What coaster has the strongest airtime, in terms of the actual level of force?

[ThomVD]

One thing I find confusing about airtime is; how can certain forces that are lower feel like they provide stronger airtime than rides with higher force?

For instance, I’ve been watching the EP videos from CoasterStats, and their analysis suggests that Silver Star peaks at little lower than 0G in the front and middle, and only hits around -0.5G in the back, whereas Blue Fire’s strongest airtime moment is -0.5G into/out of the mid course, which I wouldn’t say felt as strong as SS’ airtime even on the back, and even the hill before the final inversion that felt to me like it did absolutely nothing even in the back peaks at a little above 0G, which is not much weaker than SS.

However, I would have said that Silver Star had considerably stronger airtime than Blue Fire if I hadn’t watched these videos; even taking the length out of the equation, SS’ peak airtime strength just felt stronger to me. Probably stronger than any other ride I’ve ridden bar Mako, and that includes things that allegedly have strong ejector like Icon (-1.2G), Speed (-1.3G), Megafobia and Smiler (-1G)… baffling stuff.

I think restraints/trains/seating, as well as how sustained it is, make quite a difference. There's not a single restraint that works as well with floater airtime as the B&M clamshells and given how sustained the airtime on Silver Star is, it's a lot more noticable. Blue Fire's entering/exiting the MCBR is a pretty good pop of airtime but it's way shorter than going all the way over a hill. And with Mack's restraints, it would require ejector to get a real "out of your seat" sensation, especially with how much the restraints tighten. Staple yourself on SS and the airtime will feel quite weak. With that said, leaving the MCBR and the exit of the helix on SS feels borderline ejector to me.

 

[Trax]

Thank you! It's great to see that the hard work (and the money we poured into the project) gets apreciated!

I will write my answer a little bit longer, so it fits better in this thread - I hope you don't mind.

In most cased the regulations in europe and the US (DIN E 13814 and what I believe is ASTM 2291, not sure on that one) are very similar. In some places, the european norm even references the ASTM. We actually had to purchase both, just to be able to do european rides properly.
The biggest difference between both regulations is the positioning of the accelerometer, which is around the heartline for the DIN E, but ~ halfway beween the actual heartline and the seat for the ASTM.
The second difference is the intensity of airtime allowed. While the european regulations allow up to -2g , the US one allows up to -2.8. So yes, rollercoasters in the US are allowed to have more intense airtime than the european ones. They are also allowed to go up to -2g for a longer period of time.
After a certain point, both limits are similar again, but at maximum, US coasters could pull more negatives.
Sorry for being a little bit vague around the numbers, but I am not 100% sure about the time limits, so I prefer being vague than wrong.

And I will stick with abbreviation, they spend probably hundrets of hours for the name, so I will abbreviate it as a whole


@Matt N
The answer is a mix of restraints and the transitions. A bulkier restraint reduces the perceived airtime quite a bit. We mostly realize airtime if we a) get lifted out of our seat and b) by the force our bodys are pressed against the restraint. The bigger the area the restraint pushes against your thighs (even the body as a whole), the weaker the perceived airtime is. The New-Gen Vekomas with their vest restraints are a great example, I've been able to do one of those without a vest, and the airtime feels twice as strong without. It's crazy how much they "kill" the perceived airtime.

Second point is the transition speed. The more sudden the transition, the more intense the resulting feeling. You can even fake airtime this way. Most GCIs don't really have airtime in most places, but yet, everyone likes the sudden ejector pops on them. That is achieved by rapidly transitioning between decent positives to ~0g, and enhanced by the comparably small lap bar. Fun fact: According to GCI, their Millenium Flyer trains are only designed for 0g at max, only the new Infinity Flyer are allowed to have up to -1g of negative forces.

On Silver Star, the few Flowjector Pops it gives (keep in mind that our video was filmed with an empty and cold train prior to park opening), are supported by the lengths of the train. 9 rows is a decent amount, and if 8 rows pull you over a crest, you will experience a quick change of forces and feel a decent ejector pop.
RMC does a similar thing, their airtime is not the strongest, but their transitions between positives and negatives are steep, and that creates a very intense feeling.

That is also why large scale ejector hills usually feels weaker than a small hill towards the end, even if the actual forces imply the opposite. A good designer can use the change between positives and negatives to make the experience more intense, without being more intense. Albeit, and I have to admit that, rapid transitions are more exhausting for the rider than slower ones.

 

[Rob Coasters]

What're the chances that the strongest ejector hill in terms of force are on some kiddie coaster? Those appear to have some very sharp crests and drops, and while they're not taken at very impressive speeds, I feel like there could be a couple exceptions to that.

Anyone done Tidal Wave at Clarence Pier in the back row? That drop gives some lethal negatives, strong enough to be one of the very few coasters that force me to impulsively hold onto the restraint. It's by far the strongest drop I've done, but not necessarily my favourite.

Same can be said for Pettitts' Crazy Caterpillar - that thing in the back row pulls a frankly shocking drop too.

Perhaps the strongest airtime is instead on a knockoff coaster with not very well thought out shaping instead? Or is one of the frequently mentioned ones in here our answer?

 

[Hixee]

It's also worth saying that our bodies are far more sensitive to changes in force than absolute forces (to an extent). This comes back down to the whole 'jerk' thing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerk_(physics)) - rate of change of acceleration. Astronauts in microgravity basically get the longest floater hill ever created, but their bodies get used to it so they stop feeling like it's a new sensation. It's the same forces on your body as the "perfect" floater hill, but due to the changes in forces happening (and the rate at which they're changing), it creates a very different sensation when riding a roller coaster.

This is my theory behind the little straight sections of track you see on coasters like Mako and Oz'Iris. They're there to give a short respite in the positive Gs, which (for a split section) feels like a pop of airtime, or something akin to that. I think it's actually a nifty trick to make a transition a lot more dynamic.

 

[Nicky Borrill]

It's also worth saying that our bodies are far more sensitive to changes in force than absolute forces (to an extent). This comes back down to the whole 'jerk' thing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerk_(physics)) - rate of change of acceleration. Astronauts in microgravity basically get the longest floater hill ever created, but their bodies get used to it so they stop feeling like it's a new sensation. It's the same forces on your body as the "perfect" floater hill, but due to the changes in forces happening (and the rate at which they're changing), it creates a very different sensation when riding a roller coaster.

This is my theory behind the little straight sections of track you see on coasters like Mako and Oz'Iris. They're there to give a short respite in the positive Gs, which (for a split section) feels like a pop of airtime, or something akin to that. I think it's actually a nifty trick to make a transition a lot more dynamic.

That’s (I think) what @Trax was referring to.

I think it’s the reason a double or triple down / up feels sooo damn good too! Those rapid transitions between positive and negative.

 

[Trax]

@RobCoasters Some jerky once are likely to have at least a very short pop of airtime, but due to the low speeds of those sketchier Kiddie coasters, I don't expect too much. The radius of the hills is usually very tight, and with you changing your direction so rapidly, it more or less feels like a jerk, pushing you forwards. SLCs (and all inverters) suffer from that problem, with the seats moving way more than the car, and resulting in some jerky transitions. SLCs feature some especially tight turns, and that is were the worst jerks are.