Doctor Alfred Müller is a rollercoaster engineer at the Maurer Söhne group, the design team responsible for Drayton Manor’s soon to be launched G-Force ride.
How did you begin designing rollercoasters?
Rollercoasters and other rides have interested me since my early youth. I loved the experience of the adventure park, the movements and the thrills. When I became an engineer I obviously began to see rollercoasters in a new light – as an area of technology which continues to change significantly. In terms of technology, rollercoasters deal with the most valuable commodity of all – human lives. My aim is to put the human being into a dynamic and very complex machine, and use its dynamics to awaken emotions, and convey a very special experience to them.
Are you a fan of riding rollercoasters as well as designing them?
Yes, I like riding in rollercoasters. I like to ride in extreme rollercoasters but I also enjoy riding just as much in lovely family trains. During the design of a new complex, I ride through the circuit hundreds of times. But there’s nothing quite like the genuine ride feeling.
Why do you think rollercoasters are so popular?
I think people love them for the experience of body and mind that is quite unlike anything else in daily life. At what other times in our lives are we totally weightless, or racing at 70kph while upside down around a space that is unfamiliar to us? It’s the variation of physical and psychological moments that make the rollercoaster ride a unique experience.
What's so special about G-Force at Drayton Manor? How and why does it differ from other rollercoasters?
The passenger is only secured by a hip bar (rather than the usual shoulder harness). G force is the same for all rollercoasters as a physical volume. This small change means the rider experiences the force of speed in a totally different way. You feel utterly free and light. With this ride we looked closely at the physical and physiological burdens on the rider – we’ve timed things so that the passenger leaves the ride excited, not ill!
How do you set about designing a brand new rollercoaster?
The process is very varied. Theme parks often have very definite ideas. We consider the target group of the passenger, the terrain, the required capacity – and the budget. We want to create a rollercoaster which will give the most joy to the most people. That means we don’t work to superlatives – we’re not trying to break records with the fastest, biggest, longest coaster.
If money, material and labour were no object, what would be your idea
of a really super duper rollercoaster?
It would be spectacular! I’d give it great heights and inversions, play with passenger’s sensations and distribute beautiful landscape. The important thing for me would be not to overload the ride with record breaking statistics which swamp the passenger.
How do you imagine that rollercoasters will change in the future?
I think that the rollercoaster will develop in various directions. On the one hand, there will be a quest for new records – wilder and scarier than even before. There will also be new developments in the way the passenger is contained in the car. We’re already working on new ideas and concepts – and no, we’re not telling!
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