Stuntman Eddie Braun Jumps Snake River Canyon In Homage To Evel Knievel [WATCH VIDEO]

On Friday, stuntman Eddie Braun successfully jumped over Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls, Idaho, in homage to his childhood idol Evel Knievel.

STUNTMAN BRAUN JUMPS SNAKE RIVER CANYON

Daredevil Knievel attempted the jump on Sept. 8, 1972 and failed – his parachute deployed early and he crashed his rocket near the river on the same side he had jumped from.

Braun, who had always been a fan of Knievel, recreated the jump and succeeded. His rocket, named “Evel Spirit,” was identical to the model Knievel used. “I like to say I’m not doing something that Evel Knievel couldn’t do,” Braun said before making the jump. “I’m simply finishing out his dream. How many people get to finish the dream of their hero?”

Braun reportedly spent about $1.6 million of his own money, after finding corporate sponsorship proved difficult.

Braun launched off of a steep track and reached a speed of 430 m.p.h. and a height of about two- to three-thousand feet before the parachute deployed. Snake River Canyon is about 1,400 feet wide, and Braun’s rocket landed a good quarter-mile farther than necessary to clear the canyon.

Footage from inside the rocket was recently released, as we see Braun shoot away from the ground and the rocket twirl in mid air, before Braun gives the camera a big thumbs up. You can watch the cockpit footage here. Even though Braun assumed he would be able to make the jump – “I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought it couldn’t be done” – he still asked his son to walk his sisters down the aisle if he died in the attempt.

Regardless of Braun’s success, he told reporters he would never do it again. “It just sucked. It hurt, it was hot, it was uncomfortable. But ya know what, we did it.”

See the incredible footage of the jump below.