Prof Brendan Walker is a professional “thrill engineer” who has created white-knuckle roller coaster rides for Alton Towers and Thorpe Park.
What’s the scariest moment of a theme park ride? When we accelerate? Or when we teeter on the brink before hurtling down? According to the self-styled “thrill engineer”, Prof Brendan Walker, it's neither of the above. The scariest moment is when the safety restraints lock down and we realise there’s no escape.
“Clearly a ride has to be amazing – you have to be scared," he explains. "So building anticipation is key – a lot of artistry and choreography comes into it.”
Prof Walker likes to play with people’s minds. “You are limited in how far you can push someone physically – there’s only so much g-force our bodies can take before we black out. So if you are designing a ride, you look at psychological factors.”
He’s recently ridden one of the UK’s oldest wooden roller coasters. “Metal is rigid but wood structures sway and wobble. This is as scary as it gets – I’m wondering how I can use this.”
As a child he liked taking fireworks apart; a story which helped him get an apprenticeship
One of his latest projects, Oscillate, takes a simple swing to a new level, with the help of a virtual reality headset. From the outside, you are merely sitting on a swing. “As you move up and down, a computer works out where you are in space," says Prof Walker.
"You’re in this crazy graphic computerised world which makes you feel as if your body is being pushed to the limit. I’m manipulating light and sounds and perceptions of how high you are swinging – it’s quite psychedelic.”
Today, he’s been speaking to a sculptor at his east London design studio, but you’d also find him working with engineering and science departments at the universities of Nottingham and Middlesex, where he collaborates with researchers to perfect rides and installations. And while the future of theme parks might involve smaller structures and more virtual reality, there will always be room for a flamboyant signature ride, he says.
Physics, maths and engineering are critical. Add to that an understanding of showmanship
While Prof Walker doesn’t sound much like an engineer, he worked as one for five years in military aeronautics. As a child he liked to take fireworks apart, which he believes helped him get an apprenticeship with British Aerospace. But even then he was intrigued by the pilot’s experience and aircraft aesthetics, so he took himself to the Royal College of Art to study industrial design – and emerged as an artist engineer.
Theme park rides seemed a natural outlet and he’s consulted for the likes of Alton Towers and Thorpe Park, investigating how long the feeling of fear lasts – around half a second – before our instinct to act kicks in. This helped designers fix the height of a drop.
Students often ask him how to get a job like his and he admits there’s no simple answer. But, he says, core skills such as physics, maths and engineering are critical. Add to that an understanding of the showmanship, the theatre of experience. “If you can apply your core skills to find creative solutions, then employers will kill to hire you.”
Last month, Prof Walker attended The Skills Show, hosted by the not-for-profit employer led engineering skills organisation
Semta. Winners from the show’s WorldSkills UK engineering competitions will join the UK team going to the EuroSkills finals in Gothenburg, Sweden from December 1-3, ahead of world finals in Abu Dhabi in October 2017.
“I meet a lot of undergraduates,” he says. “When they begin to understand how applicable their engineering skills are, you see their eyes widening.”
