The Skycycle X-2 was a steam-powered rocket owned by

Evel Knievel Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel (; October 17, 1938 – November 30, 2007) was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Over the course of his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps. Knievel was inducted into the Motor ...

and flown during his Snake River Canyon jump in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

in 1974. An earlier prototype was designed, named the Skycycle X-1, by Doug Malewicki and retired

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

engineer

Robert Truax Captain Robert C. Truax (USN) (September 3, 1917 – September 17, 2010) was an American rocket engineer in the United States Navy, and companies such as Aerojet and Truax Engineering, which he founded. Truax was a proponent of low-cost rocket ...

. It was tested in November 1973 and dove in the Snake River. The Skycycle X-2 was designed by Truax, and ridden by Knievel in his attempt to jump the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...

approximately west of

Shoshone Falls Shoshone Falls () is a waterfall in the western United States, on the Snake River in south-central Idaho, approximately northeast of the city of Twin Falls. Sometimes called the "Niagara of the West," Shoshone Falls is in height, higher than ...

near the city of

Twin Falls, Idaho Twin Falls is the county seat and largest city of Twin Falls County, Idaho, United States. The city had a population of 51,807 as of the 2020 census. In the Magic Valley region, Twin Falls is the largest city in a radius, and is the regional ...

, on September 8, 1974. The parachute deployed during the launch, causing the stunt to fail. A later analysis showed that a design flaw in a mechanical parachute retention cover, which did not properly take base drag into account, caused the premature parachute deployment. Following the failed jump, Truax blamed Knievel for the failure and vice versa. Later, Truax accepted full responsibility for the failure.

The jump

Although the parachute deployed early, the aerial photographs show the X-2 cleared the canyon. However, the winds blew the rocket back to launch side, crashing at the bottom of the canyon, barely missing the river. Knievel stated that if the X-2 had landed in the water, he would have drowned, as he did not have the ability to release himself from the harness.Stuart Barker, Life of Evel Knievel, St. Martin's Press, 2008. In order to obtain permission from the State of Idaho to perform the canyon jump, the X-2 was registered as an airplane rather than a motorcycle. Three Skycycle X-2s were built for Knievel. The first two were used for test flights. Unable to fund further tests, Knievel used the third for the canyon jump. In 2007, the Skycycle X-2-1 was offered for sale for $5 million. The X-2-2 is owned by the Knievel estate and periodically exhibited along with a museum of Knievel artifacts. In the era before cable networks, the Sunday afternoon jump was covered live by

Top Rank Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, including Muh ...

on paid closed circuit television in several hundred theaters and arenas, promoted by

Bob Arum Robert Arum (born December 8, 1931) is an American lawyer and boxing promoter. He is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. Prior to becoming a boxing promoter, Arum was employed as an attorn ...

with an average price of ten dollars. Taped coverage by

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

was shown on '' Wide World of Sports'' later in the month. The ticket price at the launch site was twenty-five dollars. The jump was pushed out of the newspaper headlines by the

pardon of Richard Nixon Proclamation 4311 was a Presidential proclamation (United States), presidential proclamation issued by president of the United States Gerald Ford on September 8, 1974, granting a full and unconditional pardon to Richard Nixon, his predecessor, ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

Monument

A memorial to Knievel is located near the

Perrine Bridge The I. B. Perrine Bridge is a four-lane truss arch span in the western United States. Located at Twin Falls, Idaho, it carries U.S. Highway 93 over the Snake River Canyon, connecting to Jerome County and Interstate 84. The Perrine Bridge i ...

, which crosses the Snake River about west of the jump site. The monument was dedicated in September 1985, at a small ceremony attended by Knievel.

Re-creation of the jump

Since the 1974 launch, seven daredevils have expressed interest in recreating the jump, including Knievel's two sons

Robbie Robbie or Robby is a surname. It is usually encountered as a nickname or a shortened form of Robert, Rob (given name), Rob or Robin (name), Robin. The name experienced a significant rise in popularity in Northern Ireland in 2003. People Given nam ...

and Kelly. Robbie announced he would recreate the jump in 2010. Stuntman Eddie Braun worked with Kelly and Robert Truax's son to recreate the jump using a replica of the Skycycle X-2. Braun successfully flew his rocket, named Evel Spirit, across the Snake River Canyon on September 16, 2016.

Audi commercial

On July 18, 2012, Audi of America recreated Knievel's Snake River jump in a promotional commercial for the

Audi RS5 The Audi A5 is a series of compact executive coupe cars produced by the German automobile manufacturer Audi since June 2007. The A5 range additionally comprises the coupe, cabriolet, and "Sportback" (a five-door liftback with a fastback roofline) ...

. The commercial depicts the RS5 being driven by a professional driver and jumping the canyon off a jump ramp.Harbor, Phillip, "Audi Tries to Jump Snake River Canyon in Evel Knievel Tribute", CarBuzz, September 12, 2012

Video

Audi - Return to Snake River Canyon commercialYou Tube
– Skycycle test and jump
You Tube
– Skycycle X-2 jump
Smithsonian Channel
– modern-day video of jump area

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

– Skycycle X-1

– A leap into history
Evel Knievel Snake River Canyon Jump Site
– on

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Rockets and missiles