Eddie Braun, 54, hurtled across the 1,400ft wide canyon in southern Idaho in a custom-built rocket dubbed “Evel Spirit”.
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Knievel caught the attention of the world by doing risky jumps, mostly on his motorcycle, to the amusement and spectacle!
He didn’t quite make it, but the jump went down in history, and now, Hollywood stuntman Eddie Braun will try to complete the leap in a rocket that Knievel attempted over 40 years ago. Among the crew that worked on the rocket was Scott Truax, the son of Robert Truax who was the original engineer for Knievel’s team.
Knievel failed in his attempt to traverse the canyon on 8 September, 1974, when his parachute deployed prematurely partway across.
Internet and wire reports were used in this story.
Truax followed his father’s blueprints down to the last bolt and deviated only by updating the parachute system.
Mr Braun’s been preparing for the past three years and spent about NZ$2.2 million of his own money on the jump.
“I like to say I’m not doing something that Evel Knievel couldn’t do”, he told the Statesman before making the jump. Continuing with “I’m simply finishing out his dream”.
A stuntman has become the first to successfully jump Snake River Canyon – 42 years after Evel Knievel almost died attempting to do so. The daredevil was later accused of leaving town without paying debts to area businesses.
Other daredevils have proposed similar jumps across the canyon in recent decades – including Knievel’s son Robbie.
Knievel has been Braun’s idol and inspiration since the day they met in the 1970s.
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Reportedly, Knievel came up with the idea to attempt the jump while drinking at Moose’s Saloon in Kalispell in 1966.
