We may soon have a vertically looping water slide — an engineering feat long suspected to be impossible.

It is called the Sky Caliber, and the company developing the slide calls it the first slide with a truly vertical loop. Riders travel at 50 mph down the tube and travel through a 30-foot-tall loop. The slide itself stands at 90 feet, and can funnel 180 riders through per hour, according to the developers, called Sky Turtle.

Buh. Vertical looping water slide, long thought impossible, in test phase (h/t @sethporges) pic.twitter.com/NFpUivYpfW — Pete Pachal (@petepachal) March 6, 2015

A New Jersey water park with a bizarre history is planning to install a Sky Caliber in 2016, according to a report from The Los Angeles Times.

The developers have completed a prototype of the slide and are currently conducting test runs. Eventually, they'll seek state approval to install the ride, the Times reported.

Vernon, N.J.-based Action Park is a recently reopened park notoriously known for briefly operating a looping water slide called the "Cannonball Loop" in the 1980s. The attraction was shut down for safety concerns.

The park is shrouded in urban myths and strange stories.

According to The Star-Ledger the park was nicknamed “Class-Action Park,” “Accident Park” and “Traction Park.” (The name now is apparently more about nostalgia — and the owners, of course, swear it is safer.)

At least six people died at the park in '80s. One employee was flung from a slide and hit his head on a rock, killing him. The wave pool, in particular, was known to be dangerous. The staff also had a reputation of being underage and undertrained.

A YouTube video with footage of riders traversing the Cannonball loop surfaced online last year. Fast-forward to 8:20 to see the infamous slide in action.

The problem with vertical loops, the Times notes, is friction: It is difficult to make people travel quickly and safely enough to make it through the loop. Sky Caliber mends this problem by shutting riders in "an aluminum alloy-framed capsule" the flushes them through the slide.

The basic Sky Caliber (which is also spelled as "Sky Calibre" on Sky Turtle's website) costs $1.4 million. If all goes as planned, you can ride next summer — if you dare.

Bonus: Action Park: The world's most insane amusement park



The Most Insane Amusement Park Ever (Full Length) by insane-amusement-park