The Sky Swatter (sometimes Sky Swat) was a thrill ride which was built by S&S Power of Logan, Utah. It was marketed from 2003 to 2010; only two Sky Swatters were manufactured. The first installation of a Sky Swatter was as SWAT at Six Flags AstroWorld in Houston, Texas, which operated from 2003 until the park permanently closed at the end of the 2005 season. The ride then was moved to Six Flags New England and operated from 2006 through 2012 as Catapult. The other Sky Swatter operated as Slammer at Thorpe Park from 2005 until the ride closed permanently in May 2017. History S&S Worldwide (then S&S Power) introduced the Sky Swatter at its Logan factory on October 3, 2002, as the company's first true flat ride. The ride made its debut at Six Flags AstroWorld as SWAT for the 2003 season. On 28 March 2005, Thorpe Park, near London, England, introduced a Sky Swatter as Slammer, which was the second and final Sky Swatter to be manufactured. At the end of its operating season, Six Flags AstroWorld closed permanently on October 30, 2005. Several AstroWorld rides were relocated to other Six Flags parks between 2006 and 2010. Six Flags New England received two, both of which began operation for the 2006 season: SWAT (renamed to Catapult) and Diablo Falls (a spinning river rapids ride, renamed to Splash Water Falls). In 2010, Larsen MacColl acquired a majority share of the company from Stan Checketts and S&S Worldwide discontinued the Sky Swatter. Following the loss of support, Catapult at Six Flags New England was removed in March 2013, prior to its 2013 operating season, leaving Slammer at Thorpe Park as the only operating Sky Swatter. In 2017, after major downtime, Slammer finally closed on 4 May to make way for other attractions. Design and ride experience The concept for the Sky Swatter was developed by S&S CEO Stan Checketts starting in 1993; the restraints took an entire year to design, while the structure and ride only took five months. The Sky Swatter featured a long arm which sat between two towers, on either end of the arm were four rows of six seats; total throughput was estimated at 800 to 900 riders per hour. The restraints consisted of a side-lowering lap bar and partially over-the-shoulder restraints, a restraint system also found on other S&S's attractions, Screamin' Swing and Sky Sling