Advantages of inverted coasters
- Thread starter chrissyt
- Start date
I assume it's purely down to the seating position. I don't know if there's much of a physical difference, but there could be.
Essentially, it's more exciting for the rider to be sitting with nothing under them, with an unobscured view.
Physically, you sit in a much more "upright" position. A normal sit down coaster you tend to have to cram into, or be a little more "laid back". So you're not quite as hemmed in. I think this will make a little difference as I mentioned above, but I doubt it's too much.
Other than that, I don't think there are any real actual "technical" advantages. I suspect that they can (due to the sitting position) put extra forces on the body compared to normal coasters, as they do tend to be much more intense - but that really is pure speculation and there are some very intense normal sitdown coasters out there too.
Essentially, it's more exciting for the rider to be sitting with nothing under them, with an unobscured view.
Physically, you sit in a much more "upright" position. A normal sit down coaster you tend to have to cram into, or be a little more "laid back". So you're not quite as hemmed in. I think this will make a little difference as I mentioned above, but I doubt it's too much.
Other than that, I don't think there are any real actual "technical" advantages. I suspect that they can (due to the sitting position) put extra forces on the body compared to normal coasters, as they do tend to be much more intense - but that really is pure speculation and there are some very intense normal sitdown coasters out there too.
caffeine_demon
Strata Poster
but - they only really have an unobscured view right at the front!
Afaic - It doesn't really matter what the seating config is (as long as it doesn't result in body parts smacking into something!)
Afaic - It doesn't really matter what the seating config is (as long as it doesn't result in body parts smacking into something!)
Mysterious Sue
Strata Poster
I definitely think the reason they're so popular is that they are more 'scary' - having no floor or sides to the cars - you are much more exposed.
Maybe there are some benefits in terms of engineering, but surely their success is based on customer response.
Maybe there are some benefits in terms of engineering, but surely their success is based on customer response.
andrus
Giga Poster
I don't think there are any technical advantages. If anything the inverted coaster should be more advanced/expensive to construct! It has more movable parts in the shape of retractable floor and moving gates at the station. The supports are also higher due to the attachemnt is positioned above the track rather than under it and the seating position is further from the track making the trains heavier (and probably hence make the track/supports more expensive to cope with the bigger load). But I don't think the difference is that big.
Regarding the ride experience I think it's generally perceived as more scary. Personally I think that it only works in the front row though, since the train design effectively block the view of any other row. Despite this shortcoming I have more inverts high in my rankings than I have regular sit downs, but that's probably due to B&M making loads of inverts while B&M sit downs are a rarity.
Regarding the ride experience I think it's generally perceived as more scary. Personally I think that it only works in the front row though, since the train design effectively block the view of any other row. Despite this shortcoming I have more inverts high in my rankings than I have regular sit downs, but that's probably due to B&M making loads of inverts while B&M sit downs are a rarity.
Aerodynamically, you are at a disadvantage with inverted roller coasters. The coaster trains essentially resemble a large rectangle, and have lots of air drag.
The excitement factor however is enough to make you throw all physical concerns to the wind - the inverted coaster was the first truly bold step outside of the normal sitdown train (Stand-ups were still in their infancy), and opened an entire new world of possibilities for riding positions. While the predecessors such as the bobsled, suspended swinging, and initial stand-up coasters had been tried to reasonable success, all of them were no match for the madness that ensued with inverted coaster design. B&M for instance was able to keep the ball rolling and begin investing in true Stand-Ups, Floorless, Flying, 4D, and Winged.
The excitement factor however is enough to make you throw all physical concerns to the wind - the inverted coaster was the first truly bold step outside of the normal sitdown train (Stand-ups were still in their infancy), and opened an entire new world of possibilities for riding positions. While the predecessors such as the bobsled, suspended swinging, and initial stand-up coasters had been tried to reasonable success, all of them were no match for the madness that ensued with inverted coaster design. B&M for instance was able to keep the ball rolling and begin investing in true Stand-Ups, Floorless, Flying, 4D, and Winged.