SheiKra goes Floorless

[coolbeans326]

"Floorless SheiKra Raises the Bar on Thrills as the
Bottom Drops Out On America's First Dive Coaster"
SheiKra s legendary 200-foot, 90-degree vertical dive takes on
a different point of view with new, floorless cars
Tampa, FL (January 31, 2007)
Two years ago, Busch Gardens Africa introduced the
world to a one-of-a-kind experience: 200 feet up, 90 degrees straight down. And that
was just the beginning.
On June 16, the adventure park will reintroduce SheiKra to the world with a new
twist: floorless cars that allow riders an unobstructed view of the 70 mph rush.
When SheiKra opened in May 2005, it signaled a new era in American roller
coasters. As the nation s first dive coaster and only the third in the world, SheiKra raised
the bar with first-of-a-kind elements like a true 90-degree drop, an Immelmann loop and
a second vertical dive into an underground tunnel. Now, technology has raised that bar
even higher, introducing SheiKra s fans to an even greater thrill.
Mechanically, SheiKra s track will remain unchanged, with its combination of
drops, inversions and a water feature finale. Psychologically, though, the effect of the
floorless cars will be intense: SheiKra s cars will continue to seat eight passengers
across, three rows deep, but riders will no longer be able to brace themselves for
Florida s No. 1 thrill ride against the floor of the car. With the front rail gone, passengers
in the first row, especially, will be completely exposed as they come over the crest of
SheiKra s signature 200-foot, 90-degree plunge.
Guests last day to experience SheiKra in its current form will be Memorial Day,
May 28. The following day, America s first dive coaster will close for approximately three
weeks for the floorless conversion construction.
The coaster s existing seats and shoulder harnesses will be fitted into new
chassis that support only the chairs above and the wheels below. Between each row of
seats will be nothing but open air.
The bulk of the changes occur at the loading platform, where retractable floors
and handrails will be installed. As each floorless car comes into the station, the floors will
raise into position, filling the gaps between the rows so that passengers may board. A
pivoting handrail will swing into place in front of the car to assist those boarding the first
row.
Through the years, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has set the standard for thrill
rides, and I m confident guests will agree that the park has raised the bar yet again with
floorless SheiKra, said Dan Brown, executive vice president and general manager,
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. SheiKra s enhancement, along with its unprecedented
ride features, really reinforce Busch Gardens standing as Florida s foremost adventure
destination.
The Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks include SeaWorld parks in Orlando, San Diego and San
Antonio; Busch Gardens Africa and Adventure Island in Tampa Bay and Busch Gardens Europe and Water
Country USA in Williamsburg, Va.; Discovery Cove in Orlando; and Sesame Place near Philadelphia. To
learn more about the Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks, visit www.4adventure.com or call toll-free
(800)4ADVENTURE.

Video Broadcast of the announcement can be found here


I dunno, its going to feel pretty bare dangling 200 ft in the air.[:D]

That will be and or look wicked.

I wonder if they will be getting an expansion to 10 seats wide per row. Griffon will be the first floorless to feature 10 seats per row instead of 8, incase anybody didnt notice that.

^*pssssssst* he deleted his post too (i'm guessing), you should probly delete yours too

Anyway, garrett I don't think want to because then they'd have to modify the station and catwalks too. It could also affect how the ride was designed to it's weight distribution; I mean the chances of it being a problem in terms of weight are slim, but there's still a possibility.

Well adding 1 seat on the side of each car would make up for the weight lost with the floors...

In the pictures on the BGA website it shows the floorless trains with still 8 cars per train.

This was one of the questions asked in the teleconference, and it was said thet the trains will in fact stay 24 passenger trains.

"SheiKra s cars will continue to seat eight passengers
across, three rows deep, but riders will no longer be able to brace themselves for
Florida s No. 1 thrill ride against the floor of the car."

From the posted article.

Its not THAT much weight.

Plus you can make that back by changing the wheels out. Tatsus first run was only around 45 seconds long! Why? They had on the fastest wheels they could find. Then, to get it more closer to 55 seconds (or whatever the time was on that special) they added slower wheels set by set. They could easily do this in reverse.

^Yes I heard about that on Tatsu, and I'm sure they could find better wheels or something or the sort. And look at Jimths post; there you have it. It may even be the same cars, and really literally just removing the floors. Or maybe it is an entire switchout; who knows.

Again, from the article.

The coaster s existing seats and shoulder harnesses will be fitted into new
chassis that support only the chairs above and the wheels below. Between each row of
seats will be nothing but open air.

Yea, we know - no need to reiterate. However, if there is a weight problem all they will do is change wheel types.

Or just add weight to any other part of the train..

How awesome.

hmm all eyes on Oblivion. Surely they could afford de-floorification too! It does seem quite expensive and unusual to be switching the trains two years after opening, I suppose they want to bring it into line with Griffon.

I believe Sheikra had its station designed ahead of time to accommodate floorless trains.

As said on another forum, putting floorless trains on Oblivion would require an almost new station. Also, the queue runs under Oblivions station does it not?

I think it's an unuseful expense...Griffon will be floorless,why changing Sheikra too?
Maybe too similar coasters in the "same" park.
Every coaster is unique and if changes improve safety is ok but not to change the kind of ride.
If in a future B&M will build a stand up dive machine what will they do with the other models?

^Leave them...

As was said above, if you look at how Sheikra's station was built, it is obvious that they had this planned from the beginning.

Now the question is what will happen to the old trains?

[coolbeans326]

maybe the trains will remain the same, but they'll just remove the floor.

I do not think so. If you look at the pics of the new trains they have a new profile with them.

They said they are keeping the existing seats and restraints, just putting them on a new Chasis...

Canadmos you're right but I said this maybe 'cause I don't think floorless dive machine is a so original idea.
I would have prefered a sperimentation on new elements.
I rode Sheikra and I find much funnier the twists instead of the inversion but now I'm going out of topic.
To end I think Griffon is not the best choice of BG:thinking about the theming of the park a flying would have been better.
But this is just my opinion!

Sheikra was originally planned to have floorless trains.

I rode the ride back in the spring of '06 and loved it. Now I'm going to be riding it just weeks after the change. I'm hoping there won't be any problems!