The first test run of The Bat was performed on April 4, 1981. Behind the scenes, the coaster was beginning to face some issues. The safety monitoring system was very sensitive and would shut down the ride with even a single train on the track. Plus, the ride was going faster than it should, causing aggressive swinging. To address the issue, shock absorbers were installed on the ride vehicles. Kings Island announced that guests should expect the ride to experience inconsistent operations since it was a prototype. The Bat had a media day on April 22, 1981. Four days later on April 26, the ride officially opened to the public. It was billed by the park as the first suspended roller coaster in the world, although two suspended coasters were known to exist in the early 20th century. Shortly before The Bat opened, Huss Maschinenfabrik purchased Arrow Development and the company became known as Arrow Huss.