Skycycle X-2

Last updated
Skycycle X-2
X-2 Skycycle.jpg
Evel Knievel's X-2-2 Skycycle on display
at the Harley-Davidson Museum in 2010
RoleStunt aircraft
Manufacturer Robert Truax
Designer Douglas Malewicki
First flightAugust 25, 1974
RetiredSeptember 8, 1974
Primary user Evel Knievel
Produced1974
Number built3

The Skycycle X-2 was a steam-powered rocket owned by Evel Knievel and flown during his Snake River Canyon jump in Idaho in 1974.

Contents

An earlier prototype was designed, named the Skycycle X-1, by Doug Malewicki and retired U.S. Navy engineer Robert Truax. It was tested in November 1973 and dove in the Snake River. [1]

The Skycycle X-2 was designed by Truax, [2] and ridden by Knievel in his attempt to jump the Snake River approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Shoshone Falls near the city of Twin Falls, Idaho, on September 8, 1974. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] The parachute deployed during the launch, causing the stunt to fail. [9]

A later analysis showed that a design flaw in a mechanical parachute retention cover that did not properly take base drag into account caused the premature parachute deployment. Following the failed jump, Truax and Knievel blamed each other for the failure. Later, Truax accepted full responsibility for the failure. [10] [11]

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. [12]

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. [12]

Three Skycycle X-2s were built for Knievel. [13] [14] The first two were used for test flights. [15] 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. [16] 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 on paid closed-circuit television in several hundred theaters and arenas, [17] [18] [19] promoted by Bob Arum with an average price of ten dollars. [15] [20] [21] Taped coverage by ABC was shown on Wide World of Sports later in the month. [22] [23] The ticket price at the launch site was twenty-five dollars. [5] [6] [7]

The jump was pushed out of the newspaper headlines by the pardon of Richard Nixon by President Gerald Ford. [24] [25]

Monument

Monument near the Perrine Bridge Evel Knievel monument in Twin Falls.jpg
Monument near the Perrine Bridge

A memorial to Knievel is located near the Perrine Bridge, [26] which crosses the Snake River about 1.6 miles (2.6 km) west of the jump site. The monument was dedicated in September 1985, at a small ceremony attended by Knievel. [27]

Re-creation of the jump

Since the 1974 launch, seven daredevils have expressed interest in recreating the jump, including Knievel's two sons Robbie and Kelly. Robbie announced he would recreate the jump in 2010. [28] Stuntman Eddie Braun worked with Kelly and Robert Truax's son to recreate the jump using a replica of the Skycycle X-2. [29] Braun successfully flew his rocket, named Evel Spirit, across the Snake River Canyon on September 16, 2016. [30]

Audi commercial

On July 18, 2012, Audi of America recreated Knievel's Snake River jump in a promotional commercial for the Audi RS5. The commercial depicts the RS5 being driven by a professional driver and jumping the canyon off a jump ramp. [31]

"Each time I was hurt, they all said, ‘that guy is lucky that he’s not dead.' And they were right. But I wanted to get up and try it again."

Evel Knievel, 2012 Audi commercial [32]

See also

Aircraft with the same name:

Video

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evel Knievel</span> American stunt performer (1938–2007)

Robert Craig Knievel, known professionally as Evel Knievel, was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Throughout his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps. Knievel was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. He died of pulmonary disease in Clearwater, Florida, in 2007, aged 69.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twin Falls, Idaho</span> City in Idaho, United States

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 100-mile (160 km) radius, and is the regional commercial center for south-central Idaho and northeastern Nevada. It is the principal city of the Twin Falls metropolitan statistical area, which officially includes the entirety of Twin Falls and Jerome Counties. The border town resort community of Jackpot, Nevada, 50 mi (80 km) south at the state line, is unofficially considered part of the greater Twin Falls area. Located on a broad plain at the south rim of the Snake River Canyon, Twin Falls, is where daredevil Evel Knievel attempted to jump across the canyon in 1974 on a steam-powered rocket. The jump site is northeast of central Twin Falls, midway between Shoshone Falls and the Perrine Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robbie Knievel</span> American stunt performer (1962–2023)

Robert Edward Knievel II was an American motorcyclist and stunt performer. He had also used the stage name Kaptain Robbie Knievel.

"Bart the Daredevil" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 6, 1990. In the episode, Bart decides he wants to become a daredevil after watching famous stunt performer Lance Murdock at a monster truck rally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoshone Falls</span> Waterfall on the Snake River, Idaho

Shoshone Falls is a waterfall in the western United States, on the Snake River in south-central Idaho, approximately three miles (5 km) northeast of the city of Twin Falls. Sometimes called the "Niagara of the West," Shoshone Falls is 212 feet (65 m) in height, 45 feet (14 m) higher than Niagara Falls, and flows over a rim nearly one thousand feet (300 m) in width.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perrine Bridge</span> Bridge over Snake River in Jerome and Twin Falls counties in Idaho, United States

The I. B. Perrine Bridge is a four-lane truss arch span over the Snake River in Jerome and Twin Falls counites in Idaho, United States, just north of the city of Twin Falls, that carries U.S. Highway 93 over the Snake River Canyon, connecting Twin Fall with Interstate 84.

A steam rocket is a thermal rocket that uses water held in a pressure vessel at a high temperature, such that its saturated vapor pressure is significantly greater than ambient pressure. The water is allowed to escape as steam through a rocket nozzle to produce thrust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snake River Canyon (Idaho)</span> Large canyon formed by the Snake River in the Magic Valley region of southern Idaho

Snake River Canyon is a canyon formed by the Snake River in the Magic Valley region of southern Idaho, forming part of the boundary between Twin Falls County to the south and Jerome County to the north. The canyon ranges up to 500 feet deep and 0.25 miles wide, and runs for just over 50 miles. Perrine Bridge crosses the canyon immediately north of the city of Twin Falls. Shoshone Falls is located approximately 5 miles east of Perrine Bridge along the canyon. The canyon continues through Glenns Ferry and south of Boise, making it longer than 50 miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Truax</span> American rocket engineer (1917–2010)

Captain Robert C. Truax (USN) 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 engine and vehicle designs.

Douglas "Doug" Malewicki is an American aerospace engineer and inventor of Polish descent. Many of his inventions concern flying vehicles, but the range is quite diverse. He is also the concept creator and inventor of Skytran PRT.

Sheldon Arthur "Shelly" Saltman was a promoter of major sports and entertainment events including the worldwide promotion of the Muhammad Ali / Joe Frazier heavyweight championship boxing matches, creating the Andy Williams San Diego Golf Classic and helped to arrange the independent NFL Players Association games during the 1982 NFL season strike. Saltman was perhaps best known to the public as the man who Evel Knievel tried to beat to death with a baseball bat in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Top Rank</span> American boxing promotional company

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.

<i>Richard Hammond Meets Evel Knievel</i> British TV series or programme

Richard Hammond Meets Evel Knievel is a one-off television documentary presented by Richard Hammond and first broadcast on 23 December 2007 on BBC Two. The show was produced by Visual Voodoo and the executive producer was Ben Devlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Martin (escape artist)</span>

Anthony Martin is a professional escape artist, locksmith and Christian Evangelist most known for his daredevil skydiving and underwater escapes on network television.

<i>Evel Knievel</i> (1971 film) 1971 film by Marvin J. Chomsky

Evel Knievel is a 1971 American biographical film starring George Hamilton as motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel.

<i>Evel Knievel</i> (2004 film) American TV series or program

Evel Knievel is a 2004 American drama film directed by John Badham and written by Jason Horwitch. The film stars George Eads, Jaime Pressly, Lance Henriksen, Fred Thompson, Beau Bridges, Matt Gordon and Peter MacNeill. The film premiered on TNT on July 30, 2004. The movie is well known for its many gaffes and inaccurate portrayal of Knievel and his career.

Walter Lloyd Blackadar Jr. was an American whitewater pioneer, best known for his solo first descent of Turnback Canyon on the Alsek River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evel Knievel Museum</span> History museum in Kansas, United States

The Evel Knievel Museum is a non-profit museum located in Topeka, Kansas, United States. The museum houses the largest collection of authentic Evel Knievel memorabilia in the world, including interactive experiences. It is 13,000 square feet and two stories. The museum is located adjacent to Topeka’s Historic Harley-Davidson and opened in June 2017.

<i>Stuntman</i> (2018 film) 2019 film directed by Daniel Myrick

Stuntman is a 2018 American documentary film, written and directed by Kurt Mattila. The events of the movie follow stunt performer Eddie Braun's recreation of Robert "Evel" Knievel's failed Skycycle X-2 jump over Snake River Canyon in Idaho.

References

  1. Levin, Dan (November 19, 1973). "High-jumping to a conclusion". Sports Illustrated. p. 40.
  2. Jones, Robert F. (September 2, 1974). "Make it or break it". Sports Illustrated. p. 52.
  3. "Jump fails, but Knievel uninjured". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. (New York Times). September 9, 1974. p. 1.
  4. Jones, Robert F. (September 16, 1974). "'We shoulda run one more test'". Sports Illustrated. p. 26.
  5. 1 2 Sellard, Dan (September 9, 1974). "Evel Knievel's leap at canyon ends in draw". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1B.
  6. 1 2 Miller, Hack (September 9, 1974). "Evel puzzle: what popped chute?". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. p. 1C.
  7. 1 2 "Evel fails in mission...but survives". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida. Associated Press. September 9, 1974. p. 1C.
  8. "Twin Falls marks Knievel anniversary". Lewiston Sun Journal. Maine. Associated Press. September 10, 1984. p. 17.
  9. Evel Knievel's X-1 Skycycle, rocket powered CANYON JUMPING motorcycle!
  10. "Knievel rescued after failure". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. September 9, 1974. p. 1, part 1.
  11. "Metal fatigue blamed". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. Associated Press. September 9, 1974. p. 1.
  12. 1 2 Stuart Barker, Life of Evel Knievel, St. Martin's Press, 2008.
  13. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : Snake River Canyon jump 1973-EVEL KNIEVEL Awesome video!!. YouTube .
  14. Absolute Evel: The Evel Knievel Story, History Channel 2005
  15. 1 2 "Evel Knievel canyon leap today". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. September 8, 1974. p. 16.
  16. Evel Knievel Skycycle Snake River Rocket For Sale
  17. "Is he an athlete, daredevil, promoter, hoax, or a nut?". Spartanburg Herald. South Carolina. Associated Press. June 25, 1974. p. B2.
  18. "Congressman says Evel bad influence on kids". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. September 4, 1974. p. 2.
  19. "Snake River Canyon Jump". Chicago Tribune. (advertisement). September 6, 1974. p. 2, section 3.
  20. Crittenden, John (September 7, 1974). "Thundering herd hoofing to some Evel". St. Petersburg Independent. Florida. Miami News. p. 2C.
  21. "Evel Knievel's Snake River Canyon Jump". Milwaukee Journal. (advertisement). September 5, 1974. p. 11, part 2.
  22. Sharbutt, Jay (August 29, 1974). "No live TV for Evel Knievel's jump". Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. Associated Press. p. 23.
  23. "Canyon jump launched generation of daredevils". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. Associated Press. September 4, 1999. p. 4B.
  24. Squires, Jim (September 9, 1974). "Pardon for Nixon". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 1.
  25. "Ford pardons Nixon". Milwaukee Sentinel. wire services. September 9, 1974. p. 1, part 1.
  26. "Evel Knievel's Snake River Jump Monument". roadsideamerica.com. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  27. "No crowds attracted by dedication of monument to Snake River jump". Great Falls Tribune . Great Falls, Montana. AP. September 10, 1985. Retrieved August 12, 2017 via newspapers.com.
  28. "Robbie Knievel hopes to jump Snake River Canyon". Billings Gazette . AP. May 9, 2010.
  29. Martin, Joey (September 8, 2014). "40 Years Later And Gearing Up For Another Jump". KMVT.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2014.
  30. Loumena, Dan (September 16, 2016). "Eddie Braun does what Evel Knievel could not: make successful jump over Snake River Canyon". Los Angeles Times .
  31. Harbor, Phillip, "Audi Tries to Jump Snake River Canyon in Evel Knievel Tribute", CarBuzz, September 12, 2012
  32. "Audi: 'Return to Snake River Canyon'". AudideMexico. September 24, 2012. Archived from the original on 2020-05-16 via YouTube.