SkyRush Hersheypark 2012

[Wes]

Is it me or do the seats not have any type of crotch section like most have to help hold you in?

[Josh B]

They've got them. The restraints just hide them really well. If you look closely at the far left seat (right seat if in rider's perspective) of the cars in the station from the 11th, you can see it. Suddenly I find it very strange that I'm telling someone to look closely at a crotch piece...

[Leo C]

I got to give Wes credit though. We may have to look hard to see where Intamin was incorrect with engineering just weeks to go before the ride's opening. Questioning the mold of the chair is fair game. Maverick had that roll that had to be removed right before the ride opening.


From Hershey PR

The back of the train. Maybe there will be a plastic piece to cover the rear workings of the lap bar.

The front car and the first row of a train were sitting in the layout. A clearance test must be going on.

[Leo C]

A train is in the station. I think we're on the edge of testing. A test first and second car were pulled through portions of the track at the end of last week.

[Leo C]

x-Flight tested with employees this week. Manta started testing. Skyrush and Iron Shark still have not. I think Skyrush is behind schedule.

There were links to a Gerstlauer facility pics page. They were working on a train with yellow covers. Could that be for the new Sooperdooperlooper trains>

[Leo C]

Cable lift motor has been testing.

[Wes]

Thanks Leo for keeping us updated on all of these, not being in the region this is my only source to keep up with progress!

[Leo C]

Videos of construction being don
Video from the pull through last week of the first car with the first and second rows.

[Joe R]

Yes, those Orange cars are for the SooperDooperLooper from the Gerstlauer page. Regarding SkyRush, they have been moving it back out of the station to sit on the back brakes. I believe there was talk about the catch cable not working right or something.

[Antoine]

Is this ride running behind schedule? It seems awfully late into the year for them to be just now doing a car pull through. This is a tedious task and takes a lot of time. At this rate, I would guess that the earliest you see the ride open is June. And I'm leaning towards middle/late June at that. It is nice to see Intamin take a lesson from Mack with their new restraint system though.

[Leo C]

sooperdooperLooper » Gerstlauer Amusement Rides I was hoping it was yellow trains from earlier pics I saw.

[Joe R]

It is more of an orange color to me. Same trains though as the earlier pics. Then again, they ARE getting two so maybe one IS yellow.

[Wes]

What is the pullout like off the first drop? Looking at the animation it looks pretty much like the I305 turn, hopefully with the slower speed they won't have the blackout problems.

The pics though of Comet Hollow are just a tangled mess of various coaster track now. I guess that's not a bad thing, but just kinda strange when most parks are so spread out.

[Joe R]

Kinda is, kinda isnt. Yes because it has the turn, no because you are still dropping while in the turn, so there is never a true flat portion of this turn. Actually, I believe none of the turns are ever trully flat (like I305).

[Leo C]

Joe is right. On Intimidator 305 the track is still what 50-60 feet in the air and it's already twisting and banking to form the first drop turn.

The catch car is testing. People are gushing over how very fast it is. I'm hoping it's just an initial testing speed and slowed down. Can the coaster have anytime to smoothly go over the crest than just rush over it? I'm more traditional. I wasn't a big fan of the Maverick low speed launch lift.

[Joe R]

Well people, the time has come for this to officially start testing. As I type this, there are water dummies on the train and a seat check happening.

[Leo C]

I've seen foggy pics of water dummies sitting on a Skyrush train today. Didn't X-Flight start testing the day after the water dummies were loaded?

[Leo C]

First run!!! Skyrush tested for the first time ever today. The train crested the lift. I only saw a few pictures so far. Everyone wants to see the video to judge its speed. Joe R. was all over this.

From the park's Twitter:


From Inside Hershey's facebook page. inside the park. This would be the return path of the train before it turns left to cross over the Comet.

Now here is Video:


New Sooperdooperlooper train is on the track now.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...type=3&theater

[Leo C]

Now this is more of a first day testing video we wanted to see. The coaster is very fast over the second and third hills. I'm cautious. I know there will be plenty of Gs there and I can take it. I just want to ensure there is comfort on those trains. I will surely research that when I get on that train.

[Leo C]

Video Landing Page - ABC27 WHTM
A news story about the park's opening day mentioning the anticipation of Skyrush's debut and using the Youtube coverage previously mentioned in the posts the last two days.

[Leo C]

This rushed to the top hyper variant is going to need to take some getting used to.
I like my NITRO and I surely enjoy hearing "Look before you leap" as I crest on Bizarro down to that drop into the tunnel.

[Joe R]

That isnt even full speed yet. This is between Millennium Forces and I305 lift speed.

While most of the guys in the group had completely flamed me when I made an observation about the first test run (even taking into account that it is just pure gravity and no lift speed), Im kinda glad that Im not a Jr Researcher and chose HoliWood Nights over Memorial Day Weekend. It sucks that I wont be seeing the group I met in October of last year (as well as one, maybe two others outside of Leo), but I would get end up getting miffed at those praising it as the seemingly next coming of Jesus and not give it a proper review.

Best of Luck Leo, say hi to Tom, Brandon, Walter and Chris for me!

[Leo C]

It's still too short for me. It's going to use its rush to the elements to get to us.

[Joe R]

Exactly, which is why this ride may never hit number 1 like they want it to. The rides pace is basically AIRTIME to slight slight ejector after the Questionable Stengal. This honestly has a horrible pace to it, and the only thing getting it this much popularity is the Winged Trains

[Wes]

To be as short as the hills are, it seems really slow. They must be trimming it a lot.

[Leo C]

As in the latter hills. The Stengel Dive is the speed slicer.

[Leo C]

The speed over the lift hill is reminding me of the human side of the Battlestar Galactica coaster.

[Leo C]

Three trims have been added to the course.

It's one week away to the public debut of Skyrush!

[amnesiac]

Skyrush is amazing! I rode in the last row and the speed of the lift really flings you over the top of the hill. The airtime is intense and the new restraint design is a huge improvment over Intamin's previous models.

[Leo C]

Skyrush is down for the remainder of the season. The star attraction of this 2012 season is not included in Halloween event schedule for the park. Perhaps it is getting a restraint replacement. Perhaps the station will get reconfigured, which is desperately needed. A new rumor came up on Screamscape that the axles on the coaster wore too much. That's a potential wheel assembly problem.

I wish the whole train got redesigned. It's a bad idea to have a 2 seat per row hyper train just given an extended frame with two additional seats and keep that same jagged floor that's only acceptable for an enclosed 2 seated row car. The floor should be flat and flush. B&M molded this with us for 20+years.