- November 8th, 2009, 1:33 pm
#35881
Let keep things into perspective here. Trim brakes on coasters are not inherently bad. There's alot of calculation and tolerances to be considered, not to mention many times designs are influenced by clients (i.e.: we want this height but keep it under this budget, etc.). Trim brake systems offer designers means of keeping rides consistantly within comfortable tolerances for your target rider. As coaster design grows more extreme, tolerances require certain means to calibrating the ride experience.
Sometimes a poor design will require a trim system to be calibrated a bit more aggressively than the designer intended. Often the speed trim is placed before a section - not just a single element - and the offending section of the ride is beyond the element that contains the trim.
But more often on modern rides the trims are tied into computer systems to maintain the rides spec's in various atmospheric conditions and train weights. Just to make a point, BGW's Apollo's Chariot has three trim sections (not including the mid-course blocking brake system): Just off the pre-drop, on the assent to the third (141') hill, and on the assent to the banked right-hander lift hill cross under. I've never heard anyone complain of the trim brakes on Apollo's Chariot and to this day the ride remains on many top-10 lists and is famous for that "ejector airtime".
Lastly, a roller coaster is like a work of art or a fine wine - you never really know what you've got until you're finished and get into testing and trials runs. Then the real nature of the course reveals itself. But Carowinds fans should rest assure that B&M is the best in the business from both an engineering and design POV. You'd be hard pressed to consistantly find fault with aspects of their designs - even the trim braking systems.
