SheiKra

SheiKra
SheiKra's logo (top), Part of Sheikra's layout (bottom)
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Park section	Stanleyville
Coordinates	28°02′12″N 82°25′28″W / 28.03667°N 82.42444°W / 28.03667; -82.42444Coordinates: 28°02′12″N 82°25′28″W / 28.03667°N 82.42444°W / 28.03667; -82.42444
Status	Operating
Opening date	May 21, 2005
Cost	US$13,500,000 ($16.6 million in 2017 dollars)
General statistics
Type	Steel – Dive Coaster
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Model	Dive Coaster - SheiKra
Track layout	Twister
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	200 ft (61 m)
Length	3,188 ft (972 m)
Speed	70 mph (110 km/h)
Inversions	1
Duration	2:20
Max vertical angle	90°
G-force	4
Height restriction	54 in (137 cm)
Trains	Several trains with 3 cars. Riders are arranged 8 across in a single row for a total of 24 riders per train.
Quick Queue available
SheiKra at RCDB Pictures of SheiKra at RCDB

SheiKra (/ˈʃiːkrə/, SHEE-krə) is a steel Dive Coaster roller coaster at the Busch Gardens Tampa Bay amusement park in Tampa, Florida, United States. The roller coaster was proposed by Mark Rose, vice-president of design and engineering for the park, and designed by Bolliger & Mabillard. The ride was planned to be 160 feet (49 m) high, but the park's executives rejected this and the height was changed to 200 feet (61 m). SheiKra reaches a maximum speed of 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) and has a total track length of 3,188 feet (972 m). It first opened on May 21, 2005, and was converted to a floorless roller coaster on June 16, 2007, following the opening of its sister Dive Coaster Griffon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg that year.

SheiKra was the first Dive Coaster to be constructed in North America; its track includes a splashdown and an Immelmann loop, both a first for its kind. It broke the records for the world's longest, tallest, and fastest Dive Coaster, but lost these records when Griffon in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States and Dive Coaster at Chime-Long Paradise in Guangzhou, China opened. The name SheiKra is derived from the word "shikra", an Asian-African hawk that is known to dive vertically for its prey. In 2005, Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards voted it the fourth-best new steel roller coaster of that year in a three-way tie and the 28th-best steel roller coaster. It was voted the 38th-best steel roller coaster in 2014.