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Kennywood Debuts Sky Rocket Roller Coaster

PITTSBURGH,None — Kennywood Park debuted its new roller coaster, the Sky Rocket, to the media on Monday.

Channel 11 and WPXI.com had crews at the park who rode the coaster. The reporters, photographers and interns said it was thrilling but smooth. A few of them rode it a couple times because it was so much fun.

Kennywood describes the Sky Rocket as "a seriously twisted, pulse detonating, supercharged, stratospheric new ride experience." The amusement park said riders will "vertical climb and say adios to gravity as (they) go over-the-top and plummet 90-degrees due south."

Rob On The Run Rides Coaster Raw Video: Kennywood Debuts Sky Rocket Roller Coaster

The Sky Rocket joins the ranks of the Lil' Phantom, Exterminator, Jack Rabbit, Racer, Thunderbolt and Phantom's Revenge.

"This roller coaster will provide a thrilling new experience for coaster lovers at Kennywood," explains general manager Jerome Gibas. "The use of LSM launch technology will allow riders to blast from 0 to 50 mph in three seconds and offers our first roller coaster with inversions since the Steel Phantom."

After the high-speed launch, riders will experience a vertical ascent to 95 feet before a brief cliffhanger pause at the top and a 90 degree drop into a maximum G-force pullout, according to Kennywood.

The riders will then enjoy extended airtime as the train races into an inverted top hat element, passes into a barrel roll and goes vertical again through a twist up, leading to another pause. Riders then experience a second vertical free fall followed by another maximum G-force pullout on the way into a highly banked fan curve. After a traditional corkscrew, a curve to a zero gravity hill, and a series of wave turns, riders finally return to the station.

The new roller coaster was built where the Turnpike once sat. The Turnpike's last day was in August of 2009. Park officials have said the ride could return to the park someday.

Structural work was performed by Century Steel of Dravosburg. The coaster builder was Premier Rides of Maryland.

The public began riding the coaster on Tuesday.

Previous Stories: June 24, 2010: Launch Of Kennywood's New Roller Coaster Delayed

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