Breakbone Falls (aka, Flight Simulator)

Leland Davis, the first known to run the right line, informally called this falls "the Big One" in his guide to western NC creeks and rivers.  The river's local sage, Burt Kornegay, says it's "rough as a cob" and has long called it Breakbone Falls, an apt name given the fact that it fractured vertebrae of two people who were carried out on backboards during the first year of official releases.  See http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Article/view/articleid/31911 for identification of the line where injuries have occurred.

The river-right line (commonly called Flight Simulator, but also called Fright Stimulator or Go Right and Fly) is about 25 feet high.  It starts with a 6.5 foot sloping ledge if you're far enough right, but it'll start with a pothole that's 7 feet deep and 12 feet wide if you're too far left. The sloping ledge ends with a 4.5 foot drop followed by a 14 foot vertical drop. Beware pitoning at the top or at the bottom if too far left. Pitoning in the top pothole can result in a beating, either in the pothole or on the way down the remaining 20ish feet.  Harrison Metzger, who likely made the first open boat run of the right line, recommends "being 7 to 8 feet off the right bank with a slight left angle, which should deposit you in the 'fluffy box of bunnies' froth below."

The river-left line (known to some as Crash Landing) is a 28 foot, broken, rough slide into a large pool.  Enter far left over the center of a small wave on the horizon line.  Being too far right on the small wave results in a ride with two or three very hard hits. Being too far left can result in hitting a bedrock slab about one-third of the way down.

Thanks, Burt Kornegay and Harrison Metzger, for making the measurements.

One more word about back injuries.  The big bounce on the river-left line that has caused back injuries is located near the bottom a bit right of the ideal left line.   Photo 1 and photo 2 show boats on the big bounce.  Paddlers who  lean forward over the bounce have had far smoother lines than those sitting up or boofing.  Check out this photo taken at base flow to understand the landing zone.