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Boomerang / Shuttle Coaster with LIM lift hills

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vdch34278

Roller Poster
How would you guys think if Vekoma built a Boomerang or a new Moonsault Scramble using two LIM (LSM?) lift hills instead of a catch-car cable lift and chain lift?

Sure would be much less maintenance as it would have fewer moving parts. I would also see it being significantly faster, which means more capacity. What are your thoughts?
 
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I could see LSM's being used in a launched shuttle coaster, but for a Boomerang (including the inverted and giant inverted versions), the reason I stated LIM's may be the better choice is because they can "freewheel" (they don't act like magnetic brakes when power is out), which means once the train is lifted to the top, the motors can simply be powered off and the trains are released.

Rollback protection is not an issue on Boomerangs since there are already brakes in the station or just after the station which will slow trains down in case of a power outage. Similarly, there are also brakes right before the second lift that would also slow the train down, and both brake runs are designed to be as fail-safe as possible (just like any roller coaster). But this is an issue on Maverick or Red Force which gives LSM's an advantage in those cases.

I could see them replacing the tyre launch on the Incredible Hulk Coaster with an LSM launch system in the future.
 
Vekoma do already offer an LSM Boomerang model (not the same layout) although i have not seen it online yet. Its certainly been shown at various trade shows.

No one has taken them up on it yet perhaps because it costs a fair bit more than the old proven model.
 
Hasn't it been a while since any park of note got the old model Boomerang as well? At least a brand new one, I mean? As far as I can tell from a quick RCDB search, they seem to still be manufactured for Asian parks, but the newest one built outside Asia went to Powerland in Finland in 2005. Strange to see how demand for this once-ubiquitous model just collapsed in the West.

EDIT: Seems like one is being built in Moscow too. Still, point stands considering how commonly seen Boomerangs once were in Europe and the US, and now nobody orders them anymore. Maybe the market is saturated by used Boomerangs for sale?
 
Pokemaniac said:
Hasn't it been a while since any park of note got the old model Boomerang as well? At least a brand new one, I mean? As far as I can tell from a quick RCDB search, they seem to still be manufactured for Asian parks, but the newest one built outside Asia went to Powerland in Finland in 2005. Strange to see how demand for this once-ubiquitous model just collapsed in the West.

EDIT: Seems like one is being built in Moscow too. Still, point stands considering how commonly seen Boomerangs once were in Europe and the US, and now nobody orders them anymore. Maybe the market is saturated by used Boomerangs for sale?
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There are some Chinese companies who have copied the Boomerang. I've seen worse - knockoff SLC's and knockoff Arrow LoopScrews, all with track types that were clearly stolen from Arrow/Vekoma. Here's a knockoff SLC in Beijing.
 
I recall that first Invertigo model from Vekoma did supposed to have LSM motors, but Vekoma changed it to traditional BR-lift hill as the realibity test failed in the factory and Liseberg got their hangover model late (and oc they got 2 tower rides free also paid by Vekoma)
 
Feel like a modern Boomerang could have LIM lift hills, since the reliability of linear motors has greatly improved over the years. Don't forget that LSM's act like magnetic brakes when not powered. Though we have yet to see Vekoma actually make a LIM/LSM powered shuttle coaster. The Family Boomerang could also have LIM lift hills instead of drive tyres. Again, the freewheeling characteristic of LIM's is not an issue here since there will be brakes in the station and right before the second lift.
 
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