BSA Mike
  •  BSA Mike
  • 59.16% (Neutral)
  • Operations Foreman Topic Starter
Sunday, February 20, 2005 7:33:23 PM
My uncle has a program that he always makes lot plans on, and im not quite sure what it is, but i was wondering if or what anyone else uses, sometimes the town wants a lot layout before you roll in, anyone know any good programs? ...
Ryan
  •  Ryan
  • 57.38% (Neutral)
  • Lot Foreman
Sunday, February 20, 2005 7:40:29 PM
this is interesting, this got me to thinking about all the different ways I have seen lots layed out...

spray painted
chalked
flags
metal signs in ground (MBS)
no markings (a lost old art)
computer graphed out

anyone got any others??
www.modernmidways.com 
"If life was fair elvis would be alive and the impersonators would be dead"-carson
MikeH
  •  MikeH
  • 50.24% (Neutral)
  • Maintenance Supervisor
Sunday, February 20, 2005 7:46:03 PM
I've seen aerial photos taken of the fairgrounds that had scale paper cutouts of the ride locations laid down on the photos.
BSA Mike
  •  BSA Mike
  • 59.16% (Neutral)
  • Operations Foreman Topic Starter
Sunday, February 20, 2005 7:49:59 PM
i should have been more clear....

COMPUTER PROGRAMS....

im thinking auto CAD is the program my uncle uses....but not sure
Boils The Clown
Sunday, February 20, 2005 8:01:47 PM
Use a program that kicks out vector graphics.
I would recommend :
Abobe Illustrator 1st
Then Maybe Macromedia's Freehand, Fireworks, or you could even go with Flash.
I hope this helps.



Come See My Fun House ,  & My Fun House Photo Gallery  
UserPostedImage
~ By All Means.....When In Doubt .....Jump On The "Blame Boils Bandwagon" ! ~
gruelurks
Sunday, February 20, 2005 8:03:22 PM
Very well could be AutoCad. I've seen it used before to lay out lots, replete with large blueprints printed out.

I'd be wary of any lotman who uses Rollercoaster Tycoon to plot out a lot though...
with-it
  •  with-it
  • 59.3% (Neutral)
  • Operations Foreman
Sunday, February 20, 2005 8:29:09 PM
popcans and woodblocks....lol We had a dog on the show who would bring the blocks back to you after you laid them down....Only if he had opposible thumbs...lol He was smarter and cleaner than some of the other help...lol
Matt C.
Sunday, February 20, 2005 8:33:58 PM
AutoCad is probaly a good idea... I know Ray Cammack Shows uses some type of drafting program to lay out their lots also.

I dont know if I would recomend illistrator or flash to lay out a lot. Those programs are great for graphics and animation, but not for specific drawings of scale using actual dimensions.
Matt Cook
Matt's Carnival Warehouse / Matt's Web Design
http://www.carnivalwarehouse.com 
http://www.mwdwebdesign.com 
Pinetar
  •  Pinetar
  • 87.34% (Honored)
  • Operations Foreman
Sunday, February 20, 2005 9:39:00 PM
Autocad is to much jack, I have Designcad Express. However, I was a draftsman in Nam, so I always drew up plot plans for city licenses.
UserPostedImage
Boils The Clown
Sunday, February 20, 2005 10:06:05 PM
Quote:

quote:


Originally posted by Matt C.

I dont know if I would recomend illistrator or flash to lay out a lot. Those programs are great for graphics and animation, but not for specific drawings of scale using actual dimensions.



Oh Sorry, I misread the topic I guess, [V]
I also didn't realize that you needed specific drawings of scale using actual dimensions. [V]

Come See My Fun House ,  & My Fun House Photo Gallery  
UserPostedImage
~ By All Means.....When In Doubt .....Jump On The "Blame Boils Bandwagon" ! ~
RRSHOW1
  •  RRSHOW1
  • 57.26% (Neutral)
  • Maintenance Supervisor
Monday, February 21, 2005 2:08:18 AM
I used a $10 program called Home Design for years. I made a library of rides to scale & imported the ones I needed to the drawing. Only problem I had was that rotation was limited to 45 degrees each time. It is almost impossible to find it today,though.
britt
  •  britt
  • 97.96% (Exalted)
  • Operations Foreman
Monday, February 21, 2005 4:45:43 AM
i saw one somewhere one time mike someone was using. cannot remember. this might be an opportunity for some of you computer wizzes to put all the ride footprints into scale and create a program to market to carnivals. do not forget food and games dimensions. all a carnival owner would have to do is put in the dimensions of the lot and them place the rides from a memory bank as rrshow did. this could also help committees in arranging entertainment layout, indys etc to make everything flow. would be helpful to know that a music ride was planned to be next to an entertainment complex and it might need to be somewhere else. also would be nice to have the ride layout a couple weeks in advance rather than a few days. be good to know where the food concessions are also so that all the poppers, funnel cakes, pizza, etc are not grouped together.
cny_chris
Monday, February 21, 2005 5:17:31 AM
Something that hasn't been mentioned yet is the need to consider not only the footprint of the ride, but the operating airspace that a ride may need. Rides like the KMG Fireball, swinging pirate ships, etc. that may need a bigger footprint in the air than when it's not running. Most times something that is lower to the ground can be placed under some of this airspace. A number of the CADD type programs do have the ability to 3D model, which some of the "floorplan" type 2D programs don't have. We've all heard the stories of setting pieces up too close to each other, and then having to move one to satisfy the inspector.

A good site plan with any overhead or lateral obstructions would also be needed to do this right, even elevation differences could be a factor. For those who do use a computer to lay out the lot, how do you get your plan of the lot -- do you depend on the committee to give it to you, do you measure it yourself, or do you have someone with surveying experience map the lot out?


"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." - Lao-Tsu

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase." - Martin Luther King Jr.

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." - Robert F. Kennedy
britt
  •  britt
  • 97.96% (Exalted)
  • Operations Foreman
Monday, February 21, 2005 5:26:14 AM
i forgot to put in about the swinging arc chris. we are flat, no trees and no power lines to worry about but many spots have those problems.
BSA Mike
  •  BSA Mike
  • 59.16% (Neutral)
  • Operations Foreman Topic Starter
Monday, February 21, 2005 6:00:38 AM
Quote:

quote:


Originally posted by Pinetar

Autocad is to much jack, I have Designcad Express. However, I was a draftsman in Nam, so I always drew up plot plans for city licenses.



Just download that from Download.com and i got a 30 day trial, im gunna screw around w/ it and if i like it ima buy it...