With the speed machine doing a lot of testing on the Hakskeen Pan situated in the Kalahari Desert, I thought I'd post the regular updates on the proceedings.Over the weekend, the team had some issues with the fire warning system so had to abort a run. I love this stuff, Imagine finally getting to reach speeds of around 1000mph. All going well, the present land speed record of 750mph set in October of 1997, will well and truly be smashed by this beast of a machine.
A heads up on the car. Imagine using a fighter jet engine to get the car to a speed when it can then fire off the rocket. PS. The SSC was later changed to the LSR after the new owner took over.
One of my managers has said that it has a F1 engine inside it just to pump the oil through the system...!! An engine to power and engine that powers an engine...
Holey Dooley. Early testing of the Nammo rocket that will take over from the Typhoon's EJ200 jet engine when it's pushed the car to around the 650mph mark.
Holy ****, these guys are crazy. This run is just over half the speed they eventually want to reach. Run 33.
Run 33 report. . Aim Profile 7, 550 mph. Set-up Track 17, Km 0.5. 17C, 923 mb, sunny. Wind calm. Fuel full. Run Details 0700 local. Slick start team work with the AST, good engine start at 49 sec, total engine running 10 min. Reheat accel to 562 mph peak. Car felt very stable in the absence of any crosswind. Dust build on the canopy, both inside and out, was a major problem with visibility only just good enough to continue. No obvious dust leaks into the cockpit. Some vibration felt through the suspension at around 500 mph, which appears to be due to the slightly ‘bubbly’ surface just south of the causeway. Chute at 520 mph, solid jolt as it deployed, followed by a slight pull to the left which was easily controlled. Chute deployment bag was double-tied with 150 lb line, still suffering from canopy dump, but deployment effective. Brakes on at 200 mph, 40-45 Bar. L brake 240C, Stop at Km 11 (2.7 DTG), as planned. AMAD peak 70C. Summary A successful 550+ mph run and chute deployment. Without any wind, the Car runs on rails. Procedural Points Slick team effort, no points. Technical Points Dust on the canopy needs further work. Chute canopy dump is not impairing the deployment, so we can probably continue to use the current arrangement in order to complete the high-speed test programme.
The final run shakedown for Bloodhound before she leaves for home. Well done to the all concerned with the project.
****, in the 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon, that could make you only 3 or 4 steps from HM and 1 more from "The Donald." ****, your'e a forum legend Oddy.
