Yeah, I work at a park, too. I've been certified to work 5 very different coasters and a handful of flats.
Awesome...
I understand the limitations and technology of this ride.
So assuming you're in the Chicago area, I'm guessing you've worked Superman Ultimate Flight at Great America, or know people who have?
It's a learning process for the crew, and that's really all there is to it. It isn't the manufacturer's fault that Busch/SeaWorld has never had this type of coaster before.
No its not, but don't act like Busch went into this blindly not knowing what they were getting themselves into. Busch and B&M have a better working relationship than any other brand in the industry; they work very close together to obtain the product that they want in their parks. When they did their research, the creative team at SeaWorld rode every B&M flying coaster in the states as well as Air at Alton Towers. In doing their research they also looked into the operational integrity of the ride.
Even in established installations, these restraints have a lot going on to them, and unless the guest is familiar with the system, as well as the ride crew, then this is a process that tends to be pretty slow.
The guests job, like with any other looping B&M coaster is to pull down the restraint. The leg fins close as the vest is retracted towards the rider's body. It all acts as one unit. What makes the Flyer restraints so nice is that they are very flexable in design and can accomodate larger body dimensions than that of an Inverted or Sitdown roller coaster. Next time you ride a flying coaster note that there aren't any ADA specific rows (big boy seats). Theoretically the process should be easier than loading something like Montu or Raptor - due to the absence of a seatbelt and the flexability of the restraint itself.
The problems that I'm addressing come from a physically locked restraint not being cleared as "locked" by the ride system - often causing operators to meerly push a little bit on the faulty restraint to obtain a ready status. This is generally where you'll see the most lag in dispatch intervals, because it's like solving a puzzel. The attendant at the face of the train is in charge of finding the faulty seat, while the attendant at the rear of the train instructs him to the row which said fault is located. The issue is that the rear attendant's OCC panel will only indicate rows, and not specific seats - meaning the first load attendant has to recheck all 4 restraints. Only the main control box can indentify the exact seat on the train, as their console contains more screens and overall control of the operations.
Oh, and it's fairly typical for there to be folks from the manufacturer for the first week or two of general operation.
You're kidding...(FYI They're there for more than a week or two... :wink: )
