Flamingo Land | Sik | Intamin 10 Inversion Coaster | 2022

[The Undead Creature]

Yay, glad to see the risk now prevented. I got banned from the Flamingo Land Crazy facebook group because Raymond just plain denied this issue existing.

What the feck does he know?
Other than visiting the park every other day and pissing everyone off, I'd love to know what makes him such an expert on everything?
I was trying to get Mumbo back up and running once and he just happened to be there, he kept shouting at me with what he thought was the problem and his idea how to fix it in that "I'm right you're wrong" tone. I ended up saying to him "I know what I'm doing...... piss off"

 

[The Undead Creature]

They have, I noticed. Didn't take any pics though.

Anyways, after my 10 rides on Sik today (across the whole train), I can honestly say that's the most intense coaster I've ever ridden, it really took a toll on me. I wanted to ride it more but I just couldn't, my thighs and stomach wouldn't allow it. It runs like a faster, better, slightly more refined version of Colossus, except for the quad heartline rolls which roll that fast it feels like Blue Fire's roll 4 times in a row (5 if we're counting the one before the station), and they literally make you feel like those water dummies from the first test run. Couple this with the thinnest lap bar I've ever seen on a thrill coaster and it made for what is in my opinion the most intense coaster in the UK. I've currently got it placed as my UK No. 6 and my No. 7 coaster overall, and in my opinion it's more than worth the visit to Flamingo Land to experience it, even if you've ridden Colossus (which honestly feels NOTHING like this). It's an incredible coaster but it's absolutely not for the faint of heart. It's surprisingly smooth too (except for the transitions in and out of the cobra roll where the train shakes badly for no apparent reason, but apart from that it's smooth as glass).

TLDR: Sik is imo the most intense coaster in the UK and it's definitely worth going out to experience it, regardless of what you think of the park it's at.

The vibration is happening because I've still got a small gap going on the upstop wheels to help condition the track without tearing through the road wheels. I'm planning on putting full 20kg tension on the upstops this week so that will completely smooth everything out. Fingers crossed I don't end up stalling the train.

Did you have a go towards the end of the day in the piss down rain?

 

[CrashCoaster]

The vibration is happening because I've still got a small gap going on the upstop wheels to help condition the track without tearing through the road wheels. I'm planning on putting full 20kg tension on the upstops this week so that will completely smooth everything out. Fingers crossed I don't end up stalling the train.

Did you have a go towards the end of the day in the piss down rain?

Yep, I was riding it all day (well apart from when it opened late). It was unpleasant riding in through shards of glass.

Considering how fast the coaster is currently running I doubt you'll end up stalling the train.

 

[Peet]

The vibration is happening because I've still got a small gap going on the upstop wheels to help condition the track without tearing through the road wheels. I'm planning on putting full 20kg tension on the upstops this week so that will completely smooth everything out. Fingers crossed I don't end up stalling the train.

Interesting, is that Intamin's standard procedure for new rides?

And how doesn't that result in awful clunking on the heartline rolls!?

 

[CrashCoaster]

I also noticed that the lift clunking seemed to have been fixed (by putting some yellow and black stripy anti-slip tape on the magnet wheel rail or whatever the correct term is)?

 

[The Undead Creature]

Yep, I was riding it all day (well apart from when it opened late).

Ye that was my fault, sorry I uhm...... misplaced...... a bit of the train....

Considering how fast the coaster is currently running I doubt you'll end up stalling the train.

Almost sounds like a challenge

Interesting, is that Intamin's standard procedure for new rides?

And how doesn't that result in awful clunking on the heartline rolls!?

Indeed it is, but for track that is fresh from the factory, conditioning is usually complete after the first few hundred cycles. At this point you can then start tightening the wheels properly against the track to smooth everything out.
The problem I've got is that the track has been in storage for a very long time, the prepared running surface was extremely weathered as a result. It is this deep weathering that is taking a while to wear through. Had we put full tension on after 100 cycles, it would be on its second set of road wheels as the running stripe was like sand paper.

It does technically clunk through the rolls but because the gap is less than 1mm it's masked completely by the guide wheel suspension (which are at full tension by the way)

 

[The Undead Creature]

I also noticed that the lift clunking seemed to have been fixed (by putting some yellow and black stripy anti-slip tape on the magnet wheel rail or whatever the correct term is)?

Yep, it took me and 2 Intamin engineers scratching out collective heads 4 weeks to figure out how to shut the dam thing up. The solution turned out to be 35Kg springs and............ tape......

 

[CrashCoaster]

Sorry to go off topic but one other thing @The Undead Creature, how the hell are Flip Flop and Navigator still around? Both of them are ancient, hardly operate nowadays and seem like they're on life support.

 

[The Undead Creature]

Sorry to go off topic but one other thing @The Undead Creature, how the hell are Flip Flop and Navigator still around? Both of them are ancient, hardly operate nowadays and seem like they're on life support.

I have no idea either.
I was told not to put any orders for parts for Flip Flop as it was being scrapped after we had that first lockdown. Then they go and spend 300 grand on a pair of new gearboxes for it After all the faffing around trying to get it going after being stood for 2 years it still runs like a bag o' ****e...
Navigator ended up in a similar situation after developing terminal herpes in its PLC, stood still for over a year. But on the plus side, it manages more than 3 cycles without crapping itself unlike its yellow relative.

 

[AidanCKY]

Thanks for the updates Mr. Creature, glad to see an insight into your tinkering on the new ride and the interesting decisions the park makes with things like Flip Flop.

Its funny, the inner workings of the park seem exactly how I imagined. Very random. Just need them to randomly decide to build an RMC or a Woodie now

 

[Mushroom]

Just need them to randomly decide to build an RMC or a Woodie now

Nope nope nope.... I don't want an excuse to go back


Sent from my SM-S901B using Tapatalk

 

[CrashCoaster]

Did everything go to plan with tightening the upstop wheels @The Undead Creature? Did you end up stalling the train?

Hope it's rectified the shuffly cobra roll without slowing down the coaster too much.

 

[The Undead Creature]

Did everything go to plan with tightening the upstop wheels @The Undead Creature? Did you end up stalling the train?

Hope it's rectified the shuffly cobra roll without slowing down the coaster too much.

Unfortunately I only had time to do the first 2 axles and it didn't seem to make much difference in that particular car.
On the plus side though, the train actually lost .1 seconds from its average lap time and it's coming into the brakes at just over 18m/s, which is up from 17.5m/s before I did the adjustments.

 

[CrashCoaster]

Unfortunately I only had time to do the first 2 axles and it didn't seem to make much difference in that particular car.
On the plus side though, the train actually lost .1 seconds from its average lap time and it's coming into the brakes at just over 18m/s, which is up from 17.5m/s before I did the adjustments.

You mean it's even faster holy ****.

 

[Matt N]

I guess it would make sense that the ride is faster. If the rattling is gone, then the energy going towards the rattling will be transferred elsewhere, meaning that more energy can go towards kinetic energy for the ride.

I apologise, as I probably didn’t explain that brilliantly, but it’s something along those lines.

 

[The Undead Creature]

You mean it's even faster holy ****.

Yup

I guess it would make sense that the ride is faster. If the rattling is gone, then the energy going towards the rattling will be transferred elsewhere, meaning that more energy can go towards kinetic energy for the ride.

I apologise, as I probably didn’t explain that brilliantly, but it’s something along those lines.

Normally you would be correct but the rattle didn't improve as far as my arse could tell
I suspect the wheels are losing less energy because they aren't skidding anymore, at least on the front car. I've still to do the rest of the train.

 

[witchfinder]

I rode this last Friday and it was pretty good. Much smoother than Colossus and the lapbars are a huge improvement. There was some rattle on the train (as has been explained above) but no real roughness. It's very photogenic and we were impressed with the effort the park had gone to in making great spots for photo ops and nice interactions such as the misty tunnels and the fountains.

We had 6 rides throughout the day and it is definitely intense, and the strain those last 5 inversions put on your thighs with only a lapbar means it's not the kind of ride you'd marathon. I was also expecting more airtime from the hill after the loop, so that was a bit of a shame. I actually got more airtime on Velocity

The name and marketing are just awful, but I suppose as a 46 year old I'm not the core demographic that they are marketing to, and if SikSilk helped pay to get the thing finished then it was worth it. I quite like the design on the trains but the station decor and dance music is pure trash.

Operations were as good as you can hope for on one train, with pretty consistent dispatches. The queue time was never above 20 minutes all day although that says more about how quiet the park was than the ops I suppose.

That leads me to the big question - is it a good aquisition for the park? I think it's a solid coaster that certainly improves the line-up of creds at the park, but if your new thrill coaster is only attracting a 20 minute queue during school holidays then you'd have to suggest it's probably not the success you were hoping it would be.

Queue times across the park were low, and that implies that they are not attracting big numbers, maybe because of the bad reviews of the park operations from last year? So if you were hanging fire on visiting because you were expecting long wait times, don't be discouraged and get yourself up there and give it a go. We had a enjoyable day all round at the park aside from Kumali being shut all day.

 

[CrashCoaster]

We had a enjoyable day all round at the park aside from Kumali being shut all day.

Kumali has been very unreliable recently - on my visit it broke down 3 times, each time due to a power failure. Looks like it could do with a fair bit of maintenance tbh.

 

[The Undead Creature]

Kumali has been very unreliable recently - on my visit it broke down 3 times, each time due to a power failure. Looks like it could do with a fair bit of maintenance tbh.

I think Kumali is upset now that it's not the parks main attraction.

station decor and dance music is pure trash.

I'm glad someone agrees with me.

 

[DanielNJ]

First post... long time lurker.

Just wanted to share my thoughts on Sik having had my first rides today.

It was closed for the first couple of hours, it looked like there were some fabricators doing some work to the fencing on/around where the heartline rolls go over the pathway. This just built the anticipation and as soon as we saw a test train despatch we headed straight for the entrance. Can't fault the entrance, shop and queue line, a total step above everything else at the park. Some great viewpoints as well of an incredibly photogenic coaster. I personally loved the station, it was banging out late 90's / early 00's trance tunes that were on the playlist in my car on the'way in, so a massive thumbs up from me but can understand it wouldn't appeal to everyone. It did create a great atmosphere in the station. Operations were pretty smooth, obviously limited by only having the one train. Restraints were fine in my view.

Managed a front, mid-train and back row ride in baking hot conditions. Back row was great for a quick pop of airtime on the first drop, but front row was definitely a stand-out. Got absolutely pushed through the loop and corkscrews. the heartline rolls are just pure joy wherever you are sat, the upper body freedom you get is just brilliant and you can feel everyone on the train having an amazing time. The mist is a brilliant addition, i hope it stays, it adds to the whole experience.

The cobra roll did have a rattle as others have mentioned, and was probably the weakest element in my view, and also was a shame at the lack of airtime on the dive into the tunnel after the loop. These are small criticisms - overall i think the ride is absolutely top-notch.

Its clearly a huge step up for the park and i hope they can keep it maintained and operated to this standard in the years ahead. Didnt wait more than 20 minutes today, so it possibly doesnt even need another train (but it would be nice). It did make the rest of the parks line-up feel so weak though. Normally i'm reasonably entertained with Mumbo Jumbo, Kumali et al, but today they just felt rough and cheap. Hopefully all future investments can be of this standard.

Everyone coming off the ride was cheering, clapping, or had a big smile on their face - hopefully word of mouth spreads and it can be the big draw that flamingo land need it to be.