Stealth

[planenut]

On 8/8/2024 at 12:10 AM, Dylsbrim said:

Train 1 is looking fresh we will see train 3 the same next season. Wish it was refurbished with lap bars but oh well. We can hope 

Still not sure about lap bars. Yes, it works on Hyperia, but that upturn after the launch straight is a tighter radius than some other launchers, and for some people does cause them to buckle forwards unless one is aware.

[Dylsbrim]

Is it true the kingda ka parts may be coming over to stealth as it's closing now? Heard this rumor from coaster studios youtube and wanted to see if anyone knows anything. With hydraulic launches coming to the end of there lives I think it would make sense for the parts of ka to go to stealth. What are everyone's thoughts

[Inferno]

Oh interesting.  I guess it would make sense for any spares to be used rather than scrapped since they aren’t making parts anymore

 

All this has got my thinking - could Stealth’s days be numbered?  These hydraulic launch coasters are dropping like flies 

[JoshC.]

No doubt there will be rumours circulating around that parts of Ka could go to Stealth, or indeed any hydraulic around the world.

 

For now, I think we should take an air of sensibility about it. Ka's closure has only just been formally announced. Parks will plan and budget and buy parts well in advance of when they need them. It won't be some yard sale where Thorpe will go "you've closed this down, we'll take 4 of your motors for £100k". 

 

At the same time, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Thorpe will enquire and see what's usable for them for Stealth.

 

---

 

As for talks about Stealth's future. I think it's fine.

 

Firstly, let's remember that Merlin have 3 Intamin hydraulic launches (Stealth, Rita and Desert Race at Heide). So, across the group, there's a lot of shared knowledge, and potentially a lot of opportunities for bulk buying of parts.

 

Next, let's take into context why TTD and KK closed. TTD closed following an incident that hurt a member of the public, and the park wanting to move away from the issues they had with the hydraulic system. KK's closure seems to have come from the new corporate overlords of Six Flags, who may also have had the concerns about the ride.

 

There are still loads of Intamin hydraulic launch coasters out there, as well as some Vekoma ones. New ones aren't being built, yes, but plenty of parks continue to run them without issue, including some 'smaller' ones. Stealth isn't some rare, last of its kind breed. 

 

Most importantly, Stealth runs pretty damn well. I don't think anyone would call it unreliable, because it's not. Cable changes are a swift process. The ride runs exactly as intended, and doesn't come across as a drain on resources. Given that there's still loads of hydraulic coasters around, getting parts manufactured won't be insanely costly. Everything points to it being fine.

 

Stealth is still popular and draws crowds. It doesn't take up a huge amount of space. And there's other areas which can be used for future developments, and other attractions which could be torn down, long before Stealth should enter that conversation. 

 

Genuinely think it'll be fine for many years. 

[Mark9]

12 hours ago, Inferno said:

Oh interesting.  I guess it would make sense for any spares to be used rather than scrapped since they aren’t making parts anymore

 

All this has got my thinking - could Stealth’s days be numbered?  These hydraulic launch coasters are dropping like flies 

 

It actually feels like there's more closures than there actually are. A lot of them are closed and relocated because their respective parks have closed for example.

 

Desert Race - Operational no issues

Formula Rossa - Remains closed, rumoured that its launch system is damaged. Has been down since February and the park have been very coy about what's actually going on

Furius Baco - Operational, no issues (beyond being an atrocious rollercoaster)

Kanonen - Relocated to the USA as Matugani

Kingda Ka - Rust in Pieces

Rita - Operational, no issues

Senzafito - Closed down due to the park closing completely. Now in Canada and converted to LSM launch.

Skycar - Operational no issues

Speed Monster - Operational, no issues

Stealth - Operational, no issues

Storm Runner - Operational, no issues

Superman The Escape - Operational, no issues

Top Thrill Dragster - I mean.. I'm not delivering lectures on this. 

Xcelerator - It's currently operational. It spent over a year closed and under refurbishment and opened at the end of last year. 

Zaturn - Park it was located at in Japan closed down, and the ride now sits in pieces in Russia.

 

 

I wouldn't worry about Stealth or Rita to be honest. As some of the later models, the technology is slightly perfected from the originals and I would say the reliability of both rides is far better than their American counterparts.

[Benin]

The amount of work the systems on TTD and Kingda Ka needed to do was ridiculous. 

 

Think Mark is right that the later models (or smaller/slower ones) have had those little edits to the system to make them work better than say, Xcelerator as the first one.

 

Stealth is too integrated into the park's brand now for them to not try everything else before removing it. Ka's removal was probably fast-tracked through with combination of the merger and the utter disaster of TT2.