S&S Skyswats

[HAJiME]

What do people think of them? You don't generally hear a lot of positive or negative comments about them at all... So i thought i'd ask what everyone thinks of the things. They are a pretty new idea, i guess... With like only 3 or somthing in the world and now Astroworld's one is gone, hasn't it? Did anyone ride that one and/or know what happened to it?I'm really indicisive about them. When i first saw that Thorpe' was getting one i was excited. Then i saw the restraints and was worried about hating it. Then i rode it. And didn't much enjoy it. Then i rode it again, and again, and again.. (local park) and began to like it more and more, maybe after getting used to the terrible restraints. And now i'm not too keen on it anymore. Maybe it's one of those rides you can't over-do...

[FLCC Josh]

I've heard they are fun....but not very thrilling. I dunno, never rode one.

[Zingoman]

I want to know how the heck they load them.

[HAJiME]

I don't think they are thrilling or that fun. Going over forwards is cool, i wish they could have that sensation on a coaster of tiling down into the loop up and over. I guess those screamin' squirrels sort of do that, though. But with the same restraints as the blastid' skyswats! Gr! Going backwards on them, however, is just uncumfortable.

I want to know how the heck they load them.

Lol. The arm levels out and the whole arm lowers down the tree-trunk like supports. You get on. And it rises back up before the arm begins to rotate.

[Fisherman]

I just rode SWAT at Astroworld this past weekend for the first time and I must say that it was the most painful ride I have ever ridden. Those restraints are TORTURE DEVICES! I only weigh 160 pounds so it isn't like I didn't fit right in the seat or anything...the lap bar was so incredibly tight that all I could think about while riding was "AAAHHHH this hurts so bad get me out of here!!!" The bar squeezes you in (hydraulically?)...I don't just mean "bear hug" squeeze...I mean "fold your intestines in half" squeeze. The restraints in an Intamin Looping Starship are much more comfortable. I'll never ride a sky swatter again unless they change the restraints.

[Pcw]

It actually looks kinda boring to me. With all of the complaining about those restraints, might as well ride a top spin.

[coasterdude28]

While I have never riden one personally, I have heard alot of comments on them. I have not heard anything that makes me think they are great and I have not heard anything that has made me think they are not great. The restraints sound horrible. There is a rumor that GAdv may be getting SFAW next year. If they do, then I will be able to tell you what I think of it.

[James R]

I've ridden SWAT at AW several times and I think it's quite enjoyable and a very fun ride. Fisherman, to me, the only time it's painful is when then unload, and then the restraint's suck in due to the air compressors supporting the entire ride. And I'm a big guy, so it does hurt then. If you make yourself look bigger than you really are, you can have some comfort room and a bit of space to move around. The ride ops walk around pressing down the restraints. You pull down the shoulder restraints. Those are a tad uncomfortable. You cannot take deep breaths very well as the OSTRs end right where the lungs are located. It's a little awkward to sit in, but the restraints are also the Screaming Squirrel rides.
It's a neat feeling, it actually does feel like your going to smack straight into the pavement below. (The ride is actually in a big dip, a very obtuse angled dip, if I may.) It gets going pretty fast, and if you sit on the front of one of the paddles, it's hilarious to see the other people's reactions. The first time around gives you a taste forward (or backward, depends on which paddle you're on) then you get plunged backward or chunked forward. You can hear the compressors very well from anywhere around the station. I think it's a fun ride. But it's not too fun if you have bad acne, the blood flows to the face/head, and that's a bit painful if you suffer from that ailment. You can wave at people, you can wave at each other, just be sure that everything is safely in a closed/zipped pocket, or else you'll see your cell phone smash into pieces on the pavement. Believe me, I've seen it and it's painful.

[Sir Willow]

Didn't get to ride it when I was at Astroworld a couple of weeks ago as it was down the whole day we were there. But I've heard mostly good things about it, with the restraints being uncomfortable being the biggest complaint.

Astroworld's though isn't "gone" It will get moved to another park, but no one really knows which one yet. There are guesses out there though.

[ScreaminDeltaDemon]

I've never ridden one of these, but based on what I'm hearing from you guys, I'm very, very glad of that. It sounds like a combination of SFSTL Boss, band camp HellWeek, and getting your butt kicked by your personal trainer at the gym. Why are the restraints so tight?

[coasterlove]

I'd guess they're so tight because of the amount of time you're spent upside down on it. Unlike a coaster going through an inversion where the forces alone will usually keep you pushed against your seat in most inversions. This one I'd have to imagine that all of your weight at times will be resting on those restraints.

I've been very interested in this ride since I first saw a segment on it during a coaster/park show a couple years ago. I'm surprised that we haven't seen more of them in the US yet. Maybe it's due to the restraints possibly being uncomfortable and this has affected the ride's popularity? I'm not sure, as time passed, was this ride still very popular at SFAW?

[Skye]

I rode slammer (thorpe) a few weeks ago. Don't know why people say its painful, the restraints are ok, neither bad or good. But the ride itself is just dull, not at all thrilling really. It looks much more fun, much scarier than it actually is. A top scan or something is a lot better. Your not missing much really.

[divster]

Slammer is a let down. looks amazing watching it but once your on it you are just thinking to yourself how boring it is and when is it going to end. to improve akmmer they could of put fountains that sray in your face or some kind of water spraying at you.

[Jerry S]

Well, from what I saw, the restraints are like the top half of a togo coaster and the bottom half os a Screamin Swing. the Screamin Swing I went on was comfortable, but the top half of Viper's restraints were terrible. It's okay, S&S is known for their towers, I just wish they would use those restraints on the SkySwat.

[ltngrcr9051]

I rode SWAT at SFAW a few weeks ago. Not my cuppa tea. I would venture a guess to say that I'm of an average build for a human, which would make me somewhat more slender than the average American, and definitely more slender than the average Texan, and didn't really have any major problems with the restraints, but that's me. The ride itself, I did not enjoy.... I'm not a huge fan of having the blood rush to my brain for thirty seconds at a time, but that's a matter of personal preference.

[Kennywooddude]

IMO, they look better to watch than ride. Though, I never rode one but I seen it and heard some negative and I guess thats where I get my opionion.

[aaronv54]

Our (AW's) Sky Swatter is on it's way to SFNE so maybe some of you will have a chance to ride it yourselves. I always liked to ride on the right side so you went backwards first, my favorite part was going forwards so I saved it for last.

[thrillerman]

I rode SWAT this past weekend and thought it was a lot of fun.