THE NEWSPAPER FOR AMUSEMENT RIDES 5 Green Coaster®
PARK & GAMES:
WHEN THE COASTER IS A GREEN TECHNOLOGICAL FORERUNNER
A roller coaster may be the most spectacular, and surely the most energy-consuming, attraction in the amusement
sector. Therefore, it's
not by chance that, like cars in the everyday world, they are the object of most energy-saving efforts and studies. But the story we want to tell you this time goes farther than that, and places roller coasters as the fore- runners of all green technology and engineering. The breakthrough is called a fly-
wheel. In its essence, a flywheel is no new idea, as its principles have been known and studied for what seems like forever: a flywheel is noth- ing more than a mechanical device that
can be used to store rota-
tional energy, i.e. speed. The green idea is all in that little word, “store.” Whereas braking energy is normally converted into heat and simply dis- sipated, with a flywheel it would be possible to reuse that same energy for the next acceleration. In any vehicle, if you could store the energy from all braking operations instead of dispersing it, you would be effec- tively saving notable amounts of energy. It is no wonder, then, that the car-making industry is working on the idea. The wonder is that, for once, the
roller coaster industry is moving well in advance of the car industry: Mau- rer Rides was able to develop a sys- tem that allows parks to recapture their roller coaster’s residual energy and use it for the next launch. What's more, the German company has already mounted a flywheel on one of its coaster, the Formula X Launch Coaster in the Drievliet Park in Den Haag, in the Netherlands. Maurer Rides Launch Coasters were already developed to be among the
most energy-efficient in the indus- try. Now, with the addition of this flywheel system, they really deserve the title of “Green Coasters,” which is the new registered trademark Mau- rer Rides is using. As the company explained in a newsletter, “One lin- ear synchronous motor (LSM) makes both a powerful catapult start and smooth braking possible by reversing the stators’ polarity. During the brak- ing manoeuvre, the residual energy can be recovered in super capacitors and used for the next start.” Accord- ing to the manufacturer, this sys- tem also allows for new possibili- ties when designing the track layout, because the new coasters no longer require a braking stretch section in the approach towards the station. And all this is not to mention the savings in costly brake components and maintenance. The Drievliet coaster was only the
first. More recently, Maurer Rides went a stage further with the Frei- schütz Launch Coaster in the Bay- ern-Park at Dingolfing, Germany. Here too the coaster recovers brak- ing energy in the so-called Super Caps and uses it for the next power boost. And to make it even more interesting for passengers and on- lookers, Maurer Rides installed the illuminated FireWheels, i.e. high-per- formance LEDs that transform the coaster in a true light show even dur- ing the day. Why do we mention them here? Because, like everything else on this Green Coaster, the Fire- Wheels are fully energy-effective. The required power is generated by the wheels themselves, as the wheels’ rotation is converted into energy,
thereby making recharge-
able batteries and related wiring superfluous.
Continued on page 6 »
THE FLYING LAUNCH THREE FUNCTIONS IN ONE
Imaginative concept with enormous potential for creativity and savings
The “Flying Launch” principle was first used at the Bayern-Park in Southern Bavaria: Including a spectacular start, gripping excite- ment up to the very last moment, different ride variations combined with the flying start while still maintaining a low energy cost, characterize this coaster. Addi- tionally, it has other great inno- vations such as its illuminated wheels. But we won’t go into detail about that right now. The coaster innovators from Maurer Rides Munich are already planning the next ride with a Flying Launch, for example, in the Ningbo Park in China. But what exactly does the Flying Launch mean? What added value does the principle really of- fer to amusement park operators?
Let us first take a look at the classic motion sequence during a catapult launch, so that we can see the poten- tial of the novel Flying Launch: The pas- sengers get into the coaster at the sta- tion. The car is transported out of the station by electrical friction wheel drive units and accelerated up to the desired speed by a launch shot. At the end of the journey and just
before the station, it shoots into the braking section and is slowed down being returned to the station by drive wheels.
To summarize, there are three motion elements that need to be taken into consideration in the planning, construc- tion and operation of a roller coaster with regard to the station: Launch, brake and drive wheels.
All in one: the Flying Launch principle
The new Flying Launch handles all three elements simultaneously and integrates the launch, brake and drive wheels in one system. Once the passen- gers have gotten on board, the car is accelerated straight from a standstill position, and on its return there is no braking phase just before the station. Instead,
the car shoots through the
station from its residual energy and is braked electrically in the launch sec- tion by switching the electrical currents polarity thus changing the launch into a magnetic brake. The braking energy is stored temporarily and then reused for the next launch. The car comes to a standstill in the drive section and is quickly transported to the station. Then the classic “changing of the guests” takes place. This concept offers a whole series of development possibilities, from various points of view:
• More fun from the very first second of the ride with the launch at the start.
• More attractions can be included into the layouts, hence, they can be designed to be more exciting. This is too vague? What does this mean?
• The “flying through the station” makes different ride variations possible by either stopping in the station or con- tinuing the ride
• Innovative technologies make a pos- itive contribution to the ecological and economic balance by recycling some of the braking power into the next launch.
More fun for the guests: from the very first to the very last second
The most important target group in the park is, of course, the guests – and here the Flying Launch scores a num- ber of “higher points" from the very first second. Since the launch stators are installed right at the station, there is no gradual starting up and gentle sta- tion exit. The roller coaster experience begins at once with a start like that of a Formula 1 race car, a bullet being fired or being beamed into another world. The riding experience can be sa-
voured right up to the very last second because there is no braking before the station. A highlight at the end, a big finale that is like a last minute sprint to the end, the last big bang as in a fire- works display leaves the guests breath-
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