SheiKra

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SheiKra

SheiKra's entrance
Location Busch Gardens Africa
Park Section Stanleyville
Type Steel - Diving Machine
Opened May 21, 2005
Manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard
Model Diving Machine
Lift/launch system Chain lift hill
Height 200 feet (61 m)
Length 3,188 feet (971.7 m)
Max speed 70 mile per hour (112.7 km/h)
Inversions 1
Duration 3:00
Max Vertical Angle 90 degrees
Cost $13,500,000 USD
Height Restriction 54 inches (137.2 cm)
SheiKra at RCDB
Pictures of SheiKra at RCDB

SheiKra (pronounced shee-krah) is a vertical drop roller coaster in Tampa, Florida. It is situated in the Stanleyville section of Busch Gardens Africa. SheiKra was the first dive machine roller coaster in North America.

Contents

[edit] Ride Layout

After passengers have been secured, the trains make their way out of the station and begin the 47° lift hill to the ride's peak height of 200 feet. Trains make a right-hand U-turn 200ft above the streets of Tampa and stop on a specially-designed holding brake (found on all Bolliger & Mabillard dive machines), which is poised at the apex of the 90° drop. This brake holds the trains for about 3-5 seconds. Riders are then taken down the 200-foot vertical drop and are quickly taken into a 145ft-Immelmann inversion. A left-hand carousel turn brings riders to a block brake before riders take a second, 81°-138ft-drop into a mist-filled tunnel. The train quickly re-emerges in daylight for the trains to maneuver a wide over-banked right turn over the park's smoke house before coming to the finale, when the train travels across the surface of a pool, soaking onlookers. After a final turn, the trains come into the service brake and are slowed by magnetic brakes before returning to the station.

[edit] Ride Elements

  • 200 foot 47° lift hill
  • 200 foot 90° drop
  • 145 foot tall Immelmann
  • 138 foot 81° drop

[edit] Seating

The water splash element on SheiKra. The water is launched with the use of scoops located at the rear of the train
The water splash element on SheiKra. The water is launched with the use of scoops located at the rear of the train
SheiKra's three rows of 8 seats.
SheiKra's three rows of 8 seats.
Immelmann and second vertical drop.
Immelmann and second vertical drop.

The trains consist of three rows with eight seats across. The eight-across seating arrangement is unique to the dive machine coasters. This arrangement, in addition to a dual-loading station, greatly increase the rides hourly capacity, it also means that the riders position (for instance towards the back of the ride) does not subtract from the overall experience. It also uses tiered seating, meaning that each row of seats is slightly higher than the one in front of it. This means that wherever a rider may sit, they will always have a clear view ahead. This is very effective on the holding brake, as it means every rider will see the huge drop beneath.

[edit] Floorless Conversion

At 10:30am Wednesday, Januany 31, 2007, Busch Gardens Tampa Executive Vice President and General Manager, Dan Brown, Vice President of Design and Engineering, Mark Rose, and Busch Entertainment Corporation Corporate Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Joe Couceiro officially announced on a webcast teleconference with media outlets the floorless conversion of SheiKra and details about the conversion.

According to the press release and teleconference, the last day to experience SheiKra before the conversion will be Memorial Day, May 28, 2007. On May 29th SheiKra will close for approximately three weeks and re-open June 16, 2007 with new floorless hardware.[1][2]

[edit] Conversion Process

The area most affected by the conversion is the station. In the weeks leading up to the May 29th closure the drop-out floor hardware will be installed. The installation will occur at night leaving the ride to operate normally in its current configuration throughout the day.

During the three weeks that the ride will be closed the trains will receive their floorless upgrade. The new trains will make use of current hardware already used on the existing trains. The wheels, bogies, seats and harnesses will be removed then reinstalled on a new floorless chassis separate from the current one. This time will also be used for loading new programs into the ride's computer systems for floorless operation as well as extensive testing to make sure all of the rides safety systems are working correctly and training of employees on ride operation and what to do in an emergency situation should the ride come to a stop and guests needed to be escorted off the ride.[3]

[edit] Trivia

  • The name SheiKra is derived from a shikra, an African hawk that is known to dive straight down for its prey.
  • Busch Gardens opted to have another Bolliger & Mabillard coaster after the continued success of Kumba and Montu.
  • SheiKra is the first vertical-drop (dive machine) roller coaster in the United States, and the first roller coaster of its kind to include an inversion (in this case, an Immelman Loop) and a true 90 degree vertical drop. The other two coasters of its type are Oblivion at Alton Towers theme park in the United Kingdom and G5/Flying Submarine at Janfusun Fancyworld amusement park in Taiwan.
  • SheiKra was featured in the Winter 2006 issue of RollerCoaster! magazine, the quarterly publication of American Coaster Enthusiasts. The cover picture of this issue depicts one of SheiKra's trains going down each vertical drop and the third in the water spray area.
  • Riders are able to buy "on ride DVDs", created from video cameras mounted around the ride. Most of the DVD is made of generic footage and computer animation, the shots taken during the ride that are edited in are taken at the hold of the first drop, the bottom of the first drop, going over the edge of the second drop, going though the water splash, and going though the service brakes. All shots are shown in slow motion with the exception of the hold of the first drop and going through the service brakes.
Golden Ticket Awards: Best Steel Coaster
Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Ranking
28
13

[edit] Counterpart

At Busch Gardens Africa's sister park, Busch Gardens Europe (located in Williamsburg, Virginia), a new beast is in the works. "Griffon" will feature a 205-foot vertical drop, higher than any other dive coaster in the world, two separate immelmann inversions, a second 87 degree 130 ft drop, and a watersplash. It marks the first time that a 10-seater car is used, and also a floorless car. On the park's website, three videos that introduce the details of the ride are available.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.buschgardens.com/BGT/ftp_press_releases_details.aspx?ID=142
  2. ^ http://www.buschgardens.com/bgt/sheikra_webcast.aspx
  3. ^ http://www.buschgardens.com/bgt/sheikra_webcast.aspx

[edit] External links

Roller coasters at Busch Gardens Africa

Current:   Cheetah Chase - Gwazi - Kumba - Montu - Scorpion - SheiKra

Past:   Python
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