Orion is right near WindSeeker so I don't know if it will need a light or not on top. 

1 hour ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Orion is right near WindSeeker so I don't know if it will need a light or not on top. 

The pilot can avoid WindSeeker and blast straight into Orion then.  Seems they would both need it, but I know nothing. 

Definitely a pretty stagnant day on the weatherbug cam due to the rain and high winds, but hopefully with the more sunny weather tomorrow we will see that last large support finished and another piece of the drop placed!

4 hours ago, Fishleehooker said:

The pilot can avoid WindSeeker and blast straight into Orion then.  Seems they would both need it, but I know nothing. 

But if they are flying to the north, If they don't hit Diamondback then they won't hit Orion lol

Well if any pilot flying a plane hits a roller coaster,  they're really clumsy .

On 10/30/2019 at 8:30 AM, Enchanted Voyage Lover said:

I took this pic Sunday. I don’t think this puppy will ever come loose.

Wow! 136 bolts just attaching the support to the track. 

Any new pictures?

2 hours ago, jensenracing77 said:

Wow! 136 bolts just attaching the support to the track. 

In my office (structural engineer) we have one engineer whose only job is to design steel connections. I’ve done several and they get very tedious very fast. Never done one that would require that many bolts though! I bet those calculations were annoying. 

12 hours ago, Shawn Meyer said:

Well if any pilot flying a plane hits a roller coaster,  they're really clumsy .

I would think if they were even flying that low in the first place, they shouldnt have their license. 

20 hours ago, Fishleehooker said:

The pilot can avoid WindSeeker and blast straight into Orion then.  Seems they would both need it, but I know nothing. 

The FAR or Federal Air Regulations 14 CFR 91.110 Minimum Safe Altitudes  "....1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft."  Looking at the sectional, or pilot map for flying by visual rules, the Eiffel Tower is shown as the highest point @1080MSL. Which means all pilots flying over Kings Island have to be at 2080 feet mean sea level. If anything ever grows taller then the top of the tower as measured from Mean Sea Level the maps will be updated very quickly.   

If a pilot is flying in an area that is not "congested" i.e. farm fields the same FAR states you have to be 500 feet AGL or above ground level.  As Orion is only 287 feet AGL, this would give a 200 foot plus buffer, but since the area is "congested" you get almost an 800 foot buffer.  Side note Helicopters and Ultra light powered parachutes have different rules on minimum safe altitudes, but are not allowed to cause risk for people on the ground.

 

As for what has to be lighted and what doesn't the rules are multiple pages long as they try to cover every single possible circumstance, but the closer it is to an airport the rules tighten so shorter towers have lights closer to airports, and can be taller with out lights further then airports.   Fun fact at any given time 100's of towers in southwestern Ohio have burned out lights at any given time, and pilots have to look up the notice on each and every one of them for every single flight.  The notice system sucks.

1 hour ago, PilotDude said:

The FAR or Federal Air Regulations 14 CFR 91.110 Minimum Safe Altitudes  "....1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft."  Looking at the sectional, or pilot map for flying by visual rules, the Eiffel Tower is shown as the highest point @1080MSL. Which means all pilots flying over Kings Island have to be at 2080 feet mean sea level. If anything ever grows taller then the top of the tower as measured from Mean Sea Level the maps will be updated very quickly.   

If a pilot is flying in an area that is not "congested" i.e. farm fields the same FAR states you have to be 500 feet AGL or above ground level.  As Orion is only 287 feet AGL, this would give a 200 foot plus buffer, but since the area is "congested" you get almost an 800 foot buffer.  Side note Helicopters and Ultra light powered parachutes have different rules on minimum safe altitudes, but are not allowed to cause risk for people on the ground.

 

As for what has to be lighted and what doesn't the rules are multiple pages long as they try to cover every single possible circumstance, but the closer it is to an airport the rules tighten so shorter towers have lights closer to airports, and can be taller with out lights further then airports.   Fun fact at any given time 100's of towers in southwestern Ohio have burned out lights at any given time, and pilots have to look up the notice on each and every one of them for every single flight.  The notice system sucks.

Thanks for this. It is quite thorough! This makes a lot of sense, especially the proximity to an airport. I believe that Intimidator at Carowinds, which is as tall as Diamondback, also has a light. Carowinds is also very close to the Charlotte airport. In fact, the last few times we’ve flown into Charlotte, we’ve passed over Carowinds. So close in fact that we could see people.

10 hours ago, CoasterNerd said:

Any new pictures?

YES! The fountain is almost covered! That's what you were looking for ,right? 

1 hour ago, Enchanted Voyage Lover said:

YES! The fountain is almost covered! That's what you were looking for ,right? 

Yes exactly! Someone finally got the picture ive been waiting for!   

Both sides are equal! TOP IS COMING SOON!

It looks like maybe they finished the drop support and added another section of drop track but it's kinda hard to tell, the glare is just now starting to move where things are slightly visible. Anybody see this on the weatherbug camera? 

Just now, BBN said:

It looks like maybe they finished the drop support and added another section of drop track but it's kinda hard to tell, the glare is just now starting to move where things are slightly visible. Anybody see this on the weatherbug camera? 

Nevermind u beat me to it 

I wonder how they are going to top it off since that is the last support.  Will they attach the last pieces on the ground and then put it up all at once? Or will they put a few pieces up at a time?

Looks like they're right on time for when they said it would be topped off!   Really exciting!

im going to try to go tomorrow somewhere in the area and try to get some shots of it

Still no webcams.  The Kings Island tech department sucks.

they will probs have the media out for the topping. My guess is Monday .  As they have to have a little time with the invites. 

A little higher resolution, and a little bit of sun movement really helps you see it!

Post from FYE Coasters on Facebook:

 

Have they started taking down Vortex yet?

1 minute ago, Sixflags82 said:

Have they started taking down Vortex yet?

Wrong thread.

What I'm wondering is if with the 85 degree drop, will it make the drop feel shorter or will you not notice a difference between the length of this and some of the other giga drops that are 300 feet.

59 minutes ago, CoasterNerd said:

im going to try to go tomorrow somewhere in the area and try to get some shots of it

No need, the webcam will be back up in the next few days just in time for crane tear down.

Man this is going to be topped off without us being able to watch. wtf!

21 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Post from FYE Coasters on Facebook:

 

Four more pieces! 

3 hours ago, KIBOB said:

Thanks for this. It is quite thorough! This makes a lot of sense, especially the proximity to an airport. I believe that Intimidator at Carowinds, which is as tall as Diamondback, also has a light. Carowinds is also very close to the Charlotte airport. In fact, the last few times we’ve flown into Charlotte, we’ve passed over Carowinds. So close in fact that we could see people.

Sorry for the double post, but no so fun fact: Stephen Colbert’s father died in a plane crash that mistook Carowinds’ sky tower for an airport tower.