Heart line

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“Heartline Roll” at Typhoon in Bobbejaanland, Belgium

The heart line is the imaginary path that a passenger's heart travels during a roller coaster ride. It is used in the planning and implementation of the routing of roller coasters . Werner Stengel first used it in 1976 on the Shock Wave (Six Flags Over Texas) track, which opened in 1978 .

principle

Before using the principle of the heart line, the rail was inclined around its own center in front of steep turns. However, this meant that the upper body and especially the head of the passenger had to travel a long way, which resulted in higher lateral loads. To solve this problem, this pivot point was relocated from the middle of the rail further up into the approximate heart region of the passenger. If the passenger turns around this axis, this shortens the distance that the body and especially the head covers in a lateral direction. This reduces lateral g-forces and enables steeper curves.

The heart line enabled completely new driving figures. The "Heartline Roll" even has the designation in its name, as it simply turns the passengers around the heart line.

Heart line principle

Individual evidence

  1. Interview with Werner Stengel. In: Freizeitpark-Welt.de. Retrieved June 23, 2015 .