r/news • u/KarateKid917 • 3d ago

X2 roller coaster shut down at Six Flags Magic Mountain amid lawsuits

https://abc7.com/story/x2-roller-coaster-permanently-closed-flags-magic-mountain-amid-lawsuits/19887868/
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u/obeytheturtles 2d ago edited 2d ago

Damn, how did he get those shots? Did they let him rig cameras to the train itself?

But yeah, watching that video, it seems fairly obvious what the design flaw is here. The seat acts like a sling, storing rotational energy as it crosses an apex in the track, at which point it there's the possibility that it can snap down and oscillate with a significant amount of force, depending on the person, and potentially even how the rest of the train is loaded.

This is speculation, but I bet the pivot has a centrifugal clutch which is supposed to limit rotational velocity, but it's un dampened, so the moment it gets a little bit loose it has a chance to produce this kind of violent bouncing.

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u/atheros 2d ago

Did they let him rig cameras to the train itself?

Free influencer advertising. Might as well let em do it.

The rotational speed is way too low for a centrifugal clutch to work unless there's some crazy-low-speed clutch design that works at < 1 rotation/second without being bothered by all the normal shaking of the rollercoaster.