A 200ft cylinder, the heart of the revamped ride, was successfully craned into position on Monday after traveling over 1,000 miles across Europe to reach the resort.<br /><br />This marks a crucial step in the project, with the cylinder playing a key role in transforming the ride experience.<br /><br />The cylinder is made of five individual sections which each weigh 1.9 tons.<br /><br />Once connected, the entire cylinder’s weight is equal to a large African elephant, a military tank, a cruise ship’s anchor or Big Ben’s bell.<br /><br />It has a pressure of 105 PSI, which means that each square inch inside the cylinder is experiencing a force of 105 pounds.<br /><br />Karl Murphy, director of engineering, said: “The higher the pressure, the greater the build-up of kinetic energy. <br /><br />“By increasing the PSI we’ve increased the force, and therefore the acceleration of speed is greater, meaning riders will feel a huge difference and shoot to the sky with more power than ever before.<br /><br />“This new cylinder is what’s going to create those stomach dropping moments and feelings of weightlessness that guests are going to love.”<br /><br />The milestone moment is the latest stage in the extensive project, which has been taking place during Pleasure Beach’s closed season, lasting from December until February.<br /><br />The ride has already been given a striking aesthetic makeover, with a bold new colour scheme of blue and red, refreshed branding and a space exploration theme.<br /><br />The majority of the work has been carried out by the resort’s talented in-house team of engineers, painters and project managers.<br /><br />An engineer from S&S, the ride's manufacturer, also travelled from the United States to oversee the cylinder’s installation.<br /><br />While an official opening date is still to be confirmed, Launch Pad is expected to debut early in the 2025 season.
