Imagine: being over a thousand feet in the air, soaring up towards the heavens in superhero flying position, and to add to that, having nothing attached to you but a thin cable. Well now, you can do more than imagine. That's because the good folks at Colorado's Royal Gorge Bridge and Park have taken advantage of the unique natural setting on the edge of a 1,200-foot cliff that gave the park its attraction to start with, and erected a thrill ride aimed at providing a sensation of flight like none other. In 2003, Royal Gorge had Skycoaster Inc. set up a 200-foot tall Skycoaster model within feet of the edge of the cliff that the park is situated beside, and the park had itself a true world-class thrill experience. Skycoaster Inc.'s (previously Sky Fun 1) Skycoasters have become popular around the world since 1993 for their sensation of flight, allowing up to three riders at a time to be taken through the air like Superman. Riders on skycoasters, typically surcharge attractions due to their low capacity, are hoisted to the top of a tower before exercising their exclusive power to begin their own ride by yanking a ripcord. From there, it's down and swinging in a wide vertical arc through a large steel arch several times. But while previous skycoaster models were raved over for towering 250 or 300 feet above the ground, the actual height of the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park's model is beside the point when considering that riders are taken some 1,400 feet in all over the ground once they fly over the edge of the precipice into their several seconds of heaven. And indeed, the Royal Rush Skycoaster's white 20-story squared arch is an insignificant, almost kiddie-sized ride in comparison to the 1,200-foot natural elevation change that it sits on top of; six-sevenths of the ride height here are completely unrelated to the ride itself. And so, Royal Gorge's skycoaster has joined the list of those few select extreme rides with extreme settings that earn them most of their thrill points, joining rides such as the Stratosphere Tower's X-Scream, Thunder Dolphin at LaQua park, and Six Flags Fiesta Texas' Superman Krypton Coaster.

Thrillseekers ready to conquer the Royal Rush Skycoaster first shell out their money and pick up a ticket, and then come back when assigned to get ready to fly. Ride attendants instruct future passengers on how to safely go about their ride and help them get strapped into Skycoaster harnesses, which extensively cover riders' bodies to keep them snugly secure during their freefall and flight to come. Walking them out under the ride's arch, attendants show riders their way to a platform used to raise riders up to the level of the cable. Royal Rush riders are secured to the main two cables attaching them to the overhead arch that will anchor them for the duration of their ride, along with a third cable to winch them towards the back tower to get them in position to fly. With final instruction on pulling the ride's ripcord to begin the flight, riders lean forward and hang in superhero position for the first time, then the platform beneath is lowered back to the ground and the lift cable begins pulling them back. The edge of the canyon visible ahead, the Colorado dirt sinking farther and farther below, passengers are towed increasingly higher into the sky, not knowing exactly when the top will come. Soon enough, the harness comes almost level with the top of the white arch ahead, and then the lifting action ceases. A final "three, two, one, fly!" is given, and riders pull the ripcord attached to the harness, releasing the lift cable from them and causing some serious freefalling action to begin. Nothing but the cable above to keep them from a direct path to the ground below, thrillseekers plunge in an arc back towards the earth, the wind rushing over their bodies as they glide swiftly down, reaching fifty miles per hour as they come within feet of the loading platform. Without slowing down, the ride rushes towards the edge of the cliff. The ground underneath disappears completely, and passengers find themselves 1,400 feet above anything other than air, with the Arkansas River far below, all bonds of earth left behind, and the sensation of flight as real as it gets. When momentum can carry the ride no further, freefall takes over again and passengers plunge back through the arch, turning most of the way back around as they fall, and swooping over the dirt once again. Speeding back up towards the back tower, physics do their job of ensuring that riders fall in the opposite direction before reaching it, and turn again as they make their way back through the white structure. Another moment of extreme flight ensues when the path of flight goes beyond the edge of the cliff again and participants in the skycoaster experience are suspended mid-air for a second those 1,400 feet from the earth. It's back down again, flying towards the ground, back up and then once more over the cliff. Finally, it comes to the point that reluctant riders have to reach out and grab onto a ring attached to a cable to the ground that slows them to a stop as they descend again. Ride attendants bring the platform back up under riders and unfasten the harness from the cables, and then passengers exit the ride.

If you've ever thought that skydiving was the only way to experience flight like the birds, just take one ride on the Royal Rush Skycoaster and be proven wrong!