Ride the skies at Silverwood in 2021

ATHOL — Get out those aviation goggles and strap in for an aerodynamic, aerial attraction coming to Silverwood Theme Park next year.

At more than 105 feet high, with hairpin turns, vertical dives and three gravity-defying inversions, Stunt Pilot will be a hair-raising, welcome addition to the Silverwood family of roller coasters.

It will be the first single-rail coaster in the Northwest, and only the third in the world.

"From what I've heard, they are an intense, wild ride," marketing director Jordan Carter said Thursday.

Stunt Pilot is being developed by Rocky Mountain Construction, which has a number of big coasters on its resume.

"With single rail, Rocky Mountain can do a lot more tighter-type turns without the double rail of a traditional coaster," Carter said. "They use less for support. They have more flexibility."

The biggest thing, Carter said, is the 10-car train guests will ride is an inline-style bobsled train. It will also be on a white track, a unique feature.

"There is empty space to your left, there is empty space to your right and there is a track right below you," he said. "It will look like it's flying on the clouds because that white track will fade away. It will look like an old biplane flying through the track."

Stunt Pilot's theme is based on the air shows that Silverwood hosted in its early years. The shows featured dazzling displays of aeronautic maneuvering and were held on the air fields at the rear of the park.

"Once we found out we were going to be getting the single rail coaster, we knew exactly that we had to go back to our roots as an air show park," Carter said. "We're hoping it will transport people back to '88 when we had those air shows on a daily basis. It's going to definitely be more of an air show themed-ride than just a roller coaster. You're going to feel like you're right in the cockpit of one of those stunt planes."

Silverwood powered through an uncertain 2020 season peppered by a pandemic and wildfire smoke. It is now open weekends and will feature a fun afterparty atmosphere in October in lieu of Scarywood Haunted Nights.

"In the industry, that was half the battle, to get open," Carter said. "I would call it as successful season, in light of what the summer could have been if we weren't open. We were able to provide a lot of memories and people were about to enjoy themselves in the park. It's exactly what we wanted to do, be that escape for people to come out and still have fun."

The Stunt Pilot roller coaster is scheduled to be ready for liftoff when the park opens for its 33rd season in May 2021.

Info: www.silverwoodthemepark.com