Questions for a Skycoaster Operator?

Hey guys, I've been operating a Skycoaster for the better part of a year now. I am a certified Site Controller, meaning I had to pass a written and physical exam. Skycoaster is operated very, very differently than normal rides, so I'm happy to answer any questions about it, I'll answer anything except which one I operate. I've also operated plenty of other rides so I'm happy to answer questions about those as well.

Cheapest place / time typically to do this ride?

The cheapest prices you will see in my experience is 15-20 dollars, more typically they are 30 or more but some parks give discounts. The 300 foot one in Kissimmee is only 20 dollars with the purchase of an all day wristband, so that has to be the best deal.

I bring my Site Controller certificate to other parks and they always let me ride for free, so become an operator for the best price!

In terms of crowds the time to do it doesn't really matter since I've never seen a line at my location or any others I've visited. Like any other tall ride, night is my favorite time to ride.

If someone doesn't pull the cord, does the winch automatically release?

I was never a site controller, but I supervised one at a park many years ago. No, the only way to separate the release mechanism is by pulling the cord. Only one person can pull the cord and, on our ride, it was typically the person on the right side (from the flyer's perspective). There's a rip cord on the right side of each flight suit and it was usually easier to pull it if there wasn't another flyer on that side. If the cord isn't pulled, the flyers are lowered back to the ground.

Yeah I always thought the whole ripcord thing was just a feature to make the ride more fun but nope it's just the cheapest way to release the fliers from the launch cable ha.

The only automatic part on our ride is the winch, everything else is either done by hand by us or the fliers. Other locations have automatic landing poles and scissor lifts, if anyone here has ran a location with those I'd like to hear about it.

I was never a site controller, but I supervised one at a park many years ago. No, the only way to separate the release mechanism is by pulling the cord. Only one person can pull the cord and, on our ride, it was typically the person on the right side (from the flyer's perspective). There's a rip cord on the right side of each flight suit and it was usually easier to pull it if there wasn't another flyer on that side. If the cord isn't pulled, the flyers are lowered back to the ground.

Thanks! I was sort of hoping they'd just drop them with no warning.

But that makes sense.

Where is the Skycoaster which you operate? (meaning location)

how many pukers???

I'll answer anything except which one I operate.

Surprisingly it's not really a nausea inducing ride since it doesn't go in circles. A Tilt-a-Wirl has more pukers than any other ride I've seen, I'm no health expert but it seems the more spins on a ride the more nausea.

I have to admit it would be cool to see how far the puke would go; as long as I don't have to clean it up.

Feel free to ask techincal questions since Site Controllers have to know everything about the ride and it's maintenance. But I'm happy to answer any kind of question.

How stringent do you have to be on potentially loose objects, and what's the furthest you've seen something fly when someone did have a loose object?

We are extremly strict about loose articles, you're not even allowed to wear a necklace. The main reason for this is once we lay the fliers down, we don't want them getting stabbed by their loose articles on their neck or in their front pocket. Stuff not flying off is just an added bonus, and as such I've never seen an object fly off the ride.

You guys are making me curious, I'm going to bring a bouncy ball on my next flight, let go of it and see how far it goes ha.

Can feet slip out of the footbar during the ride? I remember thinking once that my shoes didn't seem to be resting deeply or have good traction on the bar, and then operators ask you to simply step out of the bar on your own as you stand back up. Doing a quick image search of Skycoaster riders, I don't see much besides that footbar that secures riders in position below the knees, and I don't see anything making sure that feet stay on the bar. Maybe it's just a vulnerable feeling that's totally stupid-proof, but I'm curious about it.

It's just for comfort it falls out during flight all the time. If properly tightened it shouldn't fall out though, it's mostly kids who get scared and go into the fetal position.

They had to redesign the footbar a few years ago because too many of them were flying off and becoming projectiles!

Have you ever visited a SkyCoaster site and seen them not quite up to code?

I let KT ride her first SkyCoaster in Mexico! Mainly because we had a site controller with us on the trip and he went around and made sure everything looked up to par. I do believe that SkyCoaster as a company seems to keep all of their sites in good working order.

Skycoaster is an extremely safe company. They are allowed to say a Skycoaster wasn't maintained properly, and then force the park to remove it. Rumor has it that this is what happened to Six Flags America's Skycoaster but who knows.

I've visited the one at Darien Lake and Kings Dominion and both seemed totally up to code, it's a pretty simple ride not too many things can go wrong. One thing I would worry about at smaller parks and parks in other countries is the Overspeed Clutch Assembly, which prevents the winch from spinning out of control in the event of a hydraulic failure.

In fact, one of the maintenance people at my park tried to get me to sign off on the test without actually doing it, I of course said no and we ran the test. So that makes me think that fudging the inspections probably isn't uncommon around smaller parks. Even so, you're probably still safe, I don't believe an Overspeed Clutch failure has ever happened.

Did she enjoy it? In my experience 99.5 percent of people do.

^Interesting explanation, thanks. And yes, she did!

How many people actually go on these when installed in a major park?

I ask since I was at King's Dominion yesterday, and probably spent a total of 4 hours in the general vicinity of their Skycoaster, and saw zero people partake.

Question....

Why do I have such an irrational fear of these things?!? Like, I literally feel like the second I pull the ripcord.... I’m going to plunge to my death!

On a slow day, it's normal to only have 1-4 flights, which barely even covers the employee salaries. If there's an event or something it can get really busy, with maybe 40 flights completed by the end of the day. But most of the time it's like you said, completely dead.

It's extra terrifying because if you look up when you're at the top of the tower, the cables are slack. When you pull the cord it disconnects you from the launch cable and you go into total freefall for about 25-60? feet, depending on the model, before the cables catch you. So for a second or two there there is literally nothing holding you. It's not like a drop tower since you literally have nothing to hold on to and the suits are much scarier than a drop tower seat. That's what makes it scarier than other rides for me.

How many people actually go on these when installed in a major park?

Carowinds seems to be just fine in getting people to ride it. And at $25/person, it's making some money.

What happens when someone pukes while on a Sky Coaster? If the rider is still at maximum swing, does do the chunks typically just go absolutely everywhere? If the vom winds up outside of your ride area (the midway, a nearby building, other workers/guests), is it then on someone else to clean that stuff up?

I think most medium-large parks make a nice return on it, they are very cheap rides. Smaller parks I sometimes wonder

It's not common at all for people to puke on the Skycoaster, but if puke fell into someone else's area it would in fact be on them to clean it up lol, we would just clean the suit if needed.

How long does it take for a Site controller to be fully trained? Are there different positions while operating a Skycoaster?

I am really tempted to go on one of these, as I enjoy drop towers a lot, but it's the terrifying moment of having to pull the cord that puts me off... Any tips for first time riders?

Thanks for starting such a interesting thread! It's always nice to read from other people people working (or that have worked) in the industry.

^ My advice, if you are a first timer and have any fear of the height, take a partner on with you. My first time was at the 250' one at FunSpot. By the time we were half way up, rigor mortis had set in me. I could not move, not even an eyeblink. Thankfully, my partner had control of the cord. It was one terrifying trip. I am glad I did it, now I know, but, would I do it again? Oh Hell NO !