Construction On Schedule For Kennywood's New 'Sky Rocket'

Construction of Kennywood Amusement Park's new "Sky Rocket" roller coaster is on schedule, officials said.

SLIDESHOW: Kennywood Rides, Memories

Kennywood officials announced the addition of the supercharged, stratospheric Sky Rocket to its growing lineup of rides and amusements earlier this summer.

The Sky Rocket will launch riders from zero to 50 mph in three seconds. There will be a 95-foot vertical climb before riders plummet 90 degrees downward into a maximum G-force pullout.

Riders will then hit some extended airtime as the train races into an inverted top hat element, passes into a barrel roll and goes vertical again through a twist upward, leading to another pause.

After a traditional corkscrew, a curve to a zero hyphen gravity hill and a series of wave turns, riders finally return to the station.

Kennywood has a faster coaster -- The Phantom's Revenge, at 85 mph -- but the new, so-called "launch coaster" will use a linear synchronous motor (LSM) to create a magnetic field to launch riders to top speed right out the gate. Cedar Point currently features a LSM launch roller coaster called the Maverick.

SLIDESHOW: Existing Roller Coasters Using A LSM Launch System Similar To Kennywood's New Ride (This is a YouTube video showing a ride from the front seat of the Blue Fire roller coaster at Europa Park in Germany. The quick launch of this LSM roller coaster will be similar to that of the new Kennywood roller coaster.)

The new coaster will incorporate technology and features used in other coasters, such as the vertical climb and taking riders upside down, but will be first to combine them into one ride, said Bill Linkenheimer III, secretary and past president of the American Coaster Enthusiasts.

"I'm really excited about it. It's something different, really different for Kennywood," said Linkenheimer, of Ross Township, just north of Pittsburgh. "This is going to blast off like a race car or a rocket."

Park officials said that guests who enjoy rides such as the Jack Rabbit, Racer, Exterminator, Thunderbolt and Phantom's Revenge are sure to look forward the major addition by May 2010.

"It’s an upside down, downside up, sky-flying adventure you won’t soon forget," Kennywood officials said.

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The new roller coaster will be placed in the current location of the Turnpike, a ride that had been at Kennywood since 1966. The Turnpike will be re-added to Kennywood's lineup at a later date.

Its final day of operation was Aug. 16.

New Ride Statistics: Track Length: 2,100 feet Maximum Speed: 50 mph Ride Time: 65 seconds Number of Trains: 2 Number of Cars Per Train: 2 Number of Riders Per Train: 12

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