Late summer of any year is usually filled with new ride and roller coaster announcements from regional theme parks. Since it’s 2020, those announcements have been non-existent, with parks pushing their previously announced 2020 additions back to 2021 in hopes attendance restrictions will be lifted (or at least raised). There is an exception to every rule, though, and on September 17th, 2020, a regional park located in Athol, Idaho gave us that exception.

Silverwood Theme Park

Silverwood Theme Park is the largest theme park in the Pacific Northwest, though it is relatively unheard of outside that region of the US. Since opening as a side attraction to the adjacent airstrip in the 1980’s, Silverwood has grown by adding over 60 rides, attractions, and roller coasters to their lineup. Knott’s Berry Farm’s original Corkscrew roller coaster, the first to invert riders twice, was moved to Silverwood in 1990. Two wooden roller coasters added in the mid- to late-1990’s, Timber Terror and Tremors, provided more thrills for the park. After a couple of family coasters, the park’s last major addition was Aftershock, a Giant Inverted Boomerang model from Vekoma International, relocated from Six Flags Great America in 2008. Over a decade later, the park is ready to add some extreme thrills once again.

Stunt Pilot - New for 2021 at Silverwood Theme Park
Picture courtesy of Silverwood Theme Park

Stunt Pilot

Drawing inspiration from airshows performed at the adjacent air strip, Stunt Pilot will open in 2021 as the park’s most unique roller coaster. Designed by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC to coaster enthusiasts), Stunt Pilot will be a single-rail coaster where eight riders sit single-file inches above the rail. RMC coasters are known for their extremely intense rides with dynamic forces and extreme airtime, and Stunt Pilot looks to deliver! The layout is a clone of RailBlazer located at California’s Great America, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, which itself is a mirror of the original RMC Single-Rail, Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, TX. These rides have proven to be very popular at their respective parks and I’m sure Stunt Pilot will be just as welcomed.

Stunt Pilot will stand 113-ft tall and reach speeds of 52 mph. Inverting riders 3 times after a 100-ft, 90 degree drop, this ride should deliver the speed and intensity Rocky Mountain Construction rides are known for. RMC has a previous relationship with Silverwood, completely re-tracking both of the park’s wooden coasters after their original manufacturer, Custom Coasters International, went out of business. Silverwood is the park that gave RMC their start in the amusement park universe, so it is nice to see the relationship reignited with such a crowd-pleasing addition.

If you find yourself in the Pacific Northwest, try to find your way to Athol, ID and Silverwood Theme Park. With the addition of Stunt Pilot in 2021, this park appears to be rounding out their coaster collection quite nicely. Now, please don’t wait another decade for that hyper… ;)