Click on any photo to see a larger version of it.



If the first drop on X2 doesn't take your breath away and force up a few colorful expletives shortly afterwards, then you need to seek medical attention as you are quite possibly dead.  



As X2's trains crest the drop the seats are rotated so you can look straight down at the ground a couple of hundred feet beneath you. 



X2's seat rotation system uses the external rails to rotate the seats.  As you can see in this photo there are long metal bars called a gear rack sticking out from the underside of the train.  Those are connected to the wheel assembly that runs on the outside rail.  The gear rack has machined teeth that are connected to gears connected to your seat that rotateit as the gear rack goes in and out.



When the rail pulls the gear rack one way your seat rotates forward.  When the gear rack is pulled by the track the other direction your seat rotates in reverse.  Having that to play with really gives the designers so much more to work with.  Designers can take a simple hill and turn it into an inversion as the seats are able to flip completely over.



The problem with Arrow's 4d coaster concept is that you have a complex design that really needs super precise manufacturing for the track and Arrow in 2000 didn't have that.  The result of Arrow pushing beyond the bounds of what they could do X2 despite all of the improvements has a jerky roll and rough ride.



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Copyright 1999 - 2024

Paul B. Drabek