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Knievel Prepares/Construction Update.


Gordon Bombay
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Wow, what a day it has been. Never did I imagine I'd wake up in the morning to take a psychology test then eventually end up photographing the performance site being prepared for one of the most unique entertainers of our time. Yep, thats right, "Kaptain" Robbie Knievel, who will be performing his world record breaking jump at 7 P.M. tomorrow at the park. The event is included with park admission as are a plethora of many other events such as the return of the clown band (for one day only), an air show, excellent live bands (including one of my favorites: Catch 22), live entertainment, and all of your favorite rides, but onto my pseudo-trip report:

I eventually made my way to Kings Island. The park's Public Relations Area Manager, Don Helbig, was kind enough to give me and Boddah1994 a tour of the jump site on the eve before the big event:

The jump site is located in the preferred parking area:

KnievelPrep_TONED_002.jpg

-Here you can see some of the grandstands to the right and the area where Knievel will land and coast to the left, as well as more grandstands over there.

"Kaptain" Robbie Knievel will attempt to jump 24 Coke Zero trucks:

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-The last three are positioned under the "safety" area of the landing ramp.

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-Coke Zero trucks.

At first the jump doesn't appear that intimidating, but this should give you an idea:

KnievelPrep_TONED_005.jpg

Some passersby commented that "it doesn't look that big." Maybe this will change your mind:

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This will be the largest gap he has attempted yet. This photograph is from the landing ramp.

Now its time to check out the launch ramp:

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Kaptain Knievel will accelerate to nearly 95 miles per hour before engaging this ramp.

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A view from atop the landing ramp.

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Quite an intimidating view.

The next stop on the tour was the "ski ramp." This is the ramp that Knievel will start atop:

KnievelPrep_TONED_011.jpg

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-The view from up top, the black marks are skid marks from his practice runs.

More photographs of the preparations can be viewed here.

After checking out the jump site Boddah and I used our season passes to enjoy the rest of the evening at the park. I got to experience Crypt for the first time, take a ride on The Beast, and of course check out the progress on the Mystery Construction:

KnievelPrep_TONED_013.jpg

For more photographs of the mystery construction this weekend check here.

Special thanks to Mr. Don Helbig and the park for letting us bring you guys this exclusive sneak peek. Seeing this was a real treat for me as I have been a fan of Knievel ever since I first saw his "building to building" jump on television back when I was a kid. I can't wait for tomorrow and hope to see a lot of you there. As always, check back to KICentral for excellent coverage!

Regards,

-Gordon

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No HDR, just drew out the highlights a tad, but for the most part its pretty natural. No, not a new fisheye lens, I borrowed a camera from school (Nikon D200 DSLR) and the widest lens they had (10mm fisheye). My goal is to photograph the event with my Cannon and 200mm, and then photograph it wide at the same time with the remote shutter on the D200.

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Just out of curiosity, if 3 of the trucks are under the landing ramp, how is he "jumping" them?

Great pictures though, looks like you were there today about the same time we were......

Sadly, I will miss the event tomorrow. Had to schedule my son's birthday party with the family because several of them will be attending another "event" in Indianapolis this weekend.......

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No HDR, just drew out the highlights a tad, but for the most part its pretty natural. No, not a new fisheye lens, I borrowed a camera from school (Nikon D200 DSLR) and the widest lens they had (10mm fisheye). My goal is to photograph the event with my Cannon and 200mm, and then photograph it wide at the same time with the remote shutter on the D200.

That's great! You certainly have it planned out. I have to say I like the 10mm fisheye.

Have you done any HDR work? I would think you could do wonders with that.

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Just out of curiosity, if 3 of the trucks are under the landing ramp, how is he "jumping" them?

He is still flying over them, the last 3 trucks simply have a platform over them that if he does come up short, he lands of flat wood and can possibly save it rather than ending up between trucks in a very very bad situation.

When Guinness measures jumps, its from the tip of the launch ramp to wherever the front of rear tire first touches ground.

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so robbie is really jumping over 24 Coke zero TRUCK CABS.... from what i can see

not to take anything away fron the guy, cause it is certainly nothing i would ever dream of doing....

however, the cab of a semi sits a good 2 ft. lower than the trailer of the truck.... with the advertising, i would be expecting him to jump the top point of the 24 trucks... not a lower point... ya know?

i would expect him to jump the trailer, not the cab...

unfortunately i am unable to attend, due to work conflicts, however i would love to be there to see this...

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The actual truck part is the red part, including the cab. The white attachments are just the trailers. So it is truthful, he is jumping the trucks, not the trailers. :)

Chase, as for HDR, I have tried it but was never happy with the results and see so much of it on Flickr that I don't find it truthful to how something really looks so I've never gotten into it that much.

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Yeah, I can understand that. It's difficult to execute right. I've been messing with it but my results aren't wonderful. I like it but in moderation. I do get a little sick of seeing everything in HDR on Flickr, even if it is stunning.

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I had thought as well that he was going to jump the actual trailers but that is still pretty impressive no actually it is REALLY impressive good luck to Robbie and i hope he makes it safely. Cant wait to see vids and pics of this.

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From the brochure I got today for my 25 minute visit to the park (I have absolutely zero desire to deal with 2+ hour waits for EVERY decent ride... an hour and 15 for Backlot for Gods sake) it states "NOTE: Guests are not permitted to videotape or otherwise record Robbie Knievel's jump, in whole, or part, without Robbie Knievel's written permission. Any footage or reproduction ofthe jump is intended to and shall belong solely yo Robbie Knievel."

Now in saying this, will there be vids taken? Of course there will... my suggestion is tbe be VERY sure to on YouTube within an hour tops of the jump to see any vids posted before they are pulled. I should have just hung here in Indy till about 330 or 4 and went down just for the jump.... oh well, lesson learned and KI/CF got me for $20 for the VIP grandstand seats I bought and didnt use.

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Woofer, At least you got streaming video!

That was very cool, I was glad to see him jump the trucks successfully, it sounds like he said that he only went over 23 1/2 trucks though when he got off the bike. And he said, "These shocks suck, they are so stiff". I cant wait to hear the final distance estimate!

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