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Excelerator's Top Terminal


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#21 DonaldMReif

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Posted 05 February 2011 - 08:02 PM

View Postfloridaskier, on 05 February 2011 - 06:47 PM, said:

Doesn't it have more to do with where the resort builds the unload ramp? The Sun Valley Yan retrofits have very short terminals (with the upward-sloping deceleration sections) but the ramps are so far back that you go slow for a few seconds before unloading.

I'd much rather be thrown off the chair at the end. It's nice to have a second to after loading before speeding up in case someone didn't get on the chair right


Like was said at the beginning, the Excelerator lift's unload ramp is very far forward, such so that the chair hasn't yet fully slowed down when you unload.

Sometimes, people like the slow leg and can then get a little shove from the chair.
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#22 snoloco

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Posted 30 December 2013 - 08:24 PM

The South and Bear lifts at Mountain Creek have compact UNI-M terminals at the top. These are the smallest detachable terminals I have seen. The bottom terminals are standard length, I believe so that they can have the tensioning. The top terminals are fixed drive terminals, so the length is not needed. Both lifts also run at their designed speed regularly as well. I don't know what they are rated for. The sign at the bottom says 5m/s, but they seem to be going a bit faster at times. There is no sling shot unloading on these lifts because the unloading ramp is set way back. If you stay on the chair for even a second longer than you should, the chair will begin to turn around. These lifts have in line loading and unloading, so the chair must slow down before the contour. The top terminals are so small, that there is only maybe 10-15 tire lengths of deceleration. The chairs also accelerate straight out of the terminal and they do not have a stepped acceleration like most lifts do. This causes them to swing back when they leave the top terminals.

#23 DonaldMReif

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Posted 31 December 2013 - 07:16 AM

I've seen that swinging effect you've described on a couple of Vail's lifts, like on the Avanti Express. From experience, I'm aware that the same effect can be seen on the Arrow Bahn Express over at Beaver Creek.
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#24 NHskier13

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Posted 31 January 2015 - 09:43 AM

View PostJonni, on 24 July 2006 - 03:39 AM, said:

We have that set up on our HSQ here at Sunapee, and I think it's a much better setup than the standard terminal speed unload. From an operation's point of view it pushes skiers out of the way further getting people out of the way. It also gives people a little more time for error rather than just having the chair unload and immediately turn in the contour. Unfortunately the higher-ups in our maintenance department want to change this. Despite not really having much say in the decision to change the way the lift loads and unloads I really think that there will be more mis-unloads and mis-loads, especially since people's feet/skis will touch the ground before they are supposed to unload. In most cases this wouldn't really matter, but in this case your feet would be sliding on the snow for almost 12 feet before you were able to unload.

I do like how both of the current Sunapee HSQ's are set up. Any high speed that doesn't slow down all the way when unloading makes it a lot easier for those in the middle to just stand up and get momentum. Unloading fast also prevents you from having to "skate" a little bit off the chairlift, which happens at places like Sunapee where the first 50-100 feet are very flat...
Also, I think the fast speeds experienced during unloading are sort of a characteristic of Omega terminals, see my video and skip to 5:10
https://www.youtube....h?v=-vSC1Euev-k

This post has been edited by NHskier13: 31 January 2015 - 09:45 AM






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