Question on James Bond Spiral Jump Stunt

[MSI]

Q: I am wondering what is the accuracy of the statement about the stunt "With a 39.9 mph take-off speed, the weight of the Hornet being exactly 1460.6 kg (including passengers), and the distance between the klong ramps being exactly 15.86m apart, Bond perfectly executes the jump."

A: The Spiral Jump Stunt was perfromed in the James Bond movie Man with the Golden Gun. The implied speed and weight were essentially correct, but the implied precision is excessive and somewhat unrealistic. For the actual ‘traveling stunt’ the target speeds, etc were 40 +/- 1MPH and 1461 +/- 3 kg, and 13.85 +/- 0.03 m
A thrill show toured with the stunt both before and after James Bond picked it up for the movie. For many of the tour shows in the US, the drivers came in slow (below the low speed) and damaged the suspension and landing ramp on landing.
For the stunt shown in the movie and for many times after the bond movie, Bumps Willard, who did the stunt for the movie, toured Europe and hit the jump correctly every time!
The Spiral Jump patent
Additional information on The Spiral Jump Stunt and the HVOSM software used to create it

[brian]

be sure to also check out the Youtube videos (links are also McHenry Software website)
Handheld film of the actual stunt from the James Bond movie
Also see the original computer graphics of the hvosm simulation/design

[brian]

Q: What was the car? (this question was posted up on the youtube site of the video)
A: The stunt was originally done with an AMC Javelin for the "Barrel Roll" in 1972 Thrill Show that debuted in the Houston Astrodome on Jan. 15 of that year in Texas.

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For the James Bond movie Man with The Golden Gun a modified AMC Hornet Sportabout hatchback coupe was used (centered seat, 6 cyl engine, engine modifications, etc) with Loren "Bumps" Williard as the stunt driver.

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Be sure to also see James Bond's AMC Hornet Located!

[stan]

For your amusement and entertainment here are a couple of other versions of the 'spiral jump stunt' setup and performed perhaps without an adequate amount of scientific analysis:
The BBC series Top Gear

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presented an attempt to mimic the James Bond Man with the Golden Gun Spiral Jump on Series 11, Episode2.
From the BBC site:

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James May got his slide rule out (see above)in an effort to recreate one of film's most beloved car stunts: the spiral jump from Man with the Golden Gun. See the segment on YouTubeTop Gear: Doing 360 degrees roll with a car.
In the film, an AMC Hornet is seen jumping off a ramp, making one complete revolution in mid-air, and then landing on its wheels on another ramp. What looks relatively simple on-screen actually involves some incredibly complex equations, and the genuine possibility of a horribly messy death for the driver. Enter Top Gear Stunt Man. Unfortunately, James misplaced a couple of decimal points, so the attempt ended in a huge and painful-looking crash.
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And in yet another 'interesting' version of the 'spiral jump' a stunt driver performs the stunt with an apparent lack of science:
Tommy "Trubble" McTague Spiral Car Jump
ENJOY!

[brian]

Found another YouTube video with some more Spiral Jump footage including some of the original Calspan Tests, some of the touring Thrill show versions and finishing with the James Bond version.
You will notice that most of the footage from the touring shows did not land properly. This was due to improper speed and/or alignment by the various drivers. Most would come in too slow and take out part of the landing ramp. Not until Bumps Williard, the stunt driver for the Bond movie version of the stunt, did the driver bring it in at the proper speed an alignment. Bumps toured Europe with the thrill show and the stunts were perfomed perfect every time! Enjoy!

[brian]

April 19, 2010: Thanks to Roy Bergman for sending me information on the Mercedes SLS AMG Tunnel Loop. Met Roy at the 99th birthday celebration of Bill Milliken this past weekend in Watkins Glen at the International Motor Racing Research Center.
Roy mentioned a tunnel stunt in a youtube video/ad by Mercedes. Somewhat like an 'inside' spiral jump. Not sure if it's real, as the ramp would have had to be constructed inside the tunnel (and it's much easier, safer and less expensive to simply morph into a CGI animation and then back to the real vehicle shots).
Enjoy!
Mercedes SLS AMG Tunnel Loop
Here's a few stills from the movie...this dude with the computer...ain't he in the crash zone (if something were to go wrong if it were a 'real' event?)
And apparently they've also changed the name of the driver too!

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[PaulM]

Yeh, having all those folks standing in the crash zone during a taping is a BIT unrealistic

However,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5unKNLcj8P8

Is totally real. I swear it is.

'Elvis is not dead, he just went home'.

[PaulM]

I especially liked the way the entire tunnel has continuous light bars at the top on both sides, EXCEPT the precise little section where the Mercedes needed to go there, at which point they became utterly flat and smooth