It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Big Ed. . . SPLATT!

jinman · Oct 8, 2013

Holy cow! For a county named Wise, we sure come up with some kooky people. Here's a guy from Bridgeport, Texas who is going to try and jump the Snake River Canyon where Evel Knievel failed. Right now, this fellow weighs in at a svelte 280 lb. Give the guy some credit though. He's successfully performed over 1400 jumps with the longest being 156', and he's done it several times. The guy bid on and won the rights for this jump by laying out a cool 1 million dollars. So, Idahoans look out! You may have a 280 lb Texas sized "Bug" on the Snake River Canyon wall in September of 2014. Will he clear the 1600' canyon or go down in a rocket-powered motorcycle blaze of glory? Stay tuned. . .

Big Ed Beckley's Website

mjarrels · Oct 8, 2013

Mean while... My ship is ankored at Cubi Point!

mark

smstonypoint · Oct 8, 2013

Jim,

What's the over/under as to how many feet he makes it?

Steve

2LaneCruzer · Oct 8, 2013

Why does "George of the Jungle" come to mind?

jinman · Oct 8, 2013

smstonypoint said:
Jim,

What's the over/under as to how many feet he makes it?

Steve

Steve, the over is dry and the under is a bath in the Snake River. Either way, it's a choice of a short or long parachute ride. . . if that doesn't malfunction. When the rockets kick in, he's going to keep his motorcycle revving so his wheels give him gyro stability. I'm thinking if something goes wrong, he may become a rocket powered red-white-blue pinwheel with a twisted parachute tail.

One thing for sure. If he makes it, there will be somebody else who wants to do it in more spectacular style. . . maybe a monster truck.:shocked:

creekbend · Oct 8, 2013

I wish him well. Thanks for posting.

dave1949 · Oct 8, 2013

I wonder what the financial picture of that is?

$943K just to use the take-off point, the bike, the engineers, etc., etc. Seems like the TV rights and sponsor-ships would have to be pretty rich to cover the costs. I'll bet Big Ed has it worked out though.

farmgirl19 · Oct 8, 2013

The word "Splat" comes to mind!

Wagtail · Oct 8, 2013

Actually, the statement "Hold my beer and watch THIS!" comes to mind.

farmgirl19 · Oct 8, 2013

Careful wagtail; I've been known to say that a few times! :laughing:

AGRIMAN · Oct 8, 2013

jinman said:
Steve, the over is dry and the under is a bath in the Snake River. Either way, it's a choice of a short or long parachute ride. . . if that doesn't malfunction. When the rockets kick in, he's going to keep his motorcycle revving so his wheels give him gyro stability. I'm thinking if something goes wrong, he may become a rocket powered red-white-blue pinwheel with a twisted parachute tail. One thing for sure. If he makes it, there will be somebody else who wants to do it in more spectacular style. . . maybe a monster truck.:shocked:[/QUOTE

Well, Bigfoot 18 holds the record at 218'.

Mace Canute · Oct 9, 2013

Speaking of splats...LiveLeak.com - Cliff jump gone wrong

jinman · Oct 9, 2013

Mace Canute said:
Speaking of splats...LiveLeak.com - Cliff jump gone wrong

Holy Smoke! He landed flat on his back.

jinman · Oct 9, 2013

BTW: I pretty much copied the headline in the local newspaper, so a search by Big Ed or his supporters might turn up this thread. I certainly wish Big Ed Beckley the best even though I think him a bit loonie. I don't pretend to understand even a little of why people do these daredevil things. Perhaps, it's because they want fame above all else, but don't know how to achieve it any other way. For whatever reason, there will always be somebody going higher, longer, and more dangerous. At the same time, there will be plenty of people to cheer them on, hopefully from paying seats. I truly hope Big Ed is successful and becomes famous for his achievement. I will continue to poke fun at him, but in my heart I want him to come home to his family in one big smilin' piece.

jimmyj · Oct 10, 2013

2LaneCruzer said:
Why does "George of the Jungle" come to mind?

Ha ha ha. That's exactly what I thought!!! LOL

dodge man · Oct 11, 2013

Idiots, they make this thing called a helicopter, if you get a big enough one you could load the bike up, fly it across and then unload it.

dave1949 · Oct 11, 2013

dodge man said:
Idiots, they make this thing called a helicopter, if you get a big enough one you could load the bike up, fly it across and then unload it.

I don't get it either.

It's not like the world is just waiting for someone to perfect a rocket powered, canyon jumping motorcycle.

It's a dead-end, there is no "rest of the story."

farmgirl19 · Oct 11, 2013

I could make the jump easily in a J-3 Cub!

jinman · Oct 11, 2013

dave1949 said:
It's a dead-end, there is no "rest of the story."

I agree, but the beginning of the story is the first time a kid puts a board up on a cinderblock and makes a bicycle jump. From there on, it's bigger, faster, longer.