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Lightning Rod Status

Good thing I rode it over a dozen times in June. :p

And I assume the problems are still related to the launch?
 
If they replaced the launch with a chain lift, that should sort things out. It would ruin the ride, but it doesn't affect me, so...
 
ATI said:
If they replaced the launch with a chain lift, that should sort things out. It would ruin the ride, but it doesn't affect me, so...
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Not really. The launch isn't the best part of the ride and just adds a solid element to the beginning as it's rather unique. It's just a shame they couldn't actually have this running from the start as we've seen this technology work just fine for over a decade on Maverick. Different manufacturers, yes, but it's still the same pony show.
 
The thing is, though, Maverick is steel and Lightning Rod is wood, so they're presumably two very different beasts, in my opinion.
 
Matt N said:
The thing is, though, Maverick is steel and Lightning Rod is wood, so they're presumably two very different beasts, in my opinion.
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By all account, the make-up of the track shouldn't matter - an LSM launch is an LSM launch.

That being said, if there was a problem with track rigidity, Dollywood could easily swap the lift hill for a total steel structure, a la SOB's loop. Or, dare I suggest, even go tire launch if the LSM is proving to finicky.

There's a number of alternative scenarios I can imagine before swapping with a straight chain lift.
 
Matt N said:
The thing is, though, Maverick is steel and Lightning Rod is wood, so they're presumably two very different beasts, in my opinion.
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As Hyde said, the type of coaster does not matter, on both the trains and the track as they're essentially the same between the two.

Now, the two different beasts can come from the manufacturers in this case as Intamin has been using their own builds on their own machines for decades. Meanwhile, Vekoma (i'm PRETTY sure) made the LSMs for these and the builder was of course RMC. As far as reliability of strictly the LSMs between the two companies, Intamin runs laps around Vekoma.. like in most cases.

Had this been my project, I may have made the swap already. However.. I don't own an enormous park and don't know the ins and outs. I'm just guessing. :)
 
Snoo said:
Not really. The launch isn't the best part of the ride and just adds a solid element to the beginning as it's rather unique.
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I’m going to half-disagree with this — or rather, just share my differing impression. :D

Before I went to DW for the first time last season, I was on here whining about the story that the ride had just been ‘neutered’ right before my arrival. Several people here reassured me that the launch was not a key part of the ride, and that all the fun happens afterward. I get what people meant, and I appreciated the reassurance, but once I rode it, I had to disagree. With the sound effects and the sudden launch up a steep hill, l thought the lift hill was a huge adrenaline rush. It’s the only lift that has me raising my hands with gusto. And I think that if the launch had continued further and ended in airtime at the top it would have been a mind-blowing start to the ride.

Instead, it rolled over the top, and I knew every time that it didn’t used to do that. :confused:
 
Based on what the park disclosed two years ago, the initial issue with the ride had to do with the ride's control system - Lightning Rod was launching with too large of a tolerance band and they were having trouble getting less than a +/-3mph tolerance. Has the same issue persisted all this time? I guess it's possible, but it is also possible that whatever is happening now is an entirely different issue - possibly one that has nothing to do with the launch itself.

That's a pretty longwinded way of saying we have no ****ing clue what the issue is.
 
Snoo said:
As Hyde said, the type of coaster does not matter, on both the trains and the track as they're essentially the same between the two.

Now, the two different beasts can come from the manufacturers in this case as Intamin has been using their own builds on their own machines for decades. Meanwhile, Vekoma (i'm PRETTY sure) made the LSMs for these and the builder was of course RMC. As far as reliability of strictly the LSMs between the two companies, Intamin runs laps around Vekoma.. like in most cases.

Had this been my project, I may have made the swap already. However.. I don't own an enormous park and don't know the ins and outs. I'm just guessing. :)
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So the launch system having problems doesn't have anything to do with it being wooden. Thanks @Snoo! It just seemed strangely fitting that the ride would have problems because it's a prototype launched wooden coaster.
 
Matt N said:
It just seemed strangely fitting that the ride would have problems because it's a prototype launched wooden coaster.
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I think the subtlety is in that it's a prototype for RMC/whoever-did-the-launch. LSM launches are tried and tested, and I would have expected to be able to handle the differences in dynamics of the wooden vs steel structure, so this does just feel a bit like a 'perfect storm' of problems. [Steep] uphill launch, LSM launch, very fast coaster, very intense coaster - all put a lot of pressure on every component in the system. We've heard about it having issues with the restraints too, something you'd think was fairly unconnected to the launch itself.

Whichever way you spin it, and however good the quad-down is, Lighting Rod really hasn't been a rip-roaring success for Dollywood, RMC or RMC's sub-contractors.
 
Thanks to EastCoast(er)General’s interview with DW’s Pete Owens, we can at least categorically rule out the chain lift rumor. In fact, he confirmed that the current problem has nothing to do with the launch at all.
 
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MestnyiGeroi said:
Thanks to EastCoast(Er)General’s interview with DW’s Pete Owen, we can at least categorically rule out the chain lift rumor. In fact, he confirmed that the current problem has nothing to do with the launch at all.
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I saw that. That pretty much ruled out a full page or so discussion. Woo!

So... RMC Lightning Rod?
 
That's good to hear that the launch is fine. Off the top of my head, the only other problem I could think of would be that rough jolt at the bottom of the drop. I remember hearing some other guests acknowledging that part after getting off. That's the only thing that keeps the ride itself from being perfect imo.
 
When I rode LR (luckily I was able to get on it 4 times) at the end of April, I don't remember the bottom of the hill being rough. I just remember the quad down literally taking my breath away. Anyway, silly question for this board but since I only fairly recently discovered this site, does anyone really know what the major problems are? Why they seem to only run one train? Back in April they were only running one train. I have read a few things saying the trains are a problem for whatever reason. I just couldn't find anything that seems truly concrete. If there is a different thread dedicated to that topic please let me know.
 
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