News that the Bloodhound project to break the land speed record has been pushed back to next year is disappointing, but at least the British based-team has an excuse. Because this definitely is rocket science.
--
The move was decided last week, and the official release puts a predictably positive spin on things by stating that high-speed testing in the South African desert will now start next summer, but the original plan—as we reported here—was for the team to make a first attempt on the record later this year, trying to push it beyond the supersonic speed set by Thrust SSC in 1997.
-“We discovered in testing that our HTP pump worked better than expected,” said project spokesman Richard Knight, referring to the supercharged Jaguar V-8 engine that supplies peroxide to the NAMMO rocket motors, “but as a consequence it put too much load on the rear bearing… by the time we had identified the problem, done the redesign and remanufacturing, we had slipped out of our original rocket test window.”
-The team now says that the car will run late this year, with sub-200-mph testing now set to take place at Newquay airport in the UK in November.
-“We could, in theory, try to get out to South Africa in early 2016 but this would bring with it the risk of hitting the rainy season,” explained Knight, “with the project going so well, and so much involved in terms of logistics, there is no point rushing out to the Kalahari only to find the track too wet or the crosswinds too strong. We’re disappointed in the delay but it is the pragmatic thing to do. People understand what we’re doing and why it is difficult—that is a big part of the fascination.”
-What neither we or the team know is what impact this will have on the 1000-mph target. The original plan had been to take the record in 2015 and then to go for the bigger target next year, but now both objectives will have to be fitted into one trip to the desert.
-“We don’t know if all that is achievable in 2016 but given that our objective is not to do Mach 1.4 but to reach 1000 mph safely, we will be led by the data and won’t rush to go fast,” says Knight.
--
- -
- Behind the Scenes With Bloodhound SSC’s Team, Chasing 1000 MPH
- -
- Interview: Bloodhound SSC Driver and RAF Pilot Andy Green
- -
- This Jaguar F-Type R Is the Bloodhound Team’s Pit Car
- -
-
To paraphrase JFK’s commitment to another kind of rocket-propelled race, they choose to do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
-from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/1cX6IAY
via Agya
