'King of daredevils' plans mile-long, homemade rocket launch across Texas' Palo Duro Canyon “I taught myself to be a rocket scientist”

A man who calls himself the "current king of daredevils" is planning to pull off the most impressive feat of his career when he soars a mile across a Texas canyon in a "rocket" he built in his garage on April 2. less A man who calls himself the "current king of daredevils" is planning to pull off the most impressive feat of his career when he soars a mile across a Texas canyon in a "rocket" he built in his garage on April ... more Photo: Provided By Mike Hughes Photo: Provided By Mike Hughes Image 1 of / 39 Caption Close 'King of daredevils' plans mile-long, homemade rocket launch across Texas' Palo Duro Canyon 1 / 39 Back to Gallery

A man who calls himself the “current king of daredevils” is planning to pull off the most impressive feat of his career on April 2, when he soars a mile across a Texas canyon in a “rocket” he built in his garage.

Michael “Mad Mike” Hughes, an Apple Valley, Calif. resident, told mySA.com he is preparing to break his previous 1,374-foot ramp jump record in a launch across Palo Duro Canyon at 3 p.m. from the Palo Duro Canyon Zip Line area, about 20 minutes outside Amarillo.

“I taught myself to be a rocket scientist,” said Hughes, whose day job is behind the wheel of a limo. “I’m the only person in the history of the world to build and launch their own rocket, outside of a government agency.”

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Calls made to Palo Duro State Park for comment on the launch were not immediately returned on Friday, a holiday.

The thrill seeker has built three previous rockets. Before that, he was using a 3-ton Lincoln Town Car limo to go the distance.

He owns the Guinness World Record for the longest ramp jump, at 103 feet, in a limousine, pulled off on Sept. 28, 2002 in Perris, Calif.

Hughes estimates nearly two years and $30,000 have been invested in his latest invention, to take him across what is hailed as “The Grand Canyon of Texas.”

His crafts utilize steam pressure to launch off 40-foot aluminum and steel rails and a parachute landing system. Inside, Hughes said he has installed a NASCAR-like safety setup with a seat that "flexes" to sustain any shock upon impact.

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He added that his $15-an-hour paycheck cannot fund any test runs, so the April jump is the first time the rocket will be used. Hughes admits he is worried of the “unknowns.”

“This is really dangerous, if it doesn’t concern you, you really are wacked out,” he said. “I manned up and jumped in the thing (referring to his previous voyage, also done without a test run,) that’s the difference between a daredevil and a stuntman, who does things in a controlled environment.”

Hughes is taking the risks and memories of his Jan. 30, 2014 rocket jump into account, when he fell 20-feet from the air.

“It shook me up inside,” he said. “I thought about stopping, but what would I do for the rest of my life? You just keep pressing forward.”

“Forward” is used modestly — he’s hoping his out-of-the-world ambitions will land him in space next.

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“I want to go to space as a private citizen, I don’t think anyone in history could surpass that,” he said, with total confidence.

The self-taught “rocket scientist” said he’s dedicated the past nine years to researching the ins and outs.

“It’s been a bizarre trip,” he said, adding that the last he checked, about 5 years ago, an estimated 1,500 research hours were spent. “I simplify everything, then put it all together so I won’t get overwhelmed.”

Hughes hopes his dangerous acts will motivate his fellow Americans, specifically the younger generation, even if it means laying everything on the line.

“We went from a can-do country, to a can’t-do,” he said. “I want to inspire people to be the most they can be, I want a child to see it and think about what they can do, not to bury their faces in their iPhones.”

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye