Skycoaster

Skycoaster
A typical Skycoaster arch tower.
Location	Many Locaions
Manufacturer	Skycoaster, Inc.
Designer	William Kitchen
Model	Single Swing Dual Swing
Height	100 ft - 300 ft
Amusement Parks Portal

A typical Skycoaster's entire structure, including the lifting towers and the main arch

The arch tower of the world's tallest SkyCoaster in Kissimmee, Florida

Skycoaster, (most commonly named RipCord or Xtreme SkyFlyer at Cedar Fair-owned parks), is an amusement park ride, produced and managed by Skycoaster, Inc.. On the ride, riders in groups of 1 to 3 are winched to the top of a launch tower and then dropped towards the ground, swinging from a cable tether back and forth until brought to a rest. Sky Coasters can range from 100–300 feet (30.5–91.4 m) in height. Skycoaster is an Upcharge attraction at most installations, an additional fare is charged to riders who have already paid general admission to the park, and so must pay again for each ride.

History

William Kitchen founder of Sky Fun 1 Inc. and Ken Bird originally came up with the idea of the Skycoaster in 1992. He wanted to find a way to let others experience the thrill of jumping out of a plane. He wanted a ride with the same thrills of bungee jumping but with the safety factor of a merry-go-round. Sky Fun 1 Inc. was Later sold to ThrillTime Entertainment International Inc. for 12 million dollars.

Notable facts

• The company is based in Longmont, parts are manufactured in Nebraska, Texas and Indiana, with the attractions assembled on site.
• Bill Kitchen took his first skydive in 1990. He wanted other people to be able to have the same experience without having to jump from an airplane.
• The first Skycoaster ride opened in 1993; since then, Skycoaster, Inc. has opened more than 108 rides, all around the world.
• Flight cables are made of ⁵⁄₁₆ inches (7.9 mm) galvanized steel, which supports 9,800 pounds (4,445 kg), or stainless steel, which supports 9,000 pounds (4,080 kg). However, the maximum weight for a flight is 850 pounds (386 kg), mainly due to the winch.
• The 3-ring release system used on the Skycoaster is the same kind used on parachutes.
• The flight suits worn are similar to hang gliding suits, and are made by a parachute company to support weight of up to 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg).
• Each flight lasts about 5 minutes.
• The 300-foot (91.4 m) tall Skycoaster is located in Kissimmee, Florida at Fun Spot USA. It's the tallest SkyCoaster in the world.
• The first amusement park to make a permanent installation of a SkyCoaster is Kennywood.
• The Royal Rush Skycoaster in Canon City, Colorado momentarily hangs fliers at a height of 1,200 ft (366 m) above the Arkansas River at the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park.
• Arlington, Texas has two Skycoasters within 3 miles of each other; one at Six Flags Over Texas and the other at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor.

Sky Coaster Operation

• Sky Coaster Operations are strictly followed from the Sky Coaster Owners Manual. This is published each year.

Positions

• Customer Representative: This position is generally the cashier. They are responsible for answering general questions about the ride and selling tickets.

• Video Person: This person is the one that video tapes the fliers on the ride.

• Flight Suiter: A flight suiter is the first trained person according to the Owners Manual. The Flight Suiter's responsibility is to ensure all fliers are correctly suited in one of five sizes of flight suits.

• Expediter: This crew member is responsible for helping the controllers. They brief the flier on what is required of them during their flight, and escort the flier to the lift platform and assist in lowering the launch bridle.

• Assistant Controller: The assistant controller hooks the fliers to the Flight Cables and the Launch Release System.

• Controller: This is the person that winches the fliers to the top of the tower. Although they work with the Assistant controller on the platform, they do not assist in the hooking up of the fliers, rather they watch the Assistant controller do it and make sure all carabiners are locked and fliers are hooked up safely.

• Site Controller: This position is the most trained of all the crew at Sky Coaster. They receive over 24 hours of training. They are also certified by Sky Coaster, INC. In addition to performing other tasks such as controlling, they will check important mechanical aspects of the Skycoaster ride to make sure they are within guidelines for operational compliance.

• Senior Site Controller: This is a title more than a certification. They are responsible for the training and overall operation of the ride.

Types of Sky Coasters

There are two types of sky coasters:

• Rolling boarding platform: A cart is rolled out to and from flight line in order to help the flyers on and off the ride

• Scissors lift: An elevator-like platform is raised up and down to allow flyers on and off the ride.

Sky Coaster University

• A yearly convention takes place. The senior site controller from each site is required to attend.

Amusement Parks with Skycoasters

Park Name	Ride Name	Location	Height
Fun Spot USA	Skycoaster	Kissimmee, Florida	300 feet or 91.4 metres
Parque de la Costa	VertigoXtremo	Tigre, Buenos Aires, Argentina	213 feet or 64.9 metres
Skyborne	Skycoaster	London, England	200 feet or 61 metres
PlayCenter	Skycoaster	São Paulo, São Paulo Brazil	197 feet or 60 metres
Wild Adventures	Geronimo Skycoaster	Valdosta, Georgia	190 feet or 57.9 metres
State Fair of Texas	SkyCoaster	Dallas, Texas	189 feet or 57.6 metres
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor	Caribbean Swing	Arlington, Texas	189 feet or 57.6 metres
Worlds of Fun	RipCord	Kansas City, Missouri	189 feet or 57.6 metres
Michigan's Adventure	RipCord	Muskegon, Michigan	183 feet or 55.8 metres
Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort	SkyCoaster	New Braunfels, Texas	183 feet or 55.8 metres
Kennywood	Skycoaster	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	180 feet or 54.9 metres
Lake Compounce	Skycoaster	Bristol, Connecticut	180 feet or 54.9 metres
Valleyfair	RipCord	Shakopee, Minnesota	180 feet or 54.9 metres
Darien Lake	Skycoaster	Darien, New York	180 feet or 54.9 metres
Six Flags Over Georgia	Skycoaster	Austell, Georgia	180 feet or 54.9 metres
Ultimate Rush Speed & Thrill Park	Ultimate Rush	Reno, Nevada	180 feet or 54.9 metres
United Entertainment & Tourism Company		Shaab park, Kuwait	180 feet or 54.9 metres
Hopi Hari	Hadikali	Vinhedo, São Paulo, Brazil	174 feet or 53 metres
La Ronde	La Catapulte	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	173 feet or 52.7 metres
Canada's Wonderland	Xtreme SkyFlyer	Vaughan, Ontario, Canada	170 feet or 51.8 metres
Great Escape	Sky Coaster	Lake George, New York	175 feet or 53.3 metres
Seoul Land	SKY-X	Seoul, South Korea	165 feet or 50.3 metres
Superland	Sky Coaster	Rishon LeZion, Israel	165 feet or 50.3 metres
Oakwood Theme Park	Vertigo	Pembrokeshire, Wales	164 feet or 50 metres
Wet'n'Wild Water World	SkyCoaster	Gold Coast, Australia	164 feet or 50.0 metres
Elitch Gardens Theme Park	XLR8R	Denver, Colorado	160 feet or 48.8 metres
Kings Island	Xtreme SkyFlyer	Warren County, Ohio	153 feet or 46.6 metres
Six Flags Magic Mountain	Dive Devil	Valencia, California	153 feet or 46.6 metres
Kings Dominion	Xtreme SkyFlyer	Doswell, Virginia	153 feet or 46.6 metres
Carowinds	Xtreme SkyFlyer	Charlotte, North Carolina	153 feet or 46.6 metres
California's Great America	Xtreme SkyFlyer	Santa Clara, California	153 feet or 46.6 metres
Six Flags Great Adventure	Dare Devil Dive	Jackson, New Jersey	153 feet or 46.6 metres
Six Flags Over Texas	Dive Bomber Alley	Arlington, Texas	153 feet or 46.6 metres
Six Flags St. Louis	Dragon's Wing	Eureka, Missouri	152 feet or 46.3 metres
Cedar Point	RipCord	Sandusky, Ohio	152 feet or 46.3 metres
Lagoon Amusement Park	Skycoaster	Farmington, Utah	143 feet or 43.6 metres
Six Flags New England	Taz's Dare Devil Dive	Agawam, Massachusetts	113 feet or 34 metres
Wild Waves Theme Park	I-5 Sky Dive	Federal Way, Washington	125 feet or 38.1 metres
Six Flags Great America	Dare Devil Dive	Gurnee, Illinois	125 feet or 38.1 metres
South Pier, Blackpool	Skycoaster	Blackpool	120 feet or 36.6 metres
Six Flags America	Skycoaster	Prince George's County, Maryland	115 feet or 35.1 metres
Frontier City	Geronimo	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	113 feet or 34.4 metres
The Track Family Fun Center	Skycoaster	Gulf Shores, Alabama	110 feet or 33.5 metres
Karasyk	Skycoaster	Ayia Napa, Cyprus	110 feet or 33.5 metres
Zero Gravity	Skycoaster	Dallas, Texas	110 feet or 33.5 metres
Big Kahuna's	Skycoaster	Destin, Florida	110 feet or 33.5 metres
The Track Family Recreation Center	SkyFlyer	Destin, Florida	110 feet or 33.5 metres
Tusenfryd	Skycoaster	Oslo, Norway	110 feet or 33.5 metres
Parque Mundo Aventura	Skycoaster	Bogotá D.C., Colombia	110 feet or 33.5 metres
Cici Waterpark	The Skycoaster	Acapulco, Mexico	100 feet or 30.5 metres
Ratanga Junction	The Slingshot	Century City, Cape Town, South Africa	100 feet or 30.5 metres
Nascar Speedpark	Skyflyer	Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	100 feet or 30.5 metres
Ozark Mountain Skycoaster	Skycoaster	Branson, Missouri	100 feet or 30.5 metres
Joyland Park	Sky Coaster	Wichita, Kansas	100 feet or 30.5 metres
Extreme World/Mt. Olympus	Skycoaster	Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin	100 feet or 30.5 metres
Indiana Beach	Sky Coaster	Monticello, Indiana	100 feet or 30.5 metres
Morey's Piers - Adventure Pier	Sky Coaster	Wildwood, New Jersey	100 feet or 30.5 metres
Morey's Piers - Surfside Pier	Sky Coaster	Wildwood, New Jersey	100 feet or 30.5 metres
Funtown Pier	Skycoaster	Seaside Heights, New Jersey	100 feet or 30.5 metres
Royal Gorge Park	Royal Rush	Royal Gorge, Colorado	100 feet or 30.5 metres
Seacoast Fun Park	SkyMax	North Windham, Maine	100 feet or 30.5 metres
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom	Skycoaster	Vallejo, California	100 feet or 30.5 metres
Mitsui Greenland	Parachute Drop	Arao-shi, Japan	0 !Unknown
Tokyo SummerLand		Tokyo, Japan	0 !Unknown

Defunct Skycoasters

Park Name	Ride Name	Location	Height
Geauga Lake	Ripcord	Aurora, OH	100 feet or 30.5 metres
Kentucky Kingdom	Skycoaster	Louisville, Kentucky	180 feet or 54.9 metres
MGM Grand Adventures	Sky Screamer	Las Vegas, Nevada	250 feet or 76.2 metres
Six Flags Astroworld	Barnstormer	Houston, Texas	151 feet or 46 metres
Six Flags New Orleans	Sky Coaster	New Orleans, Louisiana	180 feet or 54.9 metres
The American Adventure	Skycoaster	Ilkeston, Derbyshire	200 feet or 61 metres
Opryland USA	Skycoaster	Nashville, TN	152 feet or 46.3 metres
Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe	Skycoaster	Greensboro, North Carolina	125 feet or 38.1 metres
Bell's Amusement Park	Dive Devil	Tulsa, Oklahoma	113 feet or 34.4 metres

External links

• Skycoaster Official Website
• Royal Rush Skycoaster