Roller Coaster Description:

Fire and Brimstone is an Sit-Down Hypercoaster. It has a long and narrow footprint and runs parallel with the western shore of Long Pond. It has a dragon theme. It starts with a huge climb to the top of a 165 ft . The first drop is 200ft into a set of camelbacks. The trains then enter a decreasing radius banked helix which ultimately turns the trains back towards the station. The track banks downward to the left towards the water of Long Pond before banking back and upward towards the shore again and into a brake run. From this point, there is one more camelback and a decreasing helix before returning to the final brake run and the station.

Length: 3200 ft Height: 200 ft Drop: 158.8 ft Speed: 78 mph Max Vertical Angle: 65° Trains: 3 trains with 5 cars per (20 riders per train) Duration: 110 seconds

First Hill Speed Calculation

Height = (Vf2 — Vo2) / (2 ⋅ 9.8)

Where Vf and Vo are equal to the initial and final velocities, respectively. The initial velocity is 5 m/s and the height is 61 meters (200 ft).

61 = (Vf2 — 52) / (2 ⋅ 9.8) = 48.4 meters = 34.9 m/s (78 mph)

Radius at the Bottom of First Drop Calculation

Radius = (V2) / (g ⋅ 9.8)

Where v is the velocity of the train at the bottom of the hill and g is the g-force the riders experience. G is 1 minus the g-force to account for the force supplied by gravity. In this case, v = 34.9 m/s and g = 4.

Radius = (34.92) / (4 ⋅ 9.8) = 31.0 meters = 101.7 feet

Turning Radius and Banking Calculations

Same equation as above. V = 22 m/s and g = 2

Radius = (222) / (2 ⋅ 9.8) = 24.7 meters = 81 feet

For the banking, the following calculation is used:

B = tan-1 (l/p) Where l is the lateral force and p is the desired vertical force. P = 2 and l = 1.

B = tan-1 (1/2) = 26.6 degrees

Therefore, the turn must have a radius of 81 feet and a banking of 26.6 degrees

Ride Capacity Calculation

Riders / Hour = (3600 ⋅ # riders per train ⋅ # trains) / duration of seconds

The ride is estimated to be 110 seconds and there are 3 20-person trains.

Riders / Hour = (3600 ⋅ 20 ⋅ 3) / 110 = 1964 riders per hour

NOTE: final capacity is an overestimation since not every train will be filled and there will be inevitable delays when loading trains.

Cost Estimation

Using Apollo’s Chariot as an example, which a bit longer than my coaster, I estimate the cost of this ride to be about $16 million to build. However, the presence of wetlands along Long Pond will likely increase the budget because of the added difficulty of creating sound foundations for the coaster. The total estimated cost is therefore around $19 million.