Record rocket flight attempt planned across Crooked R. Canyon

A Bend marketing firm announced Tuesday plans are in the works for a record-breaking stunt late this fall — a steam-powered rocket flight across the Crooked River Canyon, over Lake Billy Chinook, by a well-known, record-breaking daredevil.

Here’s the full news release and some additional information:

Intrepid Marketing of Bend is organizing a history-making stunt event, slated to take place in Central Oregon late this fall.

Guinness Book World Record holder, “Mad Mike” Hughes plans to travel to Oregon from Southern California to break his own steam-powered rocket flight record. Last year, Hughes jumped nearly 1,400 feet in an X2 rocket he built himself, shattering Evil Knievel’s famous Snake River Canyon attempt in 1974.

Mad Mike’s planned stunt will launch him across the Crooked River Canyon, over Lake Billy Chinook, an incredible 3/4-mile jump at 350 mph. The Snake River Canyon is only 1/4 mile where Knievel attempted his jump 41 years ago.

Kelly Walker, Intrepid Marketing Creative Director, explains how the idea for this event was launched: “A few years ago, we created a fictional daredevil character named Mark Etting to symbolize the entrepreneurial spirit. Earlier this year, I got an email from a real celebrity daredevil, Mad Mike Hughes. Once we talked, we realized we could work together to make history, right here in Central Oregon!”

“No one else has ever engineered and built a rocket himself, then sat in the thing and ‘lit the fuse,'” according to, Hughes. “I want to inspire people to think that virtually anything is possible.”

“In our field, we’ve seen a lot of business owners come out of the recent recession with amazing courage and determination,” says Walker. “Mad Mike and this rocket flight will celebrate the courage it takes to launch a business and keep taking it higher. It will be an incredible demonstration of the spirit of the entrepreneur.”

Mike Hughes is a former racing driver and NASCAR metal fabricator who currently drives limousine for a living. He holds two world records: one for his rocket flight, and another for jumping a three-ton stretch limousine 103 feet. He’s previously been featured on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC, FOX, and CMT Network, and has been covered by several publications, including the L.A. Times and Las Vegas Life.

Intrepid Marketing is seeking sponsors to join in making this unprecedented national event a reality. Intrepid Marketing is creating an official event poster with renown artist Travis Knight, will have sponsor logos on the rocket, flight suit and helmet, and will be filming the stunt. Sponsorship funds will go toward producing the event, with portions supporting local environmental conservation efforts and the Family Access Network (FAN).

“This is an event that could attract tourism to the area for years to come and have a positive economic impact,” says Walker. “People still visit Evel Knievel’s stunt sites, 40-plus years later. What Mike Hughes is attempting is much bigger and even more audacious.”

Walker told NewsChanel 21 they “are close” to having the necessary permits.

“The agencies are very favorable to the event,” he said, adding that a specific date would be set later.

For more information, visit www.intrepidforward.com/events or email ME@intrepidforward.com.

Learn more about “Mad Mike” Hughes at http://www.madmikehughes.com/