A typical Skycoaster arch tower.

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

Skycoaster, most commonly also named Ripcord (in Cedar Fair, L.P.-owned theme parks) or Xtreme SkyFlyer (in former Paramount-owned theme parks), is an amusement park ride, produced and managed by Skycoaster, Inc. Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, legally known as Cedar Fair L Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California. Paramount Parks was an operator of Theme parks and attractions which annually attracted about 13 million patrons Rides redirects here For the album by Reef see Rides (album, and for the BBC television series see Rides (TV series. . On the ride, riders in groups of 1 to 3 are winched to the top of a launch tower and then dropped to the ground, swinging from a cable tether back and forth until brought to a rest. A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up or let out (wind out or otherwise adjust the " Tension " of a Rope or Wire rope Sky Coasters can range from 100–300 feet (30–91 m) in height. In most cases, riders who already paid admission to the park must pay again to ride the Skycoaster.

Notable facts

• The first Skycoaster ride opened in 1993; since then, Skycoaster, Inc. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) has opened more than 108 rides, all around the world.
• Flight cables are made of 5/16 inch (0. 8 cm) galvanized steel, which supports 9,800 pounds (4,445 kg), or stainless steel, which supports 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg). Hot-dip galvanizing is a form of Galvanization. It is the process of coating Iron or Steel with a thin Zinc layer by passing the steel In Metallurgy, stainless steel is defined as a Steel Alloy with a minimum of 11 However, the maximum weight for a flight is 850 pounds (385 kg), mainly due to the winch.
• The 3-ring release system used on the Skycoaster is the same as that used on parachutes. 3-ring release system is a Parachute component that is widely used by sport skydivers to attach the two risers of a main parachute to the harness that bears the load under the A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag.
• 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 (4,535 kg). History See also History of hang gliding Summary: Hang gliding existed in China perhaps by the 4th century AD according to the writing of the
• Each flight lasts about 5 minutes.
• The 300 foot tall Skycoaster is located in Kissimmee, Florida. Kissimmee (kɪˈsɪmi with the accent on the second syllable is a city in Osceola County, Florida, United States. It's the tallest SkyCoaster in the world.

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 is responsible to suit all fliers in their flight suits. There are 5 sizes of flight suits.

• Expediter: This crew member is responsible for helping the flight crew. This position is not used at locations with rolling board platforms.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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 Convention

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

Amusement Parks with Skycoasters

External links

• Skycoaster Official Website