SKY ROCKET
CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
APRIL 23, 2010 |
| Welcome back to another construction update for Kennywood's newest coaster, Sky Rocket. It's been several days since our last update and to make it up to you we are posting our largest update to date with a total of 40 pictures. Best of all, most of these pictures were taken inside the construction area thanks to Jeff Filicko of Kennywood Public Relations. Thanks Jeff! We have quite a bit of picturs to get through, so lets get on with the update. |
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We'll start this update with a view of the construction site from outside the park. As you can see most of the supports for the top hat are now up, with the exception of the one in the middle which I believe is the tallest one. |
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Another view from outside the park, this time of the turn leading up to the mid-course brakes and second drop. This picture gives you a very good idea of just how tall the second drop is going to be. |
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We now move inside of the park for this view of the station area from the front of the park. Quite a bit of new track has been put up since our last update, including the final brake run as seen in this picture. |
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A closer view of the station area from the construction site. |
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Here's a look at the cargo contain containing the coaster's PLC. The loading platform for the station will be right above this. |
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A look at the inner-workings of Sky Rocket. |
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We saw that the launch track was all complete in one of our previous updates, but workers have been working a lot on the components of the launch in preparation for the installation of the LSMs. |
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Where else are you going to find a shot like this other than at Kennywood Connection? Thanks again Jeff! |
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As I mentioned, quite a bit of track has been installed since our last update, including the final brake runs. The coasters circuit is now complete from where they left off at the surf curves to the end of the launch. |
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Looking down what we believe is the path guests will be taking as they approach the station to load the coaster. Guests should be able to get some good views of the coaster launching as they wait in line. |
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If you look closely, there are some empty brackets on this brake run which I believe will be where the pneumatic (or pinch) brakes will be installed. |
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A look at the newly installed supports for the turn up to the mid-course brakes and second drop. Not even at the apex of the turn, it looks like this portion of the ride is going to be pretty high off the ground. |
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Looking in the area of the first drop, you can see the progres they have made on the last update. Looks as if only one or two more pieces need to be installed before the top hat supports are complete. |
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In other news, the piece for the surf curves that has been sitting on the construction site for the last few weeks has now been installed. Not sure what prevented them from installing the piece, but it might have been due to one of the supports. |
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A look at the end of the coaster's launch. Don't expect to see any track for the first hill to put put up anytime soon, as it wil be the last part of the coaster to be constructed. |
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A closer look at the progress made on the top hat as well as the first overbank supports. With how tall the second drop seems to be, I would assume the train is going to have some very good speed going through this part of the track as well as the surf curves. |
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A nice look at our good friend "Big Red". This guy has been very busy over the last few days and we are glad he is back at Kennywood for the time being! Also in this picture are what looks to be the supports for the bottom of the second drop. This gives you a very good idea of how big of a drop the second one is. |
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A nice look in the area of the corkscrew element with the newly installed surf curve piece installed. Should be any day now that track is installed here. |
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An up-close and personal look at the entrance to the corkscrew. Also if you look closely you can see what looks to be someone's McDonald's cup. Hopefully this doesn't remain there once the coaster opens. :) |
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Looking up at the massive top hat supports. |
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Another look at the top hat supports. As some feared, this might not be a completely inverted top hat based on these supports, but I would say that it is going to be very over-banked. |
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A nice shot of the corkscrew and bunny hill area. This would be a very cool shot once track is installed and a train is flying by. |
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A close-up of Sky Rocket's third and final overbank turn. |
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With that piece of surf curve track now installed, the surf curves are nearing completion. I would assume only one more piece is needed to finish them off. |
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I think this shot is pretty self explanatory. The trees within the coaster are going to be a very nice touch when this coaster opens. I'm extremely glad they decided to keep some trees instead of completely clearing the area like some other park chains! |
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Some more surf curve goodness. |
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Another look at the coaster's final overbank turn. |
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If you look in the background at the supports for the top hat, you can get a good idea of how inverted the top hat is really going to be. As I said, it looks like its going to be more of a overly banked turn than a completely inverted top hat like seen on some other Premier launchers. |
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A look at where they have left off on the track thus far. As I said, one more piece of surf curve track should be going up soon and then work on the second overbank turn can commence. |
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A nice look at the end of the surf curves and entry into the final overbank turn. |
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Several of the light posts for the Turnpike are still standing. I'm curious to know if this will still be standing when the coaster opens or if they will be taken down. |
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Even more surf curve goodness. Take note of how close the light posts come to the track, I would be very surprised if this are left standing for much longer. |
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If you can't tell, this picture was taken in the area of the coaster's second overbank turn. It gives you a good idea of what you'll be seeing from the midway in the park. |
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This shot gives you a pretty good idea of just how tall the top hat looks from inside the park. |
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We're not exactly sure where the entrance to the coaster is going to be, but we may be very close in this picture.You can also see the very interesting, but not completed, support for this overbank turn. |
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A look at the coaster's first brake run or "slow down zone". Take note of the magnetic fins which will be used to slow the train down before it reaches the pneumatic brakes. |
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Another look at that funky support for the overbank turn. Take note of all the new track that has been installed. We also might be getting very close to the coaster's entrance in this picture. |
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A look at the finale of the coaster. All the track from the bunny hills to the station is now installed. |
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Nearing the park exit/entrance, here's one final shot of Sky Rocket's station and maintenance area. |
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We'll finish off this update what all guests will see as they leave the park. Sky Rocket has certainly made quite the change to the park's atmosphere. You can also see that the former ATM building has been removed and the park has completed the mural on the wall. Very nice touch! |
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Thanks for checking out today's Sky Rocket Construction Update brought to you by Kennywood Connection. Stay tuned for another update in the coming days as more supports and track start to rise at Kennywood! |
Thank you to KWC member Myself for providing the pictures used in today's construction update and Jeff Filicko of Kennywood Public Relations for making this update possible! |
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