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.
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Braun, a 54-year-old stuntman from Southern California, utilized a steep ramp just like Knievel to help propel his rocket-powered craft across the gorge near Twin Falls at 4 p.m. PDT.
His parachute deployed early and Knievel crashed his rocket into the rocks near the Snake River on the same side of the canyon where he lifted-off. “I’m simply finishing out his dream”, he told the Idaho Statesman, “How many people get to finish the dream of their hero?”
A stuntman has successfully jumped the Snake River Canyon in a tribute to his boyhood idol Evel Knievel.
Boise, Idaho, news station KBOI 2 said Braun spent about $1.6 million preparing for the stunt. 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. “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?”
Before the jump, Braun spoke of his confidence that he would make it the full away across the canyon.
“Before I could even think I was doing the five-count”, Truax said.
The mystique of Knievel’s failed stunt has lived on, with would-be daredevils showing up every decade or so to propose similar jumps. But Braun appears to have been the first to actually try it since Knievel’s attempt.
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After the successful jump, Braun thanked his team.
