Sky Rocket

Sky Rocket
Kennywood Park
Coordinates	40°23′11″N 79°51′53″W / 40.38639°N 79.86472°WCoordinates: 40°23′11″N 79°51′53″W / 40.38639°N 79.86472°W
Status	Operating
Opening date	June 29, 2010
General statistics
Manufacturer	Premier Rides
Lift/launch system	Linear Synchronous Motor
Height	95 ft (29 m)
Drop	90 ft (27 m)
Length	2,100 ft (640 m)
Speed	50 mph (80 km/h)
Inversions	3
Duration	approx. 1:00
Max vertical angle	90°
Height restriction	52 in (132 cm)
Sky Rocket at RCDB Pictures of Sky Rocket at RCDB

Sky Rocket is also a steel roller coaster located at Kennywood Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the first coaster erected at the park since the renovation of the Steel Phantom into the Phantom's Revenge in 2001; it also marks the return of a roller coaster that features inversions. It was completed in the late spring of 2010 and after a period of testing opened at the end of June.

The Sky Rocket occupies the ground formerly held by the Turnpike near the entrance to the park; the Turnpike ride is expected to return to the park in the future in a modified state.

Ride Experience

After exiting the station, the train turns 180 degrees. It then lines up with the launch motors and is accelerated from 0-50 mph (80 km/h) in 3 seconds. It goes up a 95-foot top hat element (without changing direction) into a cutback inversion, which is two half-corkscrews joined together in opposite directions so that the train exits moving 180 degrees from the direction it entered. It goes straight into a Zero-G Roll followed by a 180 degree upwards curve into the mid-course brake run. it comes almost to a complete stop only to plummet to the ground with a near-vertical drop. It goes into a low over-banked turn under the cutback, followed by a corkscrew over another piece of track, creating a head-chopper effect. It goes into another over-banked turn, followed by a series of S-curves to add to the excitement. It does one more 180 degree turn into a series of bunny hops going under the corkscrew. It does one final twist straight into the final brake run.

Trains

The trains are painted red and black with the "Sky Rocket" logo on the front, and each train has 2 cars. The ride also features a harness system, which locks riders in at the waist rather than the shoulders. This gives riders a sense of mobility not usually felt in coasters featuring inversions.

Track

The track is painted blue with white supports.

Notability

Sky Rocket is a powered launch coaster using linear synchronous motors, a first for Premier Rides designs.

It is also one of only three coasters in the world to feature a cutback inversion, Space Mountain: Mission 2 at Disneyland Paris and SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge at Nickelodeon Universe are the only others.

Reception

The Sky Rocket has received positive reviews since opening.

Awards

Golden Ticket Awards: Best Steel Coaster
Year	2010	2011
Ranking	17[1]	44

Golden Ticket Awards: Best New Ride (Amusement Park)
Year	2010
Ranking	3

See also

• Superman: Ultimate Flight (Six Flags Discovery Kingdom), another Premier Rides roller coaster which is considered, by the manufacturer, as Sky Rocket's successor^[2]

References

^{[3] [4] [5]}

1. "Amusement Today — Golden Ticket Winners 2010" (PDF). Amusement Today. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
2. Premier Rides (July 18, 2012). "Premier Rides". Facebook. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
3. "Sky Rocket Opens at Kennywood". COASTER-net. July 1, 2010. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
4. "Kennywood Amusement Park". Kennywood. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
5. Merriman, Chris (June 24, 2010). "The Sky Rocket is just days away from giving Kennywood riders some serious 'air time'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.