Prior to his jump, which saw him launch off a steep ramp on the edge of the canyon rim, Braun told the Idaho Statesman: “I like to say I’m not doing something that Evel Knievel couldn’t do”. I ran it into the end zone.
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Piloting a rocket he dubbed “Evel Spirit”, Braun accelerated to 430 miles per hour in just 3.9 seconds, reaching a height of 2,000 feet above the canyon before his parachute successfully deployed.
The rocket was designed by engineer Scott Truax, whose father constructed Knievel’s rocket.
THIS is the terrifying moment rocket man Eddie Braun reached for the sky as he successfully jumped over the Snake River Canyon.
Friday afternoon, professional stuntman Eddie Braun paid tribute to his hero by successfully jumping the 500-foot-deep, 1,400-foot-wide canyon. Unlike Knievel, who landed at the bottom of the canyon in his failed attempt on September 8, 1974, Braun touched down safely on the other side, some 1,400 feet away.
Still, he had prepared for the worst in the days before the stunt, asking his young son to one day walk his sisters down the aisle at their wedding if Braun died in his attempt.
He’s been preparing for the past three years and spent about $1.6 million of his own money on the jump. “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”.
“What better way to pay homage to the guy who inspired me and led me to become everything that I am professionally?”
When asked before the stunt why he was doing it, Braun told GQ Magazine, “I figure this: I can tolerate just about anything for a couple of minutes. How many people get to finish the dream of their hero?”
But the mystique of Knievel’s failed stunt has lived on, with would-be daredevils showing up every decade or so to propose similar jumps.
While many have expressed interest in completing the jump, including Knievel’s son Robbie, it seems that Braun is the only one to have made an attempt.
However, the legendary daredevil ended up at the bottom of the canyon when his craft’s parachute deployed too soon.
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After completing to incredible jump, the stuntman said he was overjoyed with his team’s efforts after the success flight.
