Background This aerial ride has been at Knowsley Safari Park for a number of years, though it used to operate at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. The Jets are very popular with smaller children. One of the reasons for this is that riders can control how high they can fly! The Jets can be found near the Swing Chairs. How it works Each jet car holds up to four children. The car is attached to a central column by a long metal arm. A motor in the central column causes the ride to spin. After several seconds, riders can use the joystick in the car to go higher. Once the jet is in the air, the joystick can be used to make the jet also go lower. The joystick is linked by a cable to a large drum near the central column. When the stick is pulled back, an arm comes out of the drum and pushes the long metal arm up. The jet, on the other end of this arm, is lifted up into the air! GCSE Science The Jets are made to go higher and lower by a hydraulic system, meaning that they use compressed liquid. Most new thrill machines use hydraulics to lift the ride into the air. However, large sets of jets traditionally use compressed air. This is called a pneumatic system.

> The Viper Roller Coaster   Background The Viper was designed by the Italian firm, Pinfari. The ride first spent many seasons thrilling riders at Marvels Amusement Park in Scarborough before being totally renovated and installed at Knowsley. The ride stands just 40 feet high, but packs an incredible punch. Due to its clever design, the Viper can make you leave your seat when you go down one of the drops. The Viper is by far the most popular ride at the park. How it works 1. As the coaster car is dragged up the lift hill, it is being given potential energy. 2. At the top, the car has a lot of potential energy and it's then that gravity takes over. 3. Gravity is a force that pulls everything towards the ground and as the coaster car starts to speed down the first drop, pulled by gravity, the potential energy is changed into movement (kinetic) energy. 4. The faster the car goes, the move movement energy it has! 5. This means that the higher the lift hill, the faster the car will go. On most roller coaster cars, there are three sets of wheels in each corner. " One set of the wheels rests on top of the track. " The second is underneath the track to stop the car flying into the air as it goes over a hill. This is called the upstop wheel. " The third is in contact with the side of the track to let the car go around corner. This is called the side friction wheel. This three wheel system, invented by John Miller in the 1920s, makes sure that roller coaster trains cannot be derailed! If you look closely at the Viper's cars, you'll notice the top set of wheels has an overhanging edge. This allows them to be both top and side wheels in one. GCSE Science You can work out how much kinetic energy and potential energy a coaster car has if you know its height (h) above the ground in metres, its mass (m) and its velocity (v) in m/s. PE = 10 x m x hKE = 1/2 x m x v x v GCSE Science The Viper is shorter than most wooden coasters. This is because steel coasters lose more energy than wooden ones, mainly due to the polyurethane wheels needed for smooth riding and noise reduction.The Viper pulls three 'g' which means that a force three times more powerful than gravity is pushing you into your seat.