This is the tallest outdoor, freestanding K'nex roller coaster in the world! It's modelled after Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster. It stands at 28 feet, 8 inches tall. It uses a 15, seven inch long rubber bands to launch the car up to the top. This project took about a month of planning and building and used about 20,000-30,000 pieces. The total length of the track is around 100-110 feet long.
It was built inside my house in small sections, and then once completed, moved outside and completely assembled in approximately 6 hours. I only used a 6 foot step ladder to assemble it. A 20 foot triangular shaped tower was assembled horizontally on the ground and then carefully tipped up vertically with the help of some small cables. Then the tower was gently lifted 3 feet at a time (with help of course) and new 3 foot sections were connected to the bottom until it reached 28 feet, 8 inches high. The tower was getting real heavy by the time the last section was added. Some K'nex pieces began to snap under the weight, so it was necessary to substitute a large number of black carbon K'nex rods (expensive) at the bottom of the tower.
After the video was shot, the whole thing was taken down just as the sun was setting. It was a sunny day with no rain. There were a few small gusts of wind in the afternoon which caused the tower to sway a bit, but not too badly. While taking it down, some K'nex pieces broke and the whole thing toppled sideways over our cedar hedge into the neighbours back yard! We found most of the pieces by flashlight as it was getting dark by then and I still occasionally find a piece stuck in the cedar hedge.
Interesting Fact:
While shooting the video, the camera got a bit too close the track and the car collided with the digital camera. The car split into two pieces and flew off the track, but the camera survived!
Enjoy! :)
18 сен 2024
