Antinos
Slut for Spinners
Another year, another thread. This one is certainly going to be shorter than my previous year-long trip report threads, and honestly, it's possible that it's ultimately exclusive to this impromptu trip out west as the culture war in America continues to rage and coronavirus runs rampant. Hopefully it's under control sooner rather than later such that we can get some Fall coasting in or possibly take another weekend jaunt out to a less inhabited part of the country for some creds, but only time will tell.
So how'd this trip come about? By the end of May, we had to cancel three of the four US Lives (and we're honestly doubtful about the fourth) but we also saw the news that both Lagoon and Silverwood were getting ready to open back up. As luck would have it, airfare was actually decent (with some finagling), so we decided to do it. And since we were in the area, we used some contacts to set up some tours of S&S Worldwide and RMC! Sounds like a good time!
To be honest, I was pretty apprehensive about traveling during a pandemic that's hitting the US as hard as it is, but after getting on the road to meet @Snoo in Columbus and entering Columbus' empty airport, my anxieties melted away. This flight was the longest duration I had worn a mask thus far and I honestly nearly forgot about it. Traveling was nowhere near as stressful or worrisome as I had thought.
Our flight departed CMH at around 7:30pm on June 25th en route to Denver, where we'd have an overnight layover. At 10:15am the next morning, we were on our way to Salt Lake City, Utah to meet @tomahawk and @LooperOne! They picked us up from the airport and we headed north to S&S' headquarters!
It's hard to miss S&S' building - you simply have to look for the roller coasters right next to it. S&S moved into a brand new building about two years ago, which houses their office space, all of their machining and fabrication, and their warehouse. Because the building is so new, everything seems spotless and the offices have a modern, but not necessarily open feel to them (side note: we were all jealous of their workstations - ample desk space with boom mounted duel screen computers). The company employs nearly 100 people, which is much more than we thought, but based on where the company has been and where it is headed, it makes a lot of sense and feels like the right size.
After touring their facility, it's clear that S&S is continuing to gain momentum. Their rides follow a clear manufacturing process. Each ride starts with individual parts getting fabricated. Although S&S has machining capabilities under their roof, most of their work is outsourced to other machining shops local to the valley.
If any components need to be welded, they'll head into the welding shop where the hardcore fabrication takes place. This particular shop has over a dozen cranes and can house multiple projects and track sections at once.
Numerous sub-assemblies are then stored in a little nook between welding and sandblasting where they await a quality check. If the parts pass, they head into the sandblasting chamber for paint prep.
S&S' paint booth is large enough to house two sections of track inside to aid throughput and has the capability of spraying two different projects side by side. Painted components are then stored off to the side where they await additional assembly.
Eventually, all the parts come together in a zone that's essentially a final trim and chassis assembly area. Ride vehicles will have their chassis built up and married with any trim pieces (padding, shields, seatbelts, etc) intended for the ride, which are stored and assembled a few feet away. Ride vehicles, track, and other components then go through one more round of quality control before they're kitted and shipped.
The company also has plenty of warehouse space throughout the shop, although most of what's stored in the main room is for active projects. As expected, S&S also provides a lot of service parts for their own rides, but also still provides quite a lot of service parts for old Arrow rides, which is surely an anchorhold in their business.
It's clear that S&S has made a serious effort to improve their company internally. Although their manufacturing process is relatively straight forward, by no means did it haphazardly appear. The company has made strides in improving their inventory systems and work flow to the point where it's clearly paying dividends with regard to the quality and performance of their latest rides. Give them another five or ten years and they'll be at the top.
Alright, time to get on to what y'all want to know about: Axis. Even as a small prototype, the ride was phenomenal. It had a powerful launch, accelerating riders to 40 mph in under two seconds. The flip at the top of the first incline really set the tone for what the ride is all about. If it weren't for all of the content out about the ride already, it would have been a complete surprise. The rest of the ride was quite a rush too. The whole concept was graceful and floaty, like one would expect on a flying coaster, but it was still relatively intense, unlike a wing coaster. We were all about it.
Since it was a prototype, the entire operating process was fairly manual. The catch car needed to be winched back and if we wanted to switch seats, catwalks needed to be manually placed in position and someone had to climb through the train and hook up an air hose to the lock. We also needed to sit down at the same time or else our seats would rotate to an awkward position. Luckily, our collective weight was perfect and we parked within inches of the starting position every time. Surely the full blown model will have extra mechanisms that will automate or alleviate these nuances.
Following our rides on Axis, the employees were able to give us more information about the ride and it became clear how flexible this platform is. They mentioned that this ride system can utilize a lift, a compressed air launch, or LSM launch, and the ride can have a station oriented in nearly any position (think the hidden aspects of Forbidden Journey's station). With the way the track and seats rotate independently from each other, designers can have a field day with possible layouts. As we drove away, we thought about how cool it'd be to see something like a trench run themed ride at Disney, or a proper Top Gun themed ride. And with the prototype being as thrilling as it was, something similar would be perfect for small parks and family entertainment centers, yet I can only imagine what these rides would be like with a 70 mph launch and heights nearing 200 feet. They really have a good thing going here.
Have any of these sold yet? Well, it doesn't sound like any have yet. The company got the prototype completely set up about a week before IAAPA last year and by the time they got back, it was winter in Utah. Throw in coronavirus and S&S hasn't really had much of an opportunity to bring customers out to ride it yet. Despite that, every time a group of goons like us come to visit, they get a lot more exposure on social media, so I'm sure it's only a matter of time before these sell like hot cakes.
So there you have it! Axis was truly awesome and S&S is a fantastic company. I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking about how grateful we are to get a view at how they bring their rides to fruition.
At this point, I'd typically post a roadmap of my season plans, but as I mentioned above, who knows if I'm doing anything else this year. All I know for sure is that I'm writing about Lagoon tomorrow!
So how'd this trip come about? By the end of May, we had to cancel three of the four US Lives (and we're honestly doubtful about the fourth) but we also saw the news that both Lagoon and Silverwood were getting ready to open back up. As luck would have it, airfare was actually decent (with some finagling), so we decided to do it. And since we were in the area, we used some contacts to set up some tours of S&S Worldwide and RMC! Sounds like a good time!
To be honest, I was pretty apprehensive about traveling during a pandemic that's hitting the US as hard as it is, but after getting on the road to meet @Snoo in Columbus and entering Columbus' empty airport, my anxieties melted away. This flight was the longest duration I had worn a mask thus far and I honestly nearly forgot about it. Traveling was nowhere near as stressful or worrisome as I had thought.
Our flight departed CMH at around 7:30pm on June 25th en route to Denver, where we'd have an overnight layover. At 10:15am the next morning, we were on our way to Salt Lake City, Utah to meet @tomahawk and @LooperOne! They picked us up from the airport and we headed north to S&S' headquarters!
It's hard to miss S&S' building - you simply have to look for the roller coasters right next to it. S&S moved into a brand new building about two years ago, which houses their office space, all of their machining and fabrication, and their warehouse. Because the building is so new, everything seems spotless and the offices have a modern, but not necessarily open feel to them (side note: we were all jealous of their workstations - ample desk space with boom mounted duel screen computers). The company employs nearly 100 people, which is much more than we thought, but based on where the company has been and where it is headed, it makes a lot of sense and feels like the right size.
After touring their facility, it's clear that S&S is continuing to gain momentum. Their rides follow a clear manufacturing process. Each ride starts with individual parts getting fabricated. Although S&S has machining capabilities under their roof, most of their work is outsourced to other machining shops local to the valley.
If any components need to be welded, they'll head into the welding shop where the hardcore fabrication takes place. This particular shop has over a dozen cranes and can house multiple projects and track sections at once.
Numerous sub-assemblies are then stored in a little nook between welding and sandblasting where they await a quality check. If the parts pass, they head into the sandblasting chamber for paint prep.
S&S' paint booth is large enough to house two sections of track inside to aid throughput and has the capability of spraying two different projects side by side. Painted components are then stored off to the side where they await additional assembly.
Eventually, all the parts come together in a zone that's essentially a final trim and chassis assembly area. Ride vehicles will have their chassis built up and married with any trim pieces (padding, shields, seatbelts, etc) intended for the ride, which are stored and assembled a few feet away. Ride vehicles, track, and other components then go through one more round of quality control before they're kitted and shipped.
The company also has plenty of warehouse space throughout the shop, although most of what's stored in the main room is for active projects. As expected, S&S also provides a lot of service parts for their own rides, but also still provides quite a lot of service parts for old Arrow rides, which is surely an anchorhold in their business.
It's clear that S&S has made a serious effort to improve their company internally. Although their manufacturing process is relatively straight forward, by no means did it haphazardly appear. The company has made strides in improving their inventory systems and work flow to the point where it's clearly paying dividends with regard to the quality and performance of their latest rides. Give them another five or ten years and they'll be at the top.
Alright, time to get on to what y'all want to know about: Axis. Even as a small prototype, the ride was phenomenal. It had a powerful launch, accelerating riders to 40 mph in under two seconds. The flip at the top of the first incline really set the tone for what the ride is all about. If it weren't for all of the content out about the ride already, it would have been a complete surprise. The rest of the ride was quite a rush too. The whole concept was graceful and floaty, like one would expect on a flying coaster, but it was still relatively intense, unlike a wing coaster. We were all about it.
Since it was a prototype, the entire operating process was fairly manual. The catch car needed to be winched back and if we wanted to switch seats, catwalks needed to be manually placed in position and someone had to climb through the train and hook up an air hose to the lock. We also needed to sit down at the same time or else our seats would rotate to an awkward position. Luckily, our collective weight was perfect and we parked within inches of the starting position every time. Surely the full blown model will have extra mechanisms that will automate or alleviate these nuances.
Following our rides on Axis, the employees were able to give us more information about the ride and it became clear how flexible this platform is. They mentioned that this ride system can utilize a lift, a compressed air launch, or LSM launch, and the ride can have a station oriented in nearly any position (think the hidden aspects of Forbidden Journey's station). With the way the track and seats rotate independently from each other, designers can have a field day with possible layouts. As we drove away, we thought about how cool it'd be to see something like a trench run themed ride at Disney, or a proper Top Gun themed ride. And with the prototype being as thrilling as it was, something similar would be perfect for small parks and family entertainment centers, yet I can only imagine what these rides would be like with a 70 mph launch and heights nearing 200 feet. They really have a good thing going here.
Have any of these sold yet? Well, it doesn't sound like any have yet. The company got the prototype completely set up about a week before IAAPA last year and by the time they got back, it was winter in Utah. Throw in coronavirus and S&S hasn't really had much of an opportunity to bring customers out to ride it yet. Despite that, every time a group of goons like us come to visit, they get a lot more exposure on social media, so I'm sure it's only a matter of time before these sell like hot cakes.
So there you have it! Axis was truly awesome and S&S is a fantastic company. I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking about how grateful we are to get a view at how they bring their rides to fruition.
At this point, I'd typically post a roadmap of my season plans, but as I mentioned above, who knows if I'm doing anything else this year. All I know for sure is that I'm writing about Lagoon tomorrow!
