Steel Hawg

Steel Hawg
Indiana Beach
LocationIndiana Beach
Coordinates40°47′27″N 86°46′19″W / 40.790911°N 86.771843°W / 40.790911; -86.771843
StatusOperating
Opening dateJuly 5, 2008
General statistics
TypeSteel
ManufacturerS&S – Sansei Technologies
DesignerAlan Schilke
ModelEl Loco
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Height96 ft (29 m)
Speed41 mph (66 km/h)
Inversions2
Max vertical angle111°
Height restriction48 in (122 cm)
Trains4 trains with a single car. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 4 riders per train.
Steel Hawg at RCDB

Steel Hawg is a steel roller coaster located at Indiana Beach, Monticello, Indiana. The ride is the first El Loco model built by manufacturer S&S Worldwide (now S&S – Sansei Technologies) of Logan, Utah. The ride was installed by Ride Entertainment Group.[1]

Steel Hawg was expected to open in mid May, but was rescheduled for an early July opening.

Steel Hawg opened to the public on July 5, 2008. The ride contains a 111 degree drop, two inversions, and several twists and turns. It also includes the world's first "outside" turn, where the rider banks to the left and turns right or vice versa.

Whilst it was originally planned that Steel Hawg would have a 120° drop, the design was simplified such that the drop is just 111°. The media and advertisement companies were not informed, and the original figure of 120° was used in promotional material.

Steel Hawg was the world's steepest rollercoaster prior to the opening of Mumbo Jumbo, on July 4, 2009, at Flamingo Land, United Kingdom. Mumbo Jumbo is also an S&S El Loco; it has a 112° drop.[2] It still had the third steepest drop of all coasters in North America, exceeded only by Cannibal at Lagoon in Utah, which has a 116° drop and TMNT Shellraiser, at Nickelodeon Universe in New Jersey, which has a 121.5° drop.

Steel Hawg was featured in Travel Discoveries "Extreme Terror Rides 2." It was the tallest coaster at the park, and ranked 22 on travel Channel's 101 greatest thrills.

Steel Hawg can run up to 4 trains at a time, but the park typically chooses to run only 1 or 2 due to limited attendance.

  1. ^ "Projects". Ride Entertainment Group. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  2. ^ "'Steepest' rollercoaster in world". 3 July 2009 – via news.bbc.co.uk.