New coaster will use ‘launch’ technology

WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. (AP) — The new roller coaster planned for Kennywood Park will be unlike anything else at the 111-year-old amusement park, according to park spokesman Jeff Filicko. Park officials expect the as-yet unnamed coaster — which was announced last week — to be built by next May.

The coaster that will take riders from zero to 50 mph in just under three seconds, rocket them straight up 95 feet, then drop them straight down before taking them upside down three times.

Kennywood has a faster coaster — The Phantom’s Revenge, at 85 mph — but the new, so-called “launch coaster” will use a linear synchronous motor to create a magnetic field to launch riders to top speed right out the gate.

The new coaster will incorporate technology and features used in other coasters, such as the vertical climb and taking riders upside down, but will be first to combine them into one ride, said Bill Linkenheimer III, secretary and past president of the American Coaster Enthusiasts.

“I’m really excited about it. It’s something different, really different for Kennywood,” said Linkenheimer, of Ross Township, just north of Pittsburgh. “This is going to blast off like a race car or a rocket.”

The coaster will be the park’s first new coaster since The Phantom’s Revenge opened in 2001.

Filicko could not provide a cost estimate, but Linkenheimer estimated it would likely cost more than $5 million.

Kennywood, about 10 miles east of Pittsburgh, is revered by coaster enthusiasts and was the setting for the film “Adventureland.”

The new coaster will be built on the site of the Turnpike, which takes riders in antique-style electric cars along a mile-long track. Filicko said the Turnpike will reappear elsewhere in the park in a couple years.

XFor more information, visit www.kennywood.com.