Book Report: "Roller Coaster" by David Bennett
Jim and Jerry
coffee-table book called "Roller Coaster: Wooden and Steel Coasters,
Twisters, and Corkscrews" by David Bennett. On the front was a
beautiful pic of Mantis and on the back, smaller pix of three other
steelies. Grabbing the book ($19.95) I quickly thumbed through it and
saw tons of full-color pix, most of which were quite nice. I also
noticed a history section, a section on famous designers, and also a
"how do they work" section. VERY nice. So I grabbed it, bought it, and
took it home.
Now, before I get into this, let me preface this review by saying that
as a big, beautiful coffe-table book with good pix and a lovely way to
entice guests to launch a conversation about your favorite topic, this
book works well. It's good at that job. However, as a reference book
on coasters past and present, it needs some work. Like a good
fact-checker and a better proofreader. The book is full of errors...
some are things that only a hard-core enthusiast would pick up on, but
others are blatant. Still others are worded in such a way as to make
you think it's wrong when it isn't really.
Some examples:
[1] Page22: Pittsburgh Plunge misspelled, also referred to as "Chute
the Shoots". Chute is a noun, Shoot is a verb. You can Shoot a Chute,
but not vice versa
[2] Page34: Design team Prior & Church consistantly referred to as
"Church and Prior". This is minor, I realize, but it bugged me.
[3] Page35: Rye Aeroplane spelled "Airplane"
[4] Page41: about the Crystal Beach Cyclone: "The track started with
an 80-degree incline to the first drop". Hmmm... anybody ever seen an
80deg lift hill?
[5] Page43: Apparently, the Phoenix resides at "Nobles Amusement
Resort" (Knoebel's is spelled correctly elsewhere)
[6] Page46: The King's Island Racer is credited with starring in the
Movie "Roller Coaster" (should be "Rollercoaster!"). The actual star
of the movie is PKD's Rebel Yell
[7] Page48: referring to Mister Twister at Elitch's:"It was, sadly,
demolished in 1995" -- really? I thought it was still standing.
[8] Page53: caption under a pic of BTMRR: "Big Thunder Mountain, a
copy of the Matterhorn Bobsled, the first steel track roller coaster
in the world." Once I figured out that the "1st steel" bit was in
reference to the Matterhorn and not to BTMRR, I was OK with that, but
in NO WAY is BTMRR a copy of Matterhorn. This one falls under the
'inexcusable' banner for me.
[9] Page54: caption under pic of PMTBO: "The Pepsi Max Big One, seen
here, was cloned from Magnum XL 200 at Cedar Point." Hello? Does this
definition of "cloned" mean that anything over 200ft tall is the same?
The two rides are VERY different.
[10] Page59: pic of Schwarzkopf shuttle looper. Don't know where it
is, but it definately is NOT Greezed Lightnin' at SFAW, as the caption
states.
[11] Page62: Example of confusing sentence structure found throughout
text: "Schwarzkopf is a living legend of the roller coaster of "Herr
Achterbahn" (Mr. Roller Coaster) as he has been affectionately
nicknamed by his associates and by the amusement park industry."
[12] Page69: "The rear seats of any train will travel slightly faster
than the front seats because more of the weight of the train is
accelerating down the slope." Uh, no. If the rear seats went faster
than the front seats, the rear seats would run over the front ones.
The entire train goes the same speed at the same moment, only the
position of each seat on the track layout at that moment is different.
[13] Page76: Geauga Lake misspelled (can't really blame them for that)
[14] Page77: Above a nice pic of the contraption that hauls a
boomerang backward up the first lift, is a caption that describes it
as a "catapult launch of a boomerang coaster".
[15] Page81: SFGA's Batman the Ride is said to have "loops and
boomerangs"
[16] Page113: In a section designed to help you seek out the best
coasters, you come upon a nice review of Thriller, listed as being
found in "Traveling Fairs in Germany". I could just say that the book
went to print before the ride's move was known, but the book contains
pictures of new-for-98 rides and lists Taz Texas Tornado as one of the
coasters found at SFAW on Page180.
[17] Page 157: A pic of Mr Twister is labeled as Twister II and the
pic of Twister II is labeled Mr Twister. When you see the pics, there
will be no doubt which is original and which is copy. The orig Twister
is badly in need of a paint job and looks ready to fall apart, while
the TII pic is a sparkling white new coaster. Makes you wonder how
much they paid the proofreader...
[18] Page173: Poster of Geauga Lake's ad for Raging Wolf Bobs has a
caption again mispelling the park name as "Geuga Lake" even though the
poster has the park name printed twice, correctly.
[19] Page177: guide lists "Rolling Thunder" bobsled at SFGA (again,
this is a 1998 book)
[20] Page179: [a] Starchaser listed at KK, [b] Riverside's home town
spelled "Agawan" [c] Lightning Loops listed at SFGAd (they knew that
B&R Chiller was there, but didn't know that LL was gone?)
[21] Page180: [a] PKI's Adventure Express listed as a bobsled [b]
"Judge Roy DREAM" listed at SFOT [c] SFOT's bobsled still called
"Avalanche" according to this list
[22] Page182: Alton Tower's Oblivion listed as a JUNIOR STEEL (do B&M
know this?)
[23] Page185: Thriller again listed as travelling Germany, even though
Taz is listed at SFAW. It also claims that EuroStar (travelling
suspended looper) is "one of Anton Shwarzkopf's great looping
coasters"
Sorry this msg was so long, but I was having fun looking for mistakes
in the book. Once again, I am NOT telling you not to buy this book...
in fact, I'm really quite enjoying it. It has awesome pix and is quite
beautiful in design. It was well worth the $19.95 price tag (and may
be cheaper if purchased online at Amazon or Barnes&Noble, etc)
If anyone else has the book and has noticed some blatant errors, let
me know. I was only skimming and there are several more that I
remember, but didn't find as I was typing this. Maybe we could have a
contest to see who can find the most mistakes!
ItzaDaPope
are:
+ Justin Garvanovic's completely messed up review of Montu. Here are some
corrections:
-"...you've dropped 170 feet, turned through 200 degrees, and are heading into
the first inversion." That's a great ride description-- for Alpengeist!
-"It's a suberb start to the ride and leads directly into the 105-foot vertical
loop." If he's talking about Montu, it's a 104-foot vertical loop. If he's
talking about Alpengeist, it's a 106-foot vertical loop, and it's not the first
inversion.
-"...then the wicked 'batwing' element which flies you out over the pit of live
crocodiles." Montu's batwing does not go over any crocodiles. The crocs can be
found immediately after leaving the station.
-"Without giving the rider time to think or blink, the train is then sent
through a flat spin, and its sixth and final inversion, before heading into the
high-speed spiral." Once again, this would be a good description for
Alpengeist, but the flat spin is the sixth inversion, not the fifth. On Montu,
you would have the block brakes, vertical loop, high-speed spiral, dip and
turn, and THEN the flat spin as the final inversion.
-"With tunnels and trenches to dive through as well, this is the most ingenious
and spectacular ride in the world for me." Again, this description could be for
Alpengeist as well as Montu. Also, you would think that if he loved the ride so
much, he'd know which one he was talking about. 8)
Sorry for nitpicking so much Justin, but I get a little defensive when people
get the facts wrong on my favorite coaster. 8)
~ItzaD...@aol.com
- - - - - - -
Location: Orlando, Florida
Next Trip(s): BGT, January
ICQ: 11672351
Wes Lagattolla
Turn to the Tonnere De Zeus page. The two smaller pictures are not of
TDZ, but of Megafobia. (thanks to Robb Alvey for finding this error)
On the Montu page, it says it drops 170 feet.
Wes
Wes Lagattolla*wes...@ibm.net
ACEer & ECCer*AOL IM-WesCZ
http://wescoaster.rollercoaster.com
#1-Ghost Rider*Steel Force
**************************
"Why don't we take a ride away up high through the neigborhood
up over the billboards and factories and smoke."
--The (Steel) Eels
GoGatorsss
thumb.
Turbo Drop
sunset over CALIFORNIA! I wish!
taylor!
Ghost Rider- 35 rides
Supreme Scream- 104 rides
SHORTY8360
steve short...@aol.com
soon to be ACE member
Home Park: Cedar Point
#1 Steel: Magnum XL 200
#1 Wood: Shivering Timbers -this summer-
Pkdcoastrs
were the pics of space mountain.....which in sum they said wewre from the
california one when really they were from the paris one
William McCombie
"coaster rating" section. There is a corkscrew coaster at Rainbow's End in
Auckland, New Zealand (My home country). The book says it is in
Christchurch, they city I lived in before I came to Florida. It would have
been good if it was true, but the coaster is in Auckland.
Also in this book (but not necessarily mistakes), the author says Superman
is a coaster and says Mindbender has three loops.
Also in this book, there is a construction picture of the Beast
--
William McCombie
willdoom@[No Spam]geocities.com
ICQ - 490172 AIM - WillDoom
RRC Users - members.tripod.com/WillMcC
Another angry member of Columbia House
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
Jim and Jerry <outb...@sprynet.com> wrote in message
news:36990a7f...@news.sprynet.com...
CoasterKid
CoasterKid
MoNtUmBa33
a) {Page 86} "Mantis, a stand-up inverted roller coaster designed by Bolliger
and Mabillard in 1996, for Cedar Point"---Wow, there are stand-up inverted
coasters in our presence already! I never knew. Shouldn't it be stand-up
invertING roller coaster? :-)
b) {Page 82/83} "The 90 mph free fall coaster, Superman The Escape. at Six
Flags Magic Mountain"---Self-explanatory...
c) {Page 190} "1997 Superman The Escape, designed by Intamin AG, opens at
Six Flags Magic Mountain, and is the first roller coaster powered by linear
induction motor to launch..."---Linear what motors? =)
d) {Page 188/190} (188)-"Dragon Khan, the coaster with the most inversions and
loops (along with Monte Makaya) at Port Aventura, Saylon, Spain." (190)-"Dragon
Khan, designed by Bolliger and Mabillard at Port Aventura, Salou, Spain, has
the most inversions-eight-for a complete circuit roller coaster." a)Salou, or
Saylon? b)Where's mention of Monte Makaya in the second one?
e) {Page 180} They have Disaster Transport listed as a 'bobsled'....
f) {Page 179} Since when is Shivering Timbers a wooden boblsled?
g) {Page 177} Since when did Six Flags Over Georgia have only 5 coasters?
Where's Ninja, and Viper? Also, why is Boomerang not in Georgia??
h) {Page 54/169} "The Pipeline coaster track resembles a DNA molecule chain.
The protype built by Arrow at their Utah works has never gone into commercial
production"---Oh, really? What am I seeing on page 169?
i) {Page 136} "Nemesis, the ultimate experience, an adrenaline-filled, 50mph
cartwheel"---A 50 mph CARTWHEEL? This is probably the worst 'analogy' that I
have ever seen...Other than mine, of course. =)
Ok, wow, I did more than I was expecting to...Oh well, kept me busy for
awhile...
-Steve
------------------------
~-~Coaster Enthusiast/BGT-IoA Follower~-~
~-~Come See Islands of Adventure in Action!~-~
~-~http://ioaconstruct.cjb.net/~-~
MoNtUmBa33
>>h) {Page 54/169} "The Pipeline coaster track resembles a DNA molecule chain.
>
>>The protype built by Arrow at their Utah works has never gone into
>commercial
>>production"---Oh, really? What am I seeing on page 169?
ItzaDaPope responded:
>You are seeing the "Itamin [sic] heartline spinning Spiral Coaster at Sky
>Plaza, Lotte World, Pusan, South Korea." It's not Arrow.
Everyone, realize that I, uh, stuck this in, uh, here so that, uh <ahem> Pope
would jump on it, and make, a, uh, correction...Yeah, that's it....
ItzaDaPope
>The protype built by Arrow at their Utah works has never gone into commercial
>production"---Oh, really? What am I seeing on page 169?
>
You are seeing the "Itamin [sic] heartline spinning Spiral Coaster at Sky
Plaza, Lotte World, Pusan, South Korea." It's not Arrow.
Ted Ansley
>Here are some more:
>
>a) {Page 86} "Mantis, a stand-up inverted roller coaster designed by Bolliger
>and Mabillard in 1996, for Cedar Point"---Wow, there are stand-up inverted
>coasters in our presence already! I never knew. Shouldn't it be stand-up
>invertING roller coaster? :-)
>
>b) {Page 82/83} "The 90 mph free fall coaster, Superman The Escape. at Six
>Flags Magic Mountain"---Self-explanatory...
>
>c) {Page 190} "1997 Superman The Escape, designed by Intamin AG, opens at
>Six Flags Magic Mountain, and is the first roller coaster powered by linear
>induction motor to launch..."---Linear what motors? =)
>
>d) {Page 188/190} (188)-"Dragon Khan, the coaster with the most inversions and
>loops (along with Monte Makaya) at Port Aventura, Saylon, Spain." (190)-"Dragon
>Khan, designed by Bolliger and Mabillard at Port Aventura, Salou, Spain, has
>the most inversions-eight-for a complete circuit roller coaster." a)Salou, or
>Saylon? b)Where's mention of Monte Makaya in the second one?
>
>e) {Page 180} They have Disaster Transport listed as a 'bobsled'....
Diaster Transport IS a bobsled!!
>
>f) {Page 179} Since when is Shivering Timbers a wooden boblsled?
>
>g) {Page 177} Since when did Six Flags Over Georgia have only 5 coasters?
>Where's Ninja, and Viper? Also, why is Boomerang not in Georgia??
Hey, for Aventure World the only list the Wild One. I don't know what happen
to Mind Eraser, Python, and Roar. (I can understand them leaveing off
Cannonball.) I do think it says the list is of "Major" coasters though.
>h) {Page 54/169} "The Pipeline coaster track resembles a DNA molecule chain.
>The protype built by Arrow at their Utah works has never gone into commercial
>production"---Oh, really? What am I seeing on page 169?
That's not an Arrow coaster, it is an Intamin.
>
>i) {Page 136} "Nemesis, the ultimate experience, an adrenaline-filled, 50mph
>cartwheel"---A 50 mph CARTWHEEL? This is probably the worst 'analogy' that I
>have ever seen...Other than mine, of course. =)
>
>Ok, wow, I did more than I was expecting to...Oh well, kept me busy for
>awhile...
>
>
Ted Ansley
**Rollercoaster Fan<atic>**
ansl...@earthlink.net
Chris Kearsing
MoNtUmBa33 wrote:
>> c) {Page 190} "1997 Superman The Escape, designed by Intamin AG, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain, and is the first roller coaster powered by linear induction motor to launch..."---Linear what motors? =)<<
Even if it did use LIMs, it wouldn't be the first.
> e) {Page 180} They have Disaster Transport listed as a 'bobsled'....
That could be because Disaster Transport is a bobsled.
>> h) {Page 54/169} "The Pipeline coaster track resembles a DNA molecule chain. The protype built by Arrow at their Utah works has never gone into commercial production"---Oh, really? What am I seeing on page 169?<<
I think they mean they have never sold one. In which case, is true.
--
Chris Kearsing
Six Flags Great Adventure- ABSOLUTELY UNSTOPPABLE IN '99!
Six Flags Darien Lake- SUPERMAN IS COMING- THE HYPER-HIT OF '99!
Do you dare..... THE NIGHTMARE?? The Great Escape!
Dave Sandborg
not one of them:
In article <36990a7f...@news.sprynet.com>, outb...@sprynet.com (Jim
and Jerry) wrote:
> [1] Page22: Pittsburgh Plunge misspelled [...]
The correct spelling of the ride's name is "Pittsburg Plunge" without an
"h". That was the way the city's name was spelled in the era that
Pittsburg's (no "h" there either) Lost Kennywood was meant to recall.
I agree that the numerous errors in this book are annoying. But
fortunately I have more reliable references to consult if I need to. What
I bought the book for was its fantastic photos, and there it excels.
--
Dave Sandborg
Remove Spam-away to respond via e-mail.
Chris Kearsing
CoasterKid wrote:
> hey, atleast its not as bad as 'Rollercoasters of America"!
Actually, I think it is much worse! I can't come up with as many
mistakes in Roller Coasters of America as I can with this new one.
Dave Sandborg
there was another aspect of the book I enjoyed. That was its definite
enthusiast focus, including ride reports by actual enthusiasts, including
our very own Buck. I think this is the first time that the claim that the
Beast is overbraked has actually appeared in print! How cool is that?
Chris Kearsing
MoNtUmBa33 wrote:
> >That could be because Disaster Transport is a bobsled.
> Ok, I was under the impression it was a dark ride...
It's that too. :-) It's an enclosed Bobsled (and much more fun that
Mean Steak!) And yes, it's dark in there too.
DJ Gallup and Richard Allen
a near vertical lift.
I thought of another, when it shows pictures of Tonnerre de Zeus, there
is a picture of the Mefafobia's first drop.
I think I remember a few others, but I'll find those later.
D.J.
Dave Sandborg
(Viso5) wrote:
> It says that steel phanton and desperados top speed is 80 mph, i dunno, i
> thought it was more like 90.
No, 80 is more or less correct. It's at least the "official" number. In
reality, it might be a bit higher, particularly for the Phantom, but it's
certainly not 90. In the search for errors in this book (of which there
are definitely many), let's not make new ones up.
Dave Althoff
: e) {Page 180} They have Disaster Transport listed as a 'bobsled'....
Disaster Transport *is* a bobsled. Adventure Express, on the other hand,
is not...
: h) {Page 54/169} "The Pipeline coaster track resembles a DNA molecule chain.
: The protype built by Arrow at their Utah works has never gone into commercial
: production"---Oh, really? What am I seeing on page 169?
That was not built by Arrow, but by Intamin.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
--
/^\ _ _ *** Closed for the season 8-( ***
/XXX\ /X\ /X\_ _ /X\__ _ _ _____
/XXXXX\ /XXX\ _/XXXX\_ /X\ /XXXXX\ /X\ /X\ /XXXXX
_/XXXXXXX\__/XXXXX\/XXXXXXXX\_/XXX\_/XXXXXXX\__/XXX\_/XXX\_/\_/XXXXXX
MoNtUmBa33
Ok, I was under the impression it was a dark ride...
-Steve
MoNtUmBa33
>Mean Steak!) And yes, it's dark in there too.
Ok, I think I'll keep my mouth closed about things I ahven't ridden now. =)
FaLLoN9223
loops than its predecessor the Revolution which is not true.
FaLLoN9223
CADoffin
>is a coaster and says Mindbender has three loops.
Actually, the Mindbender officially has three loops. The third loop is the
twisting spiral loop. Officially, this is considered a loop, SFoG even
promotes it as such. I don't know if I would consider it a loop or not but it
is a great element to a superb ride
Viso5
It's missing a buch of SFGAm coasters and it has a blue circle for eagle which
would mean that its steel......
It says that steel phanton and desperados top speed is 80 mph, i dunno, i
thought it was more like 90.
Oh well....I still love the book
=====================
Troy - Vi...@aol.com
Home Park - SFGAm
# 1 Steel -TIE- Batman and Iron Wolf, soon to be Raging Bull
# 1 Wood - Viper
Email, IM, or ICQ me and talk about coasters
ICQ 23425858
Ted Ansley
>
>
>CoasterKid wrote:
>
>> hey, atleast its not as bad as 'Rollercoasters of America"!
>
>Actually, I think it is much worse! I can't come up with as many
>mistakes in Roller Coasters of America as I can with this new one.
>
I have not documented the mistakes in Rollercoasters of America but offhand
I'd say there are more than in Bennett's book. RoA has dozens of
statistacal mistakes and a few grammtical ones. With that said, IMHO
Bennett's new book is one of the best coaster books...far better than
RoA.
CYCLONE NY
I have Roller Coaster Lover's Companion, and I found a mistake in the
>"coaster rating" section. There is a corkscrew coaster at Rainbow's End in
>Auckland, New Zealand (My home country). The book says it is in
>Christchurch, they city I lived in before I came to Florida. It would have
>been good if it was true, but the coaster is in Auckland.
>
>Also in this book (but not necessarily mistakes), the author says Superman
>is a coaster and says Mindbender has three loops.
>
>Also in this book, there is a construction picture of the Beast
As the author of The Roller Coaster Lover's Companion, I'd like to address
these issues.
1. The Coaster rating section was a logistical nightmare, for both myself, and
the publisher. It was the last section I submitted, and took the publisher the
longest to set up. We all did the best we could, but after many editing
sessions, I've still found things made their way into the published book that
were incorrect, or a bit inaccurate (please note, however, I did not once list
a wooden roller coaster as a Bobsled!) I've made notations on these items, and
they will be corrected in the revised addition, coming next year.
2. Superman the Escape is listed as a coaster, because the park in question
counts it as one.
3. Six Flags Over Georgia has always billed the Mind Bender as the world's
first triple looping roller coaster.
4. What, may I ask, was the mistake in printing a construction photo of the
Beast? Would you rather have had a current photo of the ride adorned with
every trim brake known to mankind????
FYI, I'm preparing a WEB page for the book, which will include updated lists
and such.
Steve
-- Six Flags Great Adventure - The Countdown has begun! --
CYCLONE N...@AOL.com
alan_w...@signalcorp.com
riders giving the camera an obscene gesture! Its just funny that they
published this shot!!
-Alan
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Bobcoaster
thread in the list of parks' coasters. PKD is listed as having the Volcano,
but where's the Hurler? BGW's Wild Mouse is not listed. I thought possibly
that had something to do with its being a "standard" or cloned ride, but if
Boomerangs are listed, so should Wild Mouse rides be included. And Knoebels
has the Jet Star? Lakemont has the Leap the Dips (which was not operating;
then why not list Drachen Fire?), but not the Skyliner? Or was this not
supposed to be in any way an all-inclusive list?
Bob Hooley
Visit my website:
http://members.aol.com/Bobcoaster/index.html
It has Disney Coaster tracks, defunct coaster & construction photos, Mr.
Twister, "guess the coaster", AND the Knoebels Twister!
JNardone38
use it for reference from time to time. Thanks for providing us with an
informative book!
Now on the subject of David Bennett's book - buy it for the photos. There are
a lot of errors in it!
Joe
William McCombie
on stuff I hadn't seen anywhere else :-)
Also, it looks as if the bottom part of the coaster on the front cover
computer generated. Is this true?
--
William McCombie
willdoom@[No Spam]geocities.com
ICQ - 490172 AIM - WillDoom
RRC Users - members.tripod.com/WillMcC
Another angry member of Columbia House
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
CYCLONE NY <cycl...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:19990111073916...@ng-ca1.aol.com...
|William McCombie wrote:>
|I have Roller Coaster Lover's Companion, and I found a mistake in the
|>"coaster rating" section. There is a corkscrew coaster at Rainbow's End in
|>Auckland, New Zealand (My home country). The book says it is in
|>Christchurch, they city I lived in before I came to Florida. It would have
|>been good if it was true, but the coaster is in Auckland.
|>
|>Also in this book (but not necessarily mistakes), the author says Superman
|>is a coaster and says Mindbender has three loops.
|>
|>Also in this book, there is a construction picture of the Beast
|
RSteven850
In article <77bbii$4da$1...@birch.prod.itd.earthlink.net>, "William McCombie"
<willdoom@[NOSPAM - Remove this]geocities.com> writes:
>
>I have Roller Coaster Lover's Companion, and I found a mistake in the
>"coaster rating" section. There is a corkscrew coaster at Rainbow's End in
>Auckland, New Zealand (My home country). The book says it is in
>Christchurch, they city I lived in before I came to Florida. It would have
>been good if it was true, but the coaster is in Auckland.
>
>Also in this book (but not necessarily mistakes), the author says Superman
>is a coaster and says Mindbender has three loops.
>
>Also in this book, there is a construction picture of the Beast
>--
At least Steve, who wrote Roller Coaster Lover's Companion, is one of us.
That's why he's more accurate than the others. However I doubt he's been to
New Zealand...I think we can forgive him the error! As for Superman, it
happens to be a launched shuttle without inversions, but whether or not it is a
coaster experience is controversial. The Edmonton Mindbender has 3 loops, not
the SFOG one.
Roz
Big Shot Rules!
RSteven850
In article <3699419C...@capital.net>, Chris Kearsing
<coa...@capital.net> writes:
>
>> hey, atleast its not as bad as 'Rollercoasters of America"!
>
>Actually, I think it is much worse! I can't come up with as many
>mistakes in Roller Coasters of America as I can with this new one.
I agree! And Roller Coasters of America is 5 years old: Bennett's is brand
new!
Roz
Big Shot Rules!
CYCLONE NY
>computer generated. Is this true?
>--
The photo was slightly retouched, but not totally computer generated. It's had
some trees removed from it, and yes, from the bottom of the photo. Good
observation!
Pezhead
that there are quite a few but this book should really be bought for the
gorgeous, full-color photos in it. There are some rather stunning pictures
in it. A few 2 page spreads are especially notable (The Mean Streak and
Magnum photos stand out). A great book with tons of pictures of many, many
coasters, some that are never discussed.
Pezhead
Dave Sandborg wrote in message ...
PaRkiE
CoasterKid <coast...@aol.com> wrote in article
<19990110182512...@ng121.aol.com>...
> hey, atleast its not as bad as 'Rollercoasters of America"!
>
> CoasterKid
Nope, I found MUCH more mistakes in Rollercoaster! than in Rollercoasters
of America. Who cares anyways? Atleast we know the facts.
--
************************************************************
-PaRkiE
KeEp tHe CoAstErs CoMmiN'
HoMe PaRkS: PGA SC(CA)BB
ICQ: 26041590
Thomas P. Kelley
(CADoffin) wrote:
> .>Also in this book (but not necessarily mistakes), the author says Superman
> >is a coaster and says Mindbender has three loops.
>
> Actually, the Mindbender officially has three loops. The third loop is the
> twisting spiral loop. Officially, this is considered a loop, SFoG even
> promotes it as such. I don't know if I would consider it a loop or not but it
> is a great element to a superb ride
I agree that it's a loop, but it is NOT an inversion. I know this sounds
clear as mud, but anyone who has ridden Mind Bender knows what I mean.
-- Tom
Tom Kelley
tpke...@mindspring.com
Scott Amspoker
>...IMHO
>Bennett's new book is one of the best coaster books...far better than
>RoA.
I stopped by the local Barnes and Noble today to buy this book and couldn't
find it. I was hoping to see it along side of the countless coffee-table
books on the Titanic. Of course, after reading this thread I wondered if I
should be looking in the "fiction" section. :-)
Naturally, they couldn't even find it listed on thier computer (not the first
time I've experienced this). I'm really starting to wonder about that place.
Scott Amspoker |
s...@rt66.com |
http://www.rt66.com/sda |
HyperHoHo
Chartwell Books Inc.
Joe Schwartz
> I agree that the numerous errors in this book are annoying. But
> fortunately I have more reliable references to consult if I need to. What
> I bought the book for was its fantastic photos, and there it excels.
Yep, I'm especially envious of Dan Feicht's great photos for Cedar Fair.
The Iron Dragon shot on pages 144-5 is a great example. He's gotta be
using larger film than 35mm -- that shot is just too damn sharp to be
high-speed 35mm.
Also, I did a double-take when I saw the Kumba photo on page 74. The
photographer was standing almost *exactly* where I stood to take this one:
http://www.joyrides.com/bgt/full/kumba1.htm
------------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Schwartz (j...@joyrides.com) -- 5 Broadway #407, Troy, NY 12180
Come visit the Joyrides website <http://www.joyrides.com>,
a photo gallery celebrating the joy and beauty of amusement rides!
Janis G M
>find it.
>Naturally, they couldn't even find it listed on thier computer
Baker & Taylor, a book wholesaler that handles library accounts, claims that
this book has not yet been released for publication!!! They had said
originally that the publication date was set for Dec. 31st, but have since
backed it up to Jan. 31st. I wonder how they explain that its been in
bookstores since, what, August? I've been waiting for my copy for a couple
months now, with still no shipment date...
Janis
MoNtUmBa33
>photographer was standing almost *exactly* where I stood to take this one:
>
Where WERE you standing?? I wanna know so I can take one there! =)
-Steve
------------------------
~-~B&M Coaster Information Center--Closing: 1-15-99~-~
~-~http://members.aol.com/montumba33/BnM/JavaIndex2.html~-~
Joe Schwartz
> >Also, I did a double-take when I saw the Kumba photo on page 74. The
> >photographer was standing almost *exactly* where I stood to take this one:
>
> Where WERE you standing?? I wanna know so I can take one there! =)
Somewhere along the exit path, as I recall.
Richard Bonner
: I have Roller Coaster Lover's Companion,
: in this book (but not necessarily mistakes), the author says
: Mindbender has three loops.
: William McCombie
*** If you are looking at page 70, the author (Steve Urbanowicz) is
referring to Galazyland's "Mindbender", not Six Flags Over Georgia. That
"Mindbender" does indeed have 3 loops. Georgia's has 2 loops and a banked
curve which brings one close to inverting but does not go completely
vertical. Galaxyland had the first indoor triple-loop coaster, which had
to have redesigned rolling stock in order to handle the forces and to
reduce noise in a louder acoustic environment, than outdoors.
Richard Bonner
Managing Director:
The Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada
www.chebucto.ns.ca/~ak621/CEC/CEC.html
Richard Bonner
: Also, it looks as if the bottom part of the coaster on the front cover
: computer generated. Is this true?
: --
: William McCombie
*** I take it you are looking at the edging on supports, etc. I'd say
this was done to eliminate a cluttered background so as to have a cleaner
cover photo.
Richard Bonner
: >I stopped by the local Barnes and Noble today to buy this book and couldn't
: >find it.
*** Perhaps, they are referring to a second printing due to a sell-out
from the publisher of the first.
Joe Schwartz
> *** If you are looking at page 70, the author (Steve Urbanowicz) is
> referring to Galazyland's "Mindbender", not Six Flags Over Georgia. That
> "Mindbender" does indeed have 3 loops. Georgia's has 2 loops and a banked
> curve which brings one close to inverting but does not go completely
> vertical
Georgia's Mind Bender's banked curve doesn't even come *close* to
inverting. It doesn't even go completely *horizontal*, let alone
completely vertical. Some people may choose to call it a "loop" (in the
sense that a helix is a "loop"), but it certainly isn't a vertical loop,
and it certainly isn't an inversion.
Richard Bonner
: ak...@chebucto.ns.ca (Richard Bonner) wrote:
: > *** If you are looking at page 70, the author (Steve Urbanowicz) is
: > referring to Galazyland's "Mindbender", not Six Flags Over Georgia. That
: > "Mindbender" does indeed have 3 loops. Georgia's has 2 loops and a banked
: > curve which brings one close to inverting but does not go completely
: > vertical
: Georgia's Mind Bender's banked curve doesn't even come *close* to
: inverting. It doesn't even go completely *horizontal*, let alone
: completely vertical. Some people may choose to call it a "loop" (in the
: sense that a helix is a "loop"), but it certainly isn't a vertical loop,
: and it certainly isn't an inversion.
: Joe Schwartz
*** I have never ridden the "Mind Bender", so I will bow to your
opinion, Joe. However, photos I have seen seem to indicate that the
element is a diving curve and it appears to go above horizontal. Am I
looking at the wrong thing? Is it just the angle of the photos and
reproduction on a flat page that makes it appear that this curve goes
above horizontal? Is it my almost-inverted mind incorrectly interpreting
what my eyes are sending to it?
Joe Schwartz
I think the problem is that Mind Bender's track has a four-sided box-beam
lattice structure, and it's difficult to tell from a photo which side the
train rides on. Here's a photo that illustrates Mind Bender's "loop":
http://www.joyrides.com/sfog/full/mind_bender3.htm
This inclined helix starts at the upper left and winds around the vertical
loop, leading into the hill that descends into the lower right. At the
bottom of the helix, the train is certainly angled inward, but it doesn't
go horizontal.
Janis G M
>from the publisher of the first.
>
> Richard Bonner
>
I've noticed something about you, Richard, that I really admire. You have a
wonderful way of pointing out the obvious without screaming, "DUH!!!". (Us
"light thinkers" appreciate that!) You are most likely right, of course. And
for anyone following my saga, my back-ordered books did finally arrive a few
days ago, and WOW are the pics great!! I've had fun going through and
finding the errors that others have pointed out. Mostly, I drool over the
pictures and dream of Spring!
:-)
Janis
JNardone38
news - when I ordered it, they told me 6 - 8 weeks and I got a call 4 days
later that it was in!), and I have also been staring at the wonderful photos.
The text errors are humorous to me, but in all honesty this book was purchased
solely for the photos...as I was forewarned on the text.
However, there were some interesting tidbits throughout the book and I am very
happy I purchased it (or actually my wife who bought the gift certificate).
Another positive? It's a hardback, not to skimpy and sells for $19.99 + tax.
Not a bad deal!
Joe
Richard Bonner
: >from the publisher of the first.
: >
: > Richard Bonner
: I've noticed something about you, Richard, that I really admire. You have a
: wonderful way of pointing out the obvious without screaming, "DUH!!!".
*** Thanks, Janis. I don't believe there are any "stupid" questions(*).
I just assumne people are ignorant of the subject or haven't thought it
through, so I don't answer "duh!" or even think it. If I can help, I do. I
might add that I am not the only one on this newsgroup that thinks and
acts this way. There are many others who answer "stupid" questions and
with the right attitude.
: (We "light thinkers" appreciate that!) You are most likely right, of
course. And : for anyone following my saga, my back-ordered books did
finally arrive a few : days ago, and WOW are the pics great!! I've had
fun going through and : finding the errors that others have pointed out.
Mostly, I drool over the : pictures and dream of Spring! :-)
: Janis
*** I too, jsut received my copy last week. The photography and picture
reproduction are first rate. Although the colour photos have slightly
over-satured hues, I like them. I have begun to correct the errors as I
read the book, and despite them, there is much information to be learned
from Bennett's writing.
Richard Bonner
Managing Director:
The Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada
www.chebucto.ns.ca/~ak621/CEC/CEC.html
* There are stupid questions, but not the kind that are often labeled
that way on the newsgroup. Here are some:
How much is a 59-cent chocolate bar?
When was the War of 1812?
How do you spell "RCMP" ? (For those of you not familiar with Canada's
National Police Force, it stands for "Royal
Canadian Mounted Police". )
How long was The Hundred Year's War?
This one is a ringer. That war lasted over 100 years. I don't have my
history reference handy, but I believe it went on for around 130 years.
Richard
Richard Bonner
: * There are stupid questions, but not the kind that are often labeled
: that way on the newsgroup. Here are some:
: How much is a 59-cent chocolate bar?
: When was the War of 1812?
: How do you spell "RCMP" ? (For those of you not familiar with Canada's
: National Police Force, it stands for "Royal
: Canadian Mounted Police". )
: How long was The Hundred Year's War?
: This one is a ringer. That war lasted over 100 years. I don't have my
: history reference handy, but I believe it went on for around 130 years.
: Richard
*** I checked 4 references and found that the war started in 1337 or 8
(the books disagree) and lasted until 1453, a length of 115 or 16 years.
It was initially a dispute over land held by the Britich crown in
France. France won but was left devastated with many dying of hunger or
plague.