Bloodhound Land Speed Challenger

PTR

Striker
Haven't seen a thread on this so far.

Bloodhound has now joined the exclusive club of land speed racers that have gone faster than 600mph (965km/h).

Looks like they're getting really close to the point they can bolt that rocket on it, and have a proper pop at the record now.
Really hope they get some decent sponsorship now, and see how far they can really go.
 


Haven't seen a thread on this so far.

Bloodhound has now joined the exclusive club of land speed racers that have gone faster than 600mph (965km/h).

Looks like they're getting really close to the point they can bolt that rocket on it, and have a proper pop at the record now.
Really hope they get some decent sponsorship now, and see how far they can really go.
Love to see them get the backing now. They have had a right chew on gettiing this far, can't believe its been iver 20 years since they last did it.
 
In 1997 one of my work colleagues was doing all the aerodynamic analysis for the Thrust SSC project that broke the then record. Can't remember what it was exactly, but more than 650mph!!!
I remember him describing the complexity of managing the pressures on different parts of the car when it transitioned through the sound barrier and how difficult it was to keep it on the ground. He was sitting in the office in the UK crapping himself while they were doing the speed runs cos he didn't want to kill the driver if he had made a mistake somewhere.
 
how difficult it was to keep it on the ground
that's the bit that amazes me when you see the footage, travelling at such speed why doesnt it bounce grab some air and not shoot off towards the moon... im sure there is some brilliant science behind it.
 
that's the bit that amazes me when you see the footage, travelling at such speed why doesnt it bounce grab some air and not shoot off towards the moon... im sure there is some brilliant science behind it.
The land has been flattened to make it perfectly smooth - even stone has been taken away. Its a massive undertaking.

Of course, any aero they use to keep it pushing towards the ground == drag, which slows you down! So I guess that's a very carefully controlled measure. Although ground-effect is probably being used to help suck it to the ground rather than aero, come to think of it.
 
The land has been flattened to make it perfectly smooth - even stone has been taken away. Its a massive undertaking.

Of course, any aero they use to keep it pushing towards the ground == drag, which slows you down! So I guess that's a very carefully controlled measure. Although ground-effect is probably being used to help suck it to the ground rather than aero, come to think of it.
If you check the start of some of the videos, the surface is actually properly rough and cracked. Certainly the average road looks smoother - minus the UK potholes of course. I believe the race track goes over a couple of farmer's tracks, which in early runs caused the car to bump rather hard.

My name is on the fin - something like £25 invested a few years ago. Got my dad this as well as part of a Christmas gift.

I'm no expert, but I don't think there's much in the way of ground effect - I believe it's all aerodynamics and power. Hope they get the finance in place to bolt in the rocket part of the car, as that should be proper spectacular when it gets going.

1000mph on wheels. Absolutely mental.
 
If you check the start of some of the videos, the surface is actually properly rough and cracked. Certainly the average road looks smoother - minus the UK potholes of course. I believe the race track goes over a couple of farmer's tracks, which in early runs caused the car to bump rather hard.
Not sure about that mind

"While the surface of Hakskeen Pan is the best I had seen anywhere in the world, it was covered in vast quantities of stones and bisected by an old causeway road, which needed removing and grading to an accuracy that no-one had ever attempted before.
I needn't have worried. The 300-strong team from the local communities in this area, supported by the Northern Cape Provincial Government, has done an amazing job and Bloodhound has now proved it.

The car is running really well on the surface; I can hardly feel the causeway (even at 500+ mph) and the wheels are barely scratched by the tiny bits of stone remaining on the track surface."
 

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