Sheikra Refurbishment (January 2013)

[Tbad556]

From Busch Gardens:

SheiKra is one of the most popular rides at Busch Gardens. The “floorless” cars give riders a breathtaking view of their journey 200 feet up, then 90 degrees straight down. Starting January 7, SheiKra will be closed to get a fresh coat of paint.

Fear not, coaster lovers. In the meantime, there are four other coasters that will be running throughout the month. Cheetah Hunt, Montu, Kumba and Gwazi offer world-class thrills and wild rides.

Thank you for your patience while the coaster is undergoing this makeover. SheiKra reopens on February 16, and will look brighter and better than ever!

 

[Octobers Fade]

Should look great when it reopens, they have plenty of time to get it in shape.

 

[grizzlybarely]

Sounds good. I'd hate to walk through Stanleyville in January and get a little...surprise.

 

[Andy]

Scheduling my next trip to BGT for the week of February 16th!

 

[knokout1]

Scheduling my next trip to BGT for the week of February 16th!

Say hi to me when you do! (If I work that day of course.)

 

[Andy]

Say hi to me when you do! (If I work that day of course.)

Ahhhhhh where in the park? PM if needed :thumbs:

 

[Cliff]

Yeah she really needs a paintjob bad.

 

[knokout1]

Ahhhhhh where in the park? PM if needed :thumbs:

Did you get my message? I remember something being said about your full inbox.

And I hope they have a way to clean the few cross beams right at the top of the drop. There's all kinds of gum there. One time I even saw a knife at the top...

 

[Andy]

Did you get my message? I remember something being said about your full inbox.

And I hope they have a way to clean the few cross beams right at the top of the drop. There's all kinds of gum there. One time I even saw a knife at the top...

I got it and replied back I thought? Anyways if I'm heading that way I will surely shout out :thumbs:

 

[knokout1]

Lol if you did it got lost somewhere in the internet. And ok sounds good man!

 

[Andy]

If anyone is in the area get some pics please :thumbs:

 

[Octobers Fade]

I will see if I can make it out there for pics next week.

 

[Andy]

I will see if I can make it out there for pics next week.

Thank you kindly. It will be nice to see this beast get some love.

 

[Octobers Fade]

Some fun facts from BGT insider:

Most of us take on painting projects at our homes at some point of another. We’ll spend hours debating over paint swatches and use yards of masking tape to avoid painting the floor or ceiling.

There’s no doubt that repainting the kitchen is an exhausting task, but what about painting a roller coaster the size of SheiKra?

Bill Rothenberger, Rides Maintenance Manager at Busch Gardens, was able to crunch some numbers for what it takes to complete this mammoth task


1. How many gallons of paint will it take to cover the entire rollercoaster?

It will take more than 600 gallons of paint to finish this project. There are 165,000 square feet of surfaces that need to be painted. Any part on SheiKra that is red or blue will receive a fresh coat of paint.



2. How many people does it take to paint it?

We have about 40 professional industrial painters working on it. They take two 12 hour shifts throughout the day and night.



3. What kind of paint will you use?

The long answer is that we use a high performance industrial polysiloxane coating system designed for industrial and offshore applications.

The short answer is that we're using same red and blue as the original colors.



4. Will you use any special equipment to paint SheiKra?

We use 12 boom lifts ranging in heights from 40 to 150 feet. These aren’t the kind you find at Home Depot, these are four wheel drive and self propelled (some with all wheel drive).

For SheiKra’s highest areas, at 200 feet, a two man basket is attached to the end of the 240 foot long boom of 165 ton crane. This crane requires two semi trucks to carry the counterweights which have to be attached to the crane.

We also require two high capacity air compressors, several light towers and an entire truck load of portable lighting.



5. How many total hours will it take to paint SheiKra?

The project will take 6,000 – 7,000 man hours. There are multiple shifts scheduled around the clock, 7 days a week.

 

[Andy]

Very cool info! Thanks for sharing

 

[knokout1]

I would have been there today but unfortunately had to call in sick. There are boom lifts lining the road that Shiekra sits next to, literally blocking one of the employee entrances that rides under the final turn of Sheikra. I can safely say I saw atleast 8, could have been more, all ranging in different sizes.

 

[Octobers Fade]

They have the entrance and gift shop blocked by construction walls, as well as the splashdown. Two high lifts and a crane in operation today. They werefinishing up tenting the water portion brake run, and it sounded like they were sand blasting in there.

Not really much to see yet, pics when the upload.

 

[Octobers Fade]

 

[Andy]

Whoa the splashdown protector is pretty cool.

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks for the pics!

 

[Hockeyman55]

Ooooh so pretty! Great pics :thumbs: