Xtreme Skyflyer

Xtreme Skyflyer
The "arch" in 2011 at Canada's Wonderland
Canada's Wonderland Area Action Zone Status Operating Opening date 1996
California's Great America Status Operating Opening date 1997
Carowinds Area Planet Snoopy Status Operating Opening date 1995
Kings Dominion Area Candy Apple Grove Status Operating Opening date 1996
Kings Island Area Action Zone Status Operating Opening date 1995
General statistics
Manufacturer	Skycoaster
Model	Dual Swing
Height	45.6 m (150 ft)
Drop	45.6 m (150 ft)
Participants per group	1 - 3
Duration	Varies (Anywhere around 3-5 minutes)
Height restriction	48 in (122 cm)
Capacity	Total capacity varies
Single rider line available
This is a pay-per-use attraction

Xtreme Skyflyer (known as RipCord at Carowinds^[1] ) is a Skycoaster at several Cedar Fair parks. The Carowinds and Kings Island models opened in 1995, while the Canada's Wonderland and Kings Dominion models opened in 1996 followed by California's Great America which opened their model in 1997.^[2][3] In order to ride the attraction, guests must pay an extra fee.

Structure

Xtreme Skyflyer is mainly made up of 5 parts. The first part is the "arch". This is where the cables holding the riders are attached to. The second parts are the two towers which hold the lift cables. When riders are ready to release the cable, they are at the top of either tower. The third part is the scissor lift which brings up and down riders from the cables. The fourth parts are the cables that hold the riders during the entire cycle. The final part is the lift cable which brings riders to the top of the ride giving riders the maximum experience.^[4]

Ride experience

Riders first step on to a scissor lift where they are raised into the loading position. Operators then hook the riders onto a cable that brings the riders to the top of the tower and a cable that holds the riders during the free-fall. Once the riders are securely attached to the cable and the operators say it is safe to operate, the scissor lift is brought down and the riders are pulled to the top of the tower. Once the riders reach the top, they must wait until the operator at the bottom says to "pull the cord". The operator will usually say "tower one / two: 3, 2, 1, fly." At this point, the rider at the far right (unless there is a single rider) must pull the cord releasing them from the lift cable. During the first drop, riders experience about 3 to 4 seconds of free-falling. After about 10 swings, an operator will lift a hydraulic cable with a loop at the top which then a rider will have to grab and hold on to. After grabbing the cable, the riders will come to a stop just above the scissor lift. The next riders will step onto the lift where the previous riders will be unloaded and they will be attached to the lift cable where the cycle begins again. One cycle can last anywhere between 3 to 5 minutes.^[5][6]

References

1. Herlad, Rock Hill (March 29, 2014). "2014 Carowinds season opens today". The State. Archived from the original on April 6, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
2. "Carowinds Xtreme Skyflyer". Carowinds. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
3. "Kings Island Xtreme Skyflyer". Kings Island. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
4. "Canada's Wonderland Xtreme Skyflyer Photo". JunSuk (Panoramio). Retrieved October 24, 2011.
5. "Canada's Wonderland Xtreme Skyflyer POV". adpxbluff (Youtube). June 8, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
6. "Canada's Wonderland Xtreme Skyflyer POV 2". kemchho2003 (YouTube). August 8, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2011.