science

Skycycle X-2

Skycycle X-2 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Skycycle X-2 rather than just read about it. In short: 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. An earlier prototype was designed, named the Skycycle X-1, by Doug Malewicki and retired U.S.

Key takeaways

Skycycle X-2 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Skycycle X-2 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Skycycle X-2 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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. 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 crashed into the Snake River. The Skycycle X-2 was designed by Truax 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. 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.

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 the 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. 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 on paid closed-circuit television in several hundred theaters and arenas, promoted by Bob Arum with an average price of ten dollars. Taped coverage by ABC 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 by President Gerald Ford.

Monument

A memorial to Knievel is located near the Perrine Bridge, 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.

Recreation 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, but the project went no further upon his death. Stuntman Eddie Braun worked with Kelly Knievel (son of Evel Knievel) and Scott Truax (son of Robert Truax) 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 commercial depicts the RS5 being driven by a professional driver and jumping the canyon off a jump ramp.

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.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Skycycle X-2

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Skycycle X-2 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Skycycle X-2 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Skycycle X-2 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Skycycle X-2

In research: Skycycle X-2 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Skycycle X-2 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Skycycle X-2 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Rockets and missiles, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Skycycle X-2 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Skycycle X-2 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Skycycle X-2 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Skycycle X-2 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Skycycle X-2 in simple terms?

Why does Skycycle X-2 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Skycycle X-2?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Skycycle X-2.