boat. I cannot seem to find them. If someone could point them out that would be great. Also, I have attached a photo of the drive wheels if anyone is interested. Thanks.

[Adam]

Thanks Richard for the detailed explanation. The only thing I didn't quite catch is the location of the permanent magnets on the boat. I cannot seem to find them. Could you point them out again? Or if someone could draw an arrow to them... Also, I have attached a photo of the drive wheels if anyone is interested. Thanks.

[Richard]

The magnets are the white coloured fins with the yellow tags on them.

[Adam]

Now I understand. I thought that was the brake fin. At first I thought you meant the drive wheels would contact the two metal blocks at the front, but were you refering to the thin metal strip that runs the length of the carriage (as shown in the diagram)? Thanks Richard.

[Adam]

The ride has now officially opened as “Atlantica SuperSplash” and looks really good. Pictures of this attraction and it’s awesome themeing can be found on clickmagique.com