1. They say 4.8g, not the direction. That is important, as it can be the combined force. There is no statement around showing 4.8g vertical. We like to assume that they mean vertical forces, but we can’t tell unless specified.
2.The restraints and the transitions play a huge part how intense airtime feels. The new gen Vekoma vests feel less intense with the same airtime as the new Intamin ones. The transitions are also extremely important. The faster the transition, the more intense the airtime will feel. Example? Many people praise GCI for the small ejector pops, yet GCI themselves(!) say, that their trains are build for 0g at Max. Still, you feel those pops on GCIs. How are they doing it? Very quick transitions into low g areas.
I always thought the famous Airtime table is BS, but it makes a point if you imagine the transitions also scaling - short pops of low g moments will feel like ejector, even though they aren’t.
3. No coaster in the US and afaik in Europe neither is allowed to pull more than -2g airtime. Luckily, the rules are very similar, so I can speak for both. SVs -2g are highly likely to be with a full train, hot day, rainy track and no trimming.
Trimms are actually helpful to keep a ride more intense, as you have better control about the intensity of an element. Airtime above -1g is highly regulated, and it gets even harder above -1.5g airtime. I use FVD myself and I have Access to the norm (DIN13814 for Germany). I know what is allowed to do, and also what
and how it’s measured.
4. Many people tried to inform you about the differences weight, weather, maintenance, time and other factors can make. The first elements won’t feel that different, but the longer the ride goes, the bigger the spread. I always try to measure long rides when they are warmed up to give a fair impression.
5.If
- purchasing a professional accelerometer
- designing and building custom parts for a secure mounting of all the equipment
- programming a special readout tool
- contacting the Marketing department
- flying to Energylandia
- getting my whole equipment personally checked
- getting an official filming permission
Is homemade for you, let me know. I haven’t been sitting in my basement playing around with FVD before I made my statements. We have invested countless hours until we even got the first usable measurement.