The mechanics of how a drop tower works.

Drop towers are very simple but also complex at the same time. I made this vide to tell people how a basic drop tower works. For the base of this vide im looking at an Intamin Freefall style ride with the basic round tower that has popped up over so many parks. you learn new things after watching this vide.

[@sumguy8]

For those wondering, "What if the power fails while I'm falling". Ryan explains it well in the videoRyan linked. In short, the brakes don't need electricity input. Due to the Lorentz force, eddy currents are generated by force (in this case, falling gondolas) themselves. So no worries, you won't hit the ground if power fails mid free-fall. Awesome video Ryan!

[@mattbehrens2784]

You saved me a question. Thank you, that makes sense. Everything needs to be failsafe when lives are in question. Cheers

[@sumguy8]

You're welcome, I thought someone might have this question. Cheers!@@mattbehrens2784

[@Hugo.Spain.]

Nothing comparable to the happiness of receiving the alert saying that you have uploaded a new video😂

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Awesome thanks for coming back!

[@mattbehrens2784]

Stay off the air gates!!!!! Lol. Awesome video Ryan. Please keep posting videos.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Thank you I’m working on it!

[@m_ianO]

Ryan… can you promise us you always clip in for safety ? Showing love and appreciation for your awesomeness from NYC.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

When I do anything I use safety equipment. And I’ve always stressed the importance of inspecting it before each and every use. It’s there to save your life or limb, better take care of it. Most safety abuse is lack of people using gloves and safety glasses.

[@gametime2473]

My favorite drop towers are the Larson ones. They might not be the biggest ones out there but the drop is far more intense than any of the other makes.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

I’ve heard that before. Not sure why though.

[@alkankondo89]

Yes, I definitely agree about the Larson towers. Part of what makes them so intense is that there's no pause between when you're lifted to the top and released, so it always catches you off guard. And you drop like a rock!

[@michaezell4607]

I recall seeing one of the old amusement park shows on discovery Channel back in the day and they mentioned how the magnetic braking system on the intamin free fall towers work by increasing the amount of copper infused into the steel brake fins that line the tower near the base. This is why during the initial ascent there's more resistance and the lift motor has to work slightly harder to overcome than resistance. Once the cars clear the brake fins the lift speed increases.

[@definingimage]

Just as a heads up, there is no steel or iron in the fins. For eddy currents to be generated, it must be a nonferrous metal like silver, aluminum or copper

[@SkeledroMan]

On Atmosfear at Liseberg the catch car waits for loading to be done to pick up the gondola. That's a slightly different model though

[@ryantheridemechanic]

I’ve seen it before. Looking through a lot of KZbin videos I couldn’t find one. Although no one ever recorded the catch wagon hooking up. Ha! Glad I’m not going crazy. The memory I had was from one of the original back in…. Man….1990? Long time ago.

[@williamstefan8785]

At SFA we the electricians did the the inspection in morning. We didn't use the man basket, we climbed the center and checked everything on the inside. We checked the cables as we climed for what we can see and every ladder change platform we checked out all the cables. At the top we checked the motors and the rest of the mechanicals. At we parked the counter weight at the bottom.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Thanks for the info. Hey does those counterweights have guide wheels on them or just slide plates. I worked on a star flyer and the counterweight had guide wheels. But didn’t move as fast as a drop tower can ascend.

[@williamstefan8785]

@ryantheridemechanic I think they were guided plades for counterweight. Are drop tower was only 150ft.

[@definingimage]

I was spoiwith our Intamin drop. We had the giant gyro drop. We could ride the catch car all of the way up, it had its own standing platform 360 degrees. We also had an elevator inside to tower for motor, shivs and cable inspections! Once I was in the power house up top when the gondola dropped and boy, that was enough to soil your pants! I forget the actual size, but our 4 cables were I think 2" in diameter. They were huge!

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Wow. Bet that was a scare of a lifetime. Wow. We had a star flyer. No drop, but it had the work platform on top like yours. 6 cables 16mm in diameter each. Fairly light though.

[@definingimage]

@@ryantheridemechanic I chose to do it. Ya have to do it once! I wasn’t on duty but once, the release dog was stuck with the gondola up top, my coworker had to elevator to the top, open the grate in the power house, drop down a 5 gallon tank of compressed air and manually release the catch car. I’m not much afraid of heights but no way I would have done that 300’ up!

[@ryantheridemechanic]

@@definingimage yikes

[@markcrooks2455]

How about a video on how a drop track works on something like Haggrids or even more complicated Primordial which does different angles?

[@ryantheridemechanic]

I just went down a rabbit hole with primordial. Very cool! Love to see that in person.

[@jpgiles1725]

These are the only rides that i wont ride lol. I know they're safe. However, i just cant bring myself to ridw these types of rides. Dont get me wrong ive been on them in the past and had a blast. But now, there is no way im getting on one. Great video as always

[@ryantheridemechanic]

No worries we all have our limits, nothing wrong with that at all. Thanks for the comment and compliment!

[@dihedraldesign7978]

Fascinating. Love the "how it works" videos, Ryan! It always was curious, to me at least, these becoming-rare Intamin free-falls are more intimidating and thrilling than the newer S&S models out there 🤷‍♂Would love to see more of these types of videos - maybe take us on a "virtual tour" and speak to a few if they're pretty simple (ie: a carousel, a Ferris Wheel, a Boomerang coaster). Or by manufacturer. Would love to know how a Huss Condor and Top Spin work! Keep up the great work, and thank you 🎢🎡

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Thank you! I feel it’s a welcome break from the basic KZbin videos of ranking thing. But I also watch Everyone else’s videos as well. People do an excellent job at making them.

[@dihedraldesign7978]

@@ryantheridemechanic Absolutely. I feel ranking videos to be rather subjective - this type of "behind-the-scenes" content is a rare gem. Much appreciated!

[@marcussorenson3380]

when I go the my home park six flags great america I make sure to get a ride on giant drop and that ride is awesome I haven't ridden it in ages but this year I did and I just love it going up is the scary part since it pulls you up that fast but the view is great up there

[@ryantheridemechanic]

I can’t stand the ride up. But the ride down is very fun!!

[@marcussorenson3380]

@@ryantheridemechanic I know right like just so nerve racking and then when it picks up speed at the top is terrifing when it does that but yes going down is the best part

[@nuttyfruitloaf]

0:19 this part kills me 😂😂😂😂 esp with the air actuator sounds mixed in there.

[@IAmAnonymyz]

Ive been on an Intamin Freefall when Six Flags Over Georgia had one and the Tower Drop Drop Zone from Great America (The same one the kid fell out of) The old Freefalls are a very interesting experience. Dorney Park still has one and even though i don't ride drop towers anymore i will definitely ride that for old times sake

[@ryantheridemechanic]

I love the original ones. Such an interesting contraption.

[@Davidvariance]

Like clockwork, wouldn't ya know it, you posted a video and I'm at Cedar Point, again 😂 look forward to this video tonight when I am winding down for the night

[@ryantheridemechanic]

My gps works good haha! Just kidding

[@Davidvariance]

😂😂😂 wouldnt be surprised at this [cedar] point 😛

[@DigitalAndInnovation]

Very much off topic- but when you mentioned at 9:33 "how people think rides work" the one that popped into my head was Houdini’s Great Escape. It is such a bizarre ride out of the gate... but when people walk off it what they perceived happened is very different from what actually happened. I remember before riding it someone explaining it as "well its like a room and it moves... you think you went upside down, but you don't really". And after walking off the ride they are kind of confused about what just happened. It would be cool to hear about what maintaining that ride involves. It kind of falls into the same category of an unexplainable magic trick. Sure they could do it by rotating a barrel suspended independently of the seats around the audience... but they would never do that because that would be a ton of work... yet it is how it is done.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Like Disney goes very far out of the way of normal to produce an effect that people can’t explain afterwards! Very fun.

[@DigitalAndInnovation]

Absolutely! The Indiana Jones ride comes to mind. Instead of making the cars back up- lets just move the walls surrounding the vehicle and people think the vehicle is in reverse.@@ryantheridemechanic

[@dindog22]

look who hit 3k subs!

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Right. It’s leveled off so we will see what happens in the future.

[@Jenlovescoasters]

I'm not a huge fan of drop towers either, but the craziest one I rode was Falcon's Fury at Busch Gardens. It was like Tatsu meets a drop tower.😂

[@onarolldan]

Ive been waiting for this, i love how these towers work. Could sit all day watching them. My all time fav was from my long gone home park. Space Probe 7 at Australia’s wonderland. Glad im not alone here with my love for them. lol thanks for the awesome video.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Your welcome

[@jacobliford]

Thanks for the reply and directing me to this video. Great stuff.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Thank you

[@bigpboy1012]

Adding on to the catch car resing position between cycles, Acrophobia at Six Flags Over Georgia (Intamin stand-up Gyro Drop) keeps its catch car a few feet above the gondola before lowering it into place at dispatch.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

I knew there still had to be some out there. I’m sure it was an engineer decision to hook it up or wait for an all clear.

[@rinnii_x]

I'd love to see a video like this about the S&S shot/combo towers if you have any experience with those?

[@mastercreator7804]

Could you do a video about the restraints on coasters, how they lock, types of sensors on them, internal parts, etc. Would be really interesting to know

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Different from the one I did a couple of months ago?

[@mastercreator7804]

@@ryantheridemechanic yeah, a bit more in depth, also talk about different types of seatbelts, sensors, etc. Also how restraints are monitored on rides. It seems very interesting

[@mastercreator7804]

​@@ryantheridemechanicmaybe include size restrictions and test seats, seatbelt tech, etc. Maybe also around why some coasters have weight restrictions and max height restrictions

[@oliverdallas405]

You’re the best ride channel ever! Your perspective on things is really amazing

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Thank you very much

[@4everpee]

Can you explain next how s&s spaceshot and combo tower works

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Yea S&S is coming close to the top of the list soon.

[@joaovictorfranco6987]

Thanks for the video, Ryan! Always enjoy watching them. I’ve been to Portaventura in Spain and I had the impression that Huracan Condor - their intamin drop tower - dispatched the gondolas independently and they fell at different times, I remember climbing up and hearing the gondola next to me falling. Do you know anything about that tower? Considering what you said about that being dangerous, I got quite curious to understand why and how they do it. Thanks for your work!

[@ryantheridemechanic]

I don’t know anything of that one. I would assume the gondolas have a gate between them in the loading area? This way no one could be crushed under a gondola coming to the bottom.

[@joaovictorfranco6987]

@@ryantheridemechanic Indeed, there were gates, they were operated separately. The gondolas were all different - one standing, other tilting, etc

[@michaezell4607]

​@ryantheridemechanic aren't the catch cars operated on a pre programmed release cycle controlled by the PLC? Meaning that the operator cannot control when each gondola is released? I remember that this was a serious problem in the SFKK accident involving the guest who lost her leg when a broken lift cable became entangled around her legs and the operator didn't hit the E stop button in time which could have prevented the accident as the gondola automatically was released from the catch car a few seconds after reaching the top of the tower.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

@@michaezell4607 haveing no experience with the logic controllers on those models. I know I’ve been told both ways. Some are automated some can be spot overridden by the operator to an extent. I know ride manufacturers rarely program the ride the same way twice. Most parks want somthing a little different in the operation.

[@michaezell4607]

Hey Ryan how about doing a video showcasing the inner workings of the wave swinger ride? I've always been quite fascinated by this attraction and how it's designed to operate and although there's already a somewhat lengthy video available on KZbin showcasing the ride being assembled at a traveling fair location somewhere in Germany it doesn't include much of the actual internal systems such as the cable lifting mechanism which lifts the carousel portion into it's full operational position.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

I could do that. I’m familiar with the older Zamperla modes that use duel hydraulic cylinders to lift the canopy.

[@ryankutzler78]

This is interesting, also really curious how the S&S models work, I ride on the one at Hershey all the time and was always interested in their inner-workings

[@shawnspencer8766]

Pistons in cylinders and cable seals at each end

[@exhibit13productions]

How many mechanics does it take to inspect all the park’s rides in the morning? I’m always impressed at how much effort goes into inspecting just a single ride.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Medium size park with 6 major style coasters. Traditional coasters. It takes about 5-8 people. About 6 hours before the park opens to about 2 hours after the park opens.

[@MagnusTheGreat]

I weigh 300 or so, I have never been kicked off of a drop tower, lol. I guess there weren't many guests trying to ride the one at Great America to balance you. That sucks

[@ryantheridemechanic]

It’s not so much the weight as it is what’s on the other side. A heavy cab is fine as long as 180° is another heavy cab.

[@crooked-halo]

So, this was on the Intamin drop towers. There's several different types & manufacturers, though. Do you have maintenance & operational knowledge of all the different types?

[@ryantheridemechanic]

I honestly don’t, but most manufacturers doesn’t stray much from the bacon concept of the Intamin freefall. What ride are you referring to?

[@CoasterDad86]

Hey Ryan! I've been waiting for you to drop this video ever since I emailed you about your insights on drop towers and S&S Screamin' Swings. But, I was hoping you would include the only of it's kind Intamin drop tower, Falcon's Fury, at my home park Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. 😊 Also, funny that you mentioned the sound towers make when they brake, I love it too, and it's an even stronger sound on Falcon's Fury, it also makes a very unique release sound as well at the top. Check it out man! Great video as always!

[@ryantheridemechanic]

So I generally just focus on a single type ride. Typical very general that ally’s to most things. I’d be up for making smaller videos on more custom installations out there. I still need to make the S&S tower video as well.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

I kind of feel if I kept including one off rides or styles the videos become very long. Most people can’t handle that length. Especially sense it’s just me talking for the majority of it.

[@Alex-adams]

Great video as always! I was wondering if you know anything about drop towers that use pneumatics to fall faster than gravity/free fall such as Detonator at Thorpe Park?

[@ryantheridemechanic]

I know of S&S tower of power that can accelerate down. But that’s about it. I can look into the detonator. Just a guess They probably use pneumatic rams to release the cab and kickstart the drop at the same time.

[@NewEnglandModz]

2 questions... 1) In an estop, are the catch cars able to lower the gondolas down without dropping them? 2) Since there is such a tight opening for the brake fins, do you know of any incidents where the fins became out of alignment and crashed into the slot instead? For these or other coasters that have fins for braking/launches.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Never heard of a cab hit the fins. Where it caused damage. The motor has a brake. It can be raised or lowered but normally because of the counterweight they opt to raise it.

[@djexel8845]

The passenger cabins can be “shimmed” (left or right) to adjust the air gap in the magnetic yokes on the back of the cabin to ensure proper alignment for the brake fins. In the event of a power failure the ride is equipped with an industrial UPS backup and diesel generator that will allow a pendant to be used to trigger the opening of the drum (safety) brake at the top of the tower for that particular section to bring it down to the loading position. This requires multiple technicians to accomplish.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

@@djexel8845 does someone get to manually climb to verify drum brake open during power outage evacuation or to they trust everything is working properly?

[@djexel8845]

@@ryantheridemechanic if its suspected that there’s a mechanical failure of some sort, yes. Otherwise if it’s apparent that the park has simply suffered a power dip/outage, the techs will switch to UPS mode in the rides electrical room and connect the pendant to the drive cabinet of the affected section. Each section has its own drive. Disclaimer: This applies to the Drop Tower at CGA.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

@@djexel8845 thanks. We had back up power for some equipment but we also had back up plans, if the back up failed.

[@jiminiecrickettt644]

Would you maybe consider doing a video on fail safes like anti rollback dogs and the like

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Sure I can work on that

[@Jenlovescoasters]

The "Edge" at Great America was my 1st drop tower ride.😂

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Mine to

[@Jenlovescoasters]

I'm dating myself, but, remember the commercial of the 4 guys that were chewing gum, and they got off the ride with scared looks, messed up hair, and the one guy had gum all over his face?🤣

[@ryantheridemechanic]

@@Jenlovescoasters I don’t remember that one. But memory’s not the best either haha

[@Davidvariance]

Interesting that the track design prevents walking/wandering... does wear and tear ever create a rattle from walking/wandering? In terms of rattle, is this a more serious issue compared to, say, a B&M wheel carrier? I was lucky to experience Mr Hyde's Nasty Fall and Demon Drop a LONG time ago, but have never tried any other drop tower. Do you have any insight into pneumatic vs mechanical drop towers? S&S drop towers sound mean when they operate. Its intimidating for me so ive avoided trying it. I would probably try the launch tower before the drop tower at my home park

[@ryantheridemechanic]

I know about the basic of an S&S tower of power. Same exact thing for max force air launch coasters. I prefer a free fall compared to a pneumatic assisted drop. Some towers preload pneumatic shocks before they release the cab giving an extra “kick” to the gondola speed.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

I didn’t answer the other part. The shoes on the gondola / cab are adjustable to keep a minimum gap and also adjust to the center.

[@Davidvariance]

@@ryantheridemechanic that makes sense. I would much prefer the natural freefall if i were to go the "newer" drop tower experience, that little extra kick may make it more unnerving, and by the way, the little teaser before the intro had me laughing pretty good.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

@@Davidvariance yea I though that would be funny.

[@dxndxlion]

how is it released, I have to do a project for school and build my own drop tower but everything in google doesn't help at all

[@MagnoliaStreetTV]

Do parks normally keep an extra set of cables on hand?

[@ryantheridemechanic]

I can’t speak for the parks of course. But if it were my ride, I would have at least 6 cables in stock. (Enough to do two tracks worth). If they are super long lead time (should t be most are under 600 foot) I would keep an entire rides worth on hand.

[@MagnoliaStreetTV]

@@ryantheridemechanic that makes sense! Thanks for the insight!

[@Colaholiker]

I didn't know that the typical pure drop towers are weighing the riders. I know that for any tower that has a launch in order to get the launch force right, but your good old Giant Drop? Wow. I did not expect that. I have never seen them shuffle riders around like they have to do for some flat rides where manual balancing is needed. And I have seen parks routinely just operate one or two lanes (adjacent to each other) on their Giant Drops. So apparently some parks don't seem to care much about balancing and only use the weighing to prevent overloading the ride. I have also seen parks operating the lanes completely independently. Not the "everyone wait on top" thing. But if memory serves right, that was just a 4-lane tower, so maybe the clearance between the different gondolas was big enough for it not to matter. Or it's just about whatever legal regulations are in place there. When it comes to this type of ride, I absolutely don't like any kind of tower that slowly lifts you up, keeps you hanging there (pun intended) and then drops you down. I do love the S&S Space or Double Shots, or the very rare Intamin Bungee Drop (aka Mystery Castle at Phantasialand). But I typically avoid the regular drop towers. I want action on my way up. 😄

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Nice. Yea it’s one of those tricky thing that most manufacturers don’t build the same ride twice. They are typically different in some aspect. Controls is almost always different every time.

[@Colaholiker]

@@ryantheridemechanic One thing I forgot to mention was my favorite ever conversation about one of these drop towers. Someone:"What if the lift cables snap on the way up?" Me: "Well, what do you think? It's going to drop down." Someone: "Yeah, but that's dangerous..." Me: "WHAT??? 😳" Someone: "What do you mean?" Me: "Are you sure about what you just said? I mean, it being dangerous?" Someone: "Yeah, if there is nothing there to prevent you from dropping down?!?" Me: "You DO realize that it is designed to be dropping down to begin with? Where's the danger in starting from a lower point if the cables snap? The brakes don't care a bit." Someone: "oh." (Biggest face-palm ever recorded) Some people... 🤣

[@ryantheridemechanic]

@@Colaholiker haha!!!

[@Trevor-1985]

which is harder working on a mechanical ride or coaster at amusement park or mechanic on a car or bus

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Depends. Cars and stuff are much more difficult to mechanically work on. But coaster are always a one off thing that make troubleshooting and regular maintenance a pain

[@spinba11]

If one cable is found to be dodgy on a 6 gondola tower can the other 5 continue to operate (I don’t mean while the repair is taking place, I mean if a fault is found in the morning can the other 5 operator that day) or is the whole thing shut down until the 3 cables are replaced

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Yes. No issues there. From experience if I inspect 5 tracks and find a problem on the 6th. I’m probably going to reinspect the others as well just to be safe. But then lock out the one track and put the ride into service. Then it’s planning on when the repair can be made.

[@RanHam]

6 months ago I posted a video explaining what went wrong on the Orlando Freefall tower accident. I overdubbed flying my drone around the tower before they tore it down. The video is called: Orlando FREEFALL Drop Tower Dive. #shamelessplug

[@markvolpe2305]

How do rotating drop towers work like Drop Tower at the Kings parks and drop towers like Falcon's Fury?

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Same concept. Just 4 drive wheels rotating the gondola. Do you think that needs a video

[@markvolpe2305]

@ryantheridemechanic I wouldn't mind a video, especially explaining how the tilting mechanism works on falcons fury

[@sharkheadism]

@@ryantheridemechanic They're pretty different from these older models, I think you could fill a video with more info. Acrophobia had a lot more going on than these do and I presume the other types of gyrodrops like Falcon's Fury do too.

[@BansheeEst]

Drop Tower ki stops just before large Intamin one.

[@JJJJ-he8bz]

Why do free motors stay at the top of the tower?

[@ryantheridemechanic]

Sorry, can you clarify a free motor?

[@JJJJ-he8bz]

@@ryantheridemechanic the thing that attaches to the vehicle and brings it to the top of the top of the tower

[@ryantheridemechanic]

@@JJJJ-he8bz oh ok. The catch cab. The counterweight weighs more than the catch cab. So typically the heavy part is stored closest to the ground (counterweight) so the cab stays at the top when not in use. But this is not required so some parks attach the catch car back to the cab and leave them down. As long as the lifting motor brake holds tight it’s fine.

[@Bogarttherideop]

I can fit at least 45 in 2.5 seconds

[@ryantheridemechanic]

The force is strong with this one haha!!

[@Bogarttherideop]

@@ryantheridemechanic I don’t know how many I can actually do as I like drop towers. I used to hate them but now I love them. The mechanics are one reason behind it. But I gotta say lex Luthor is still a bit scary. When that tower sways its crazy and it’s weird how it slows and speeds up.

[@ryantheridemechanic]

@@Bogarttherideop nerve tracking I know. The cab has to slow 3 times to pick up the cable spacers as it runs up the tower.