From: wjf@controls.ccd.harris.com (Bill Figie)
Subject: Re: Top Gun at King's Island
Originator: wjf@rs2
Organization: Harris Controls
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 18:04:44 GMT


In article <1e98p7INNavs@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, mac18@po.CWRU.Edu
 (Michael A. Cornell) writes:
|> 
|> In a previous article, pab@po.CWRU.Edu (Pete Babic) says:
|> 
|> >
|> >In a previous article, rdorocke@silver.ucs.indiana.edu
 (rob lawrence dorocke) says:
|> >
|> >>KI had a ride like this called the Bat about 8-10 years ago, but
|> >> they had a lot of troubles with it.  The cars kept falling off 
|> >>and people got killed often.  SO, Needless to say, they took it out.
|> >>  Does anyone remember it??
|> >
|> >Urban Legend time again. Yes, the Bat was removed but the cars
|> >didn't fall off and no one was killed on the coaster.
|> >
|> >-- 
|> >Pete Babic  -  pab@po.cwru.edu          ///
|> >LIVE TO PARTY, SKI TO DIE!!!           ///  /\
|> >Member of ACE                    \\\  ///  /--\MIGA  
|> >(American Coaster Enthusiasts)    \\\/// MS-DOS or a Mac? What's that?
|> >
|> If this is the case, then WHY was it removed.  My friend tells me that
|> the cars had problems. He told me that the cars swung in four directions
|> not two, here they moved forwards and backwards.  Is this true?  Is it
|> the RISK of someone dying was too great?  He told me that the ride was
|> shut down 5 or 6 months into the season, and then it was torn down?  
|> Could SOMEONE tell the ENTIRE REAL STORY!
|> 
|> Mike "dazed and confused" Cornell
|> mac18@po.cwru.edu

I am sure that only a handfull of people can give you the "real" story and
those people would have to be the designers (Arrow) and the upper
management of KI.  But here goes with what I have heard.  It isn't as
sensational as cars falling off the track but I believe it to be true.  Of
course the Bat was the first modern suspend coaster.  If you look at some
of the original designs of Arrow from TV shows such as 3-2-1 Contact and
America Screams, the early models didn't have those shock absorbers. 
As time went on more and more shock absorbers were added.  I think it
started with only two but at the end I think they were up to 4 (maybe even
5).  Just too much force in the curves trying to throw the cars out.  The
Bats cars only swung in 2 directions but when they swung on the curves,
they really swung out.  I remember one of my first rides, you could feel
the coaster car swinging out to more then 90 degrees and bumping the track
quite hard.  It even scared me a little.  I think because of this KI had
problems with welds and the truck mechanism that ran on the rails above
the track.  Perhaps they had a small accident or maybe just test runs, but
they used to have to examine the ride carefully all the time.  Anyway, the
main reason I have heard that KI took it out is because it was unreliable.
 It had way too much down time.  It would be running on moment, then they
would have to close it for a couple hours, then they would open it back up
and then close it again.  This, I heard, upset park patrons.  Mainly,
because of this, they decided to take it out and put in a more
conventional coaster.
    As far as a ride on the Bat goes, it was a very circular coaster.  I
don't remember very many good drops.  It mostly relied on the swinging
action to create excitement.  It had two lifts of around 90 to 100 feet. 
It was a very exciting ride.  I think the Big Bad Wolf is a little better
because of the final drop and the way the village is.  I haven't ridden
the Vortex at Canada's Wonderland, but the Bat would be my #2 Arrow
suspend coaster.  It was built where the Vortex at KI stands now. 
There is a nice story and picture of the Bat in one of the early (I think
Volume 2 Issue 2) issues of Coaster World.  The coaster ran for 2 years I
think before it was torn down.  I happened to ride it both years.  I am
glad they worked out the bugs in suspend coasters.  That's all I have to
say about this right now.

		Bill "It should be interesting to see the new one" Figie