The jump will be live-streamed on the Internet. He also watched a video posted to the Facebook page of the Times-News newspaper from Twin Falls. Sometime between noon Mountain time Friday, Sept. 16, 2016, and 7 p.m. Saturday, Hollywood stuntman. Friday afternoon, media and onlookers have gathered in the area near the Hansen Bridge, just east of Twin Falls, amid suggestions that the jump was going forward.
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He took off in his rocket, called “Evel Spirit”, and flew almost 2,000ft in the air, clearing Snake River Canyon before floating back to Earth by parachute.
Before the jump, he said he was optimistic he would make it across the canyon.
Braun’s sole motivation for attempting the jump was because of his childhood hero. Cars and other vehicles were parked on side roads up to about a mile away from the jump site.
Braun has said the rocket was identical to the model Knievel used for his failed canyon attempt on September 8, 1974. And it took about four hours to get the rocket ready for launch.
Although his rocket almost landed in the river at the bottom of the canyon, Knievel escaped with minor injuries. The spot where he jumped was 1,600ft-wide.
The rocket hit an estimated 400mph before its parachute deployed, allowing Mr Braun to land safely in fields on the other side.
Unlike Knievel, who was lowered into his rocket ship riding inside a metal cage swung into place by a crane, Braun walked up several steps on the platform and slipped into the Evel Spirit.
Braun’s rocket was designed by Scott Truax, whose father, Robert, built the original X-2 Skycycle which Knievel used in his attempt. Braun was the first to follow through after decades of people talking about re-enacting the event.
He was never able to get permission to attempt the jump in the Grand Canyon and instead turned his attention to Idaho’s Snake River Canyon.
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“I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought it couldn’t be done”, he said. “I wanted to be like him and after 30 years of being a professional stuntman, what better way to finish out my career than to pay homage to the man that inspired me?”
