Going Down?

SCAD Tower: Montic (http://www.montic.de/)
First Ride: November 16, 2001 Most Recent Ride: November 17, 2001


These two images show the SCAD tower in action. The left photo is of a rider being lowered out of the cage and into the dropping position. The right photo shows the passenger just after they have been released- you never know when you will hit the net!

The scene- Friday Afternoon. I had known Eric for a little over 24 hours and he was trying to convince me to be dropped into a net with him. It just did not seem like a good idea. After deciding I was NOT getting on we saw the Turbo Force running, so we headed over for a quick ride. We meandered back, the line was longer and, after staring non-stop at the thing for what seemed forever (about two minutes) and listening to his lines of “I really think you’ll enjoy it” I told him I was riding. That was when the knot began to form in my stomach. Because of the slow throughput the wait, which ended up being an hour from the end of the line to the cage, felt like an eternity. I tried to make small talk with Eric, but I was scared through and through. He entertained me with the story of how he had jumped yesterday with some park reps. and felt a little uncomfortable because he went third and the wind was blowing so hard that it caused him to wait a little while for his jump before it calmed down. Great. Just what I needed to hear. One of my stipulations for getting in line was that I would be going first. While most people scared of things seem to like going last, I like being terrified first instead of having to watch others do it before me. I was handed the harness, which was a cross between a skycoaster harness and one of those fold up camping chairs. Basically it was a piece of material about 1.5 feet wide and went from my shoulders to my legs. You dove in it like a skycoaster restraint and there were four main points (the shoulders and knees) where a strap came out to connect at a center point around my stomach
( http://www.montic.de/montic%20site/site-e/pages/rides.html , scroll down to “Attendants and Harnessing.”).

I watched the final trio do their jumps. It looked quick enough. They were lifted up 120 feet; they were lowered one by one out of the crane cage and then dropped into the net with a loud SMACK. After the last one jumped it was our turn. It took all the strength I could muster to walk over the net and into that cage. We were each locked into the cage via a carabineer on a rope and our “drop guy” gave the crane op a thumbs up. As we rose Adam’s Rule of Heights® kicked in. For those unfamiliar with it, my theorem states that, “Things always look twice as high in the air as they do from the ground.” I do not know a lot about math or science, I am not a man of numbers- but this rule has never failed me yet. On our way up I looked up the cable and figured we were almost there. Eric asked the guy, “How high are we?” “About half-way,” the op responded. Great. I made it a point not to look down, but gazing across and seeing that we were above Zamperla’s Z-Force and almost even with the Turbo Force did not help the situation. After a little while longer we stopped, the op looked at me, my heart sank even lower and I knew it was time.

Here are some shots of me trying the SCAD at IAAPA taken by Eric of Ultimaterollercoaster. A big thanks to Eric for the great pictures (and letting me use them!)

Doing some quick movements he changed my lock from the cage carabineer to one attached to a large web of locks and rope. He told me to sit down in the harness and to my surprise it was quite comfortable. I tucked my head in as I was lowered out into the air. I could not hear anything but the wind in the air and my heart thumping in my chest. The “I Want to Get Off Now” feeling came, but I knew there was no way I was getting out of this without plunging to the earth first. I looked up. The op fiddled with the locks and said, “I am going to release you on one. Three.” Click. I was falling, holding onto the harness wondering when and if I was going to stop, wondering why I had even done this, wondering why I had not talked to that attractive British woman for a lot longer this morning since I was going to never see her again because I was going to be dead and SMACK- I hit the net. As adrenaline surged through my veins I was lowered to the ground; excited, alive, feeling like I could jump out of a plane with no problem (that last one was strictly the adrenaline talking). I stepped out of the net, cool, confident, no wet spot on my pants. Even though tons of other people enjoyed the ride during the trade show I really felt like I had accomplished something. After Eric fell I thanked him for helping talk me into this and we headed back into the trade show. I felt like I could take on anything- and shortly would have to.

The ticket from my first flight.

Later that night I escaped from the parties a little later than I had hoped and ran up International Drive in my blister-clad feet and dress shoes. I gave my ride a call and about ten minutes later met Mark, Bill and Eric in the foyer. We were heading to Old Town. I was being driven to my death. We all made small talk about our respective days and then as we headed down the highway Mark pointed it out. There, on the horizon stood a 300-foot A-frame. My pseudo bravado from earlier in the day faded as the white structure drew closer and closer. Mark managed to quash any other hopes I had of feeling a little better as he stated that we were heading to the skycoaster first- no roller coaster, no ejection seat, no mercy by beginning slowly. For those of you wondering what I thought as I stared up the rear tower and saw three tiny people attached to a string, refer simply to American Pie. Remember the part where everyone was watching the computer and group after group said, “Holy s!&#”? Well, this was the same situation, except there was no naked woman involved and I was the one who kept saying that phrase over and over in my head as my legs turned to jelly. I walked over, knowing what a walk to the death chamber feels like. We stopped for a much-needed beer and headed over to the booth. All the while phrases like, “That’s INSANE,” “Look how high they are,” and “You could NEVER get me to do that,” echoed around me- just the positive reinforcement I needed.


The only skycoaster pictures I have show the ride at night. The one on the left looks through the legs of the A-frame back to the launch tower. The spec in the photo on the right is me on my first flight.

After paying around $25 we walked down to the boarding area and got in line. I could barely bring myself to watch as group after group took one minute to get pulled up three hundred feet, took only a second to fall and whizzed by so fast that the cable made a loud buzzing sound. Shortly thereafter our new friend Eric (a skycoaster op) let us into the dressing area where we waited for the red suits, which were in short supply. It was soon our turn. I waved goodbye to Bill and we walked out to the first yellow line. The group in front of us was just ending their ride. With my footbar in hand and my courage lagging about ten feet behind me we walked down the ramp to the blue loading cube. We climbed aboard, the other team was disconnected and then it came, “Flyers switch places.” I meagerly followed the other two and got hooked up. After being hooked the floor lowered out from under us and then, laying only a few inches above quickly receding mat, I knew there was no turning back.

The Million Dollar Mulligans brochure.

After we were set free we floated back and then forward again because the tow cable was so long it took that much time to pick up the slack- thus began the longest minute of my life. Between Mark and Eric giving me s%*# and me responding with half-assed attempts at shaky humor we climbed higher into the night sky. Comments like “there’s St. Louis’s ride” (circa the 150-foot mark), “there’s Universal” and “Oh my God, this is insane,” did not help calm my nerves as we were towed up the tower. I became more unnerved as I looked out directly at the A-frame and then we collectively realized that the cables were so long that their slack hung in front of and below us by twenty feet. I finally gave in to my fear and had to hold on with both hands because the ground looked so far away and the platform, as Mark so eloquently put it before the trip, looked like a postage stamp. All of the sudden a voice crackled through the air, “3. 2. 1. FLY!” After a second’s hesitation we pitched face first for about 75-100 feet before the cables caught us. For a few seconds I understood what Bill Kitchen meant when he said that you felt you could fly. The drop was incredible. Between the screaming roar of the cable, the fact that my stomach remained up at the top of the tower and looking straight down into that black lake at 75 m.p.h. all combined to make it one hell of a ride. When we finally got off I was all smiles- just physically exhausted. I definitely owe everyone who helped “nudge” me into riding and Mark & Eric for putting up with my crap as we climbed the tower. It was one of the best park experiences I have had.

I must have liked both as I did the S.C.A.D. once more on Saturday and the Skycoaster three times on Saturday night. Comparing two good rides like this is hard as even though their main feature, a freefall, is the same, they are two different experiences. I think one of the things that made the S.C.A.D. drop not too scary for me, besides the obvious “low” height, was the fact that you are dropped face up, so the fear factor does not build with time as on the skycoaster. I came to the conclusion that the actual drop on the S.C.A.D. tower was better, but I think the overall skycoaster experience, at least from the standpoint of someone scared of heights, was better. Do not get me wrong, they are both great rides, but I think the entire skycoaster ride gave a more intimidating and exhilarating ride, plus it varied a little bit on each drop. If they ever get a 300-foot S.C.A.D. or that 500-foot skycoaster built, I will be there.