Sunday, August 17, 2008

Ride Review: Steel Hawg



So I rode Steel Hawg yesterday and it is a pretty cool ride. The new S&S coaster at Indiana Beach is different thats for sure. I actually had to wait an hour for this ride, which is quite a long time for me to wait for anything. The ride is in a really odd spot, in that it is right near the non-bridge entrance to IB and not really close to any of the other rides. Of course with the 4 person cars the capacity sucks ass, but it works for Indiana Beach cause they don't get too too many folks in the park. The ride cars aren't super comfy and the dual restraint system (like the old togo sitdowns) is kinda goofy, but the ride itself is smooth.

The ride starts out with a very steep lift, which is pretty neat. The turnaround after the lift hill is fantastic, as it provides a picturesque view of Lake Shafer. The 120 degree first drop is cool, but not as good as it could be because it has some brakes that limit the crazyness. Then there is a series of VERY VERY LOUD & TERRIBLE sounding mid course brakes. The next feature is very cool and thats the turn with the outward banking turn, something I don't think has been done on any coaster before and gives a real out of control feeling. Next up is the highlight of the ride, the flip over-hang time and loop. The loop I think is bigger then the drop and sends screaming guests past people in the queue. The ride keeps the crazy elements coming with the downward inclined heartline twist and followed with the overbank curve finale into some more noisy brakes.

I liked the ride itself and could best be described as a Wild Mouse on crack and is worth the ride. With its limited capacity be prepared to wait to ride the Hawg this summer at IB.

Heres some pics:














2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, that queue line looks absolutely dreadful!! Despite living in Indianapolis, I'm sadly NOT rushing to IB anytime soon to ride it, especially with Hoosier Hurricane being only a one train operation!! Seriously...WTF??? IB needs to wise-up....

However, SH does look pretty cool, and hopefully I can make it out to IB on a semi-crappy weather day in the fall (thanx to IB's newly extended operating season) when the painful ride operations won't matter as much.

It'll be interesting to see where IB heads in the future given the new ownership (I have no real personal opinion on that other than wanting good ride operations!), but as it stands now, IB's still being run like a backyard fair! (which can have some charm to it with good ride operations, which regrettably don't currently exist!)

Btw, Pat, is there no single rider line? I mean, half of all the trains in your pics have empty seats!!

The Legend said...

Nope no single riders line unfortunately.

The operations that day weren't great, a lot of closed rides: 3D Theater, Frog Hopper, Falling Star & Air Crow. The most disturbing was 3D Theater, I was in line for it around 6 o'clock when the ride op comes out and says "sorry folks gotta close down the ride" someone in the crowd says "why? Is it broken" op says "Nope, main office just called and told me close it down.
Not Cool.

But the lines besides Steel Hawg, weren't really a problem. Even with 1 train I wouldn't say cornball/hurricanes lines were ever over a half hour and that was a saturday. If you go on a Sunday lines shouldn't be bad at all, the place is still fun, but not as fun as it could be.