WATCH: Stuntman successfully launches rocket over Snake River Canyon
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TWIN FALLS — Stuntman Eddie Braun did what his boyhood idol, Evel Knievel, could not do, clearing the Snake River Canyon in Idaho on Friday.
Braun took off at 3:54 p.m. from a property a few miles up the river from the original spot in Twin Falls. He launched off a 10-story ramp, flying about 2,000 feet in the air at a speed of 400 mph.
This jump mirrored Knievel’s in almost every way, including the technology.
The rocket, named “Evel Spirit,” reached approximately 400 mph after launch. The jump covered more than 1,400 feet.
He’s been preparing for the past three years and spent about $1.6 million of his own money on the jump. That includes the work of engineer Scott Truax, who is the son of Robert Truax, the engineer who built Knievel’s rocket back in 1974.
“Before I could even think I was doing the five-count,” Truax said. “I said see you on the other side. Five, four, three, two…one, he didn’t hesitate a second, boom! He was gone.”
He says it was a moment of redemption for him and his father. If his father was here today, he would be proud to know that his rocket actually worked.
“No question!” Truax said. “Done it! Proved it! So like I said, if Evel didn’t pull the shoot and didn’t chicken out then my dad’s rocket would’ve worked, so we cured history 42 years later.”
Knievel has been Braun’s idol and inspiration since the day they met in the 1970s.
Braun says he attempted the jump not to prove he can, but to fulfill the dream of his hero.