Half Pipe Plans

A half-pipe:
A half-pipe is a U-shaped base structure or runway with high sides that is used in extreme sports. The concave shape of a half-pipe makes it possible for extreme sports athletes to build up speed by moving from one wall to another and to perform a variety of hair-raising, mid-air tricks. Half-pipes were originally developed for skateboarding, but are now practically indispensable for skiing, snowboarding, in-line skating and BMX performances as well.

When the half-pipe was first introduced in extreme sports, it was exactly what it sounds like – it was made from the two half-sections of a pipe. The flat bottom half-pipe, which, as must be obvious, has a flat area between the two half-sections, came on the scene in the 1980s, and has since become the accepted style for half-pipes. The flat bottom assists the athlete in maintaining and regaining balance and in speeding up when required. It also works out as a brief respite between tricks to think over what you're going to do next and how. Half-pipes can come in various other designs now, especially customizable designs that include adding channels and extensions to the half-pipe. You can make the transition more vertically inclined or you can add a roll-in. It all depends on what you can manage and on how exciting and challenging you want your ride to be.

Half pipe plans:
A well-designed half-pipe normally includes an entry ramp, a central horizontal flat area, curved transitions, vertical walls, copings and a horizontal flat deck or platform topping the wall. You can create different designs by changing and mixing different factors such as the half-pipe's transition radius, height, flat bottom area and width.

The height of the half-pipe is generally 50 to 70 percent of the transition radius – it is less than 50% for ramps for beginners - and the ratio of the two gives us the lip angle. And this angle makes a difference in how effective or ineffective the half-pipe will eventually be.

With extra width, the half-pipe can prove real handy for longer slides and grinds, but there doesn't seem to be much point in having a longer flat bottom.

Building a half-pipe:
A half-pipe can be constructed out of wood, metal and concrete, or can be made from piled up or dug out dirt or snow.

Half-pipes that are used for skateboarding and biking generally have a wooden or metal framework, which is covered first with plywood sheets and then lined with either Masonite, Skatelite, RampArmor, HARD-Nox sheets or metal sheets. Skatelite, RampArmor and HARD-Nox sheets don't come cheap, but are very durable and will offer an excellent ride. So it is really worth investing in them if it fits the budget. The covering sheets are welded on or attached with screws to the framework.

For outdoor winter sports, the half-pipes are usually carved out of snow. And when the snow melts, the dug out half-pipes can be used by other extreme sports enthusiasts like dirt-boarders, motorcyclists, and mountain bikers.

Half-pipes used in snow sports take quite a while and time to construct. You must take care to avoid the formation of both different layers of snow and air pockets and make sure too that the bottom is straight and flat and parallel to the platforms, and that the platforms too are flat and evenly formed. Half-pipes in snow were once created painstakingly by hand. Nowadays, however, it is usual for most pipes to be carved out of large sections of piled up snow using a heavy machinery apparatus. The Finnish-made HPG half-pipe grinders – especially the latest superpipe grinder the HPG Ultra G23 – are most commonly used for constructing and maintaining half-pipes. Another popular half-pipe making machine is the Swiss-made Zaugg Pipe Monster, which cuts snow swiftly and safely with 5 elliptical-shaped haspels or cutting edges.