A roller coaster with a weight drop launch stores potential energy in a heavy weight that is pulled to a height. The train is launched using the spike of energy provided by letting the weight fall to the ground.
The weight drop launch is believed to be the first ever launch system, alongside the electric motor (utilized by Arrow Dynamics). It was introduced on Schwarzkopf's Shuttle Loop model in 1977. It was superseded by the flywheel launch.
External links
- A detailed article on Schwarzkopf's counterweight launch on Schwarzkopf Coaster Net
- Weight drop launch on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
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