Category: News || By Staff Report

Some lucky donors to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank will be among the first people in Pittsburgh to ride Kennywood's new "Sky Rocket" roller coaster.

The first 200 tickets for the ride will be auctioned in mid-May, said Iris Valanti, director of communications for the Duquesne-based food bank.

Sky Rocket is being built on the former location of the turnpike ride, which closed last August after 43 years near the entrance of the West Mifflin amusement park.

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The coaster will include acceleration to 50 mph in its first three seconds, along with a 95-foot vertical climb and two vertical "free falls," according to a park spokesman.

The auction, at a date yet to be determined, will be conducted as part of a joint promotion with KDKA-TV's "Pittsburgh Today Live," Valanti said.

Winners will choose their seats in order of the amount of money they bid, and their "Sky Rocket Launch Day" ticket will include an all-day pass to Kennywood, she said.

Additional details will be announced at a later date on the food bank's website, Valanti said.

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Designed and built by Maryland-based Premier Rides, Sky Rocket is a so-called "launch coaster," meaning that the trains are propelled by a catapult or electrical mechanism, not a chain lift.

"Sky Rocket" will be propelled by linear electromagnetic motors, according to reports by the independent website Kennywood Connection.

The former "Laser Loop," which opened in 1980 and was replaced in 1991 by the Steel Phantom, was also a "launch coaster."

According to Kennywood, the two trains of "Sky Rocket" will each hold 12 riders and travel a 2,100-foot track. Rides will last just over one minute.

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Meanwhile, the National Amusement Park Historical Association this week announced that Kennywood was again voted the "world's favorite traditional amusement park."

NAPHA says Kennywood has been ranked either first or second in its survey since 1996.

The same survey of NAPHA members ranked Kennywood's sister park in Westmoreland County, Idlewild, one of the top three amusement parks for families.

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In addition, NAPHA says Kennywood's "Phantom's Revenge" --- a 2001 redesign of the "Steel Phantom" by Kennywood's former CEO, Harry Henninger --- has been voted by the group's members as one of the top three steel roller coasters in the world.

Based in Mt. Prospect, Ill., the NAPHA is a non-profit foundation of amusement park enthusiasts who work to preserve rides and attractions.

Kennywood opens for the season on May 8.

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