k'nex freefall

Yesterday I tore down my k'nex Wicked Twister model to make this k'nex 1st generation freefall. It has to be manually operated, because I could not figure out a way to make the lift chain pull the car up onto the transfer track at the top. There are no supports on the front part of the lift so that it is easier to push the car up to the top. Once the car is on the transfer track I push a lever to hold the car in place. Then I slide the car forward to the drop track and release the lever. The car goes down the ramp and gets slowed down by the brakes to just the right speed to roll right onto the second transfer track back into the station. The second transfer track is held horizontally until I pull a lever and it tilts back down into the station.
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The brakes are the pieces sticking up out of the track at the bottom of the drop.

very cool, i play around with k'nex coasters a lot myself but haven't made anything quite like that. my last k'nex creation came off the lift into a vertical drop with a 90 degree rotation and then went directly into a vertical loop. that was a blast to make. i didn't think to take a picture and put it up here, tho. looking at your thrill ride, i'm wondering if there would be any way to automate the movement instead of having to do all the work manually, or maybe i'm just lazy. anyways, nice work!

u should make tutorial to build that

that's cool. however, i find that you can make very long and realistic coasters if you use k'nex supports and legos. just use the lego train tracks for the track, and the k'nes for supports. you can't do hills or loops, but its fun. i havent made one on about 5 years, but my biggest coaster was about 5 feet tall and took up most of my basement lol.

Very cool! I play around with k-nex coaster sets, too. I've been testing and testing and testing, to make a free fall, like Demons Drop, or Acrophobia, and I need a braking system, I tried refrigerator magnets being placed in-between the purple track, but there not strong enough. any suggestions?

nannerdw, you could use, for a lift on your free fall, an weight pulley, (weights pull the car up and once the weights hit the ground the car stops)

That's a good idea, but the transfer track would still need to be able to move. I used brakes similar to the ones at http://www.geocities.com/platinumcoaste ... orial.html

I started building a new coaster last week and will have it finished by monday (i think). anyways, i still only have one set [:(], so the layout is not too big. I also think someone should write up a tutorial or guide on building thrill rides and coasters out of k'nex. i would do it, but I don't have enough experience yet and that would mean recreating the one time I built an entire amusement park out of k'nex. it was massive and had at least 20 different attractions, including 2 coasters and about a dozen or so thrill rides.
oh, well, I'm going to put the brake run on my ride now and make sure it works...

[coolbeans326]

looks accurate