Santa Pod day out with 7 year old

[coppice]

All good advice - I am picking up my first set of hearing aids today, thanks to a lifetime spent perving over racing cars and dragsters. Sometimes, the impression is given that it is only Top Fuel cars that can damage hearing - but almost any competing car can be bruisingly loud at close quarters and Top Fuellers especially so.

I am horrified to see kids wandering around at drag strips without ear defenders - adults can make up their own mind if they want to lose their hearing but kids can't . The organisers have a duty of care and while drag racing loves its outlaw chic , I think the message needs to be rammed home much harder about hearing damage, if only to avoid writs in future ...

[Benni]

Hello coppice, SAD TO READ..oh, you got hearing aides now, sad to read about your race-induced damage.
Nowadays, organizers have to remind spectators frequently about the inheriting dangers of motorsport and especially Drag Racing.

It´s in the event flyers and programmes, billboards on site entry, free earplugs given out,
announcers reminding fans about the dangers of open pits and noise levels on site.

I never go in pits or trackside without the best Peltor Optime "Mickey Mouse" defenders available,
was lucky to talk to an acoustics engineer involved in defenders, and have since stuck some car body "fender sticky tape"
on the inside of the plastic cups to further avoid them getting low-frequency resonance.

Some "well ´ard" fans seem to be proud of walking around un-defended, I just shake my head and roll eyes,
any responsible parent should care for their kids with plugs AND defenders, they will be thankful later in life.

[Sandpit Steve]

BlackZeD said:

https://youtu.be/B7QGmsomid8

Go to about 30 secs from the end....... volume up, heavy metal is like a whisper ??

Bloody Hell, you can see the shockwave there!

Need to go back and watch more Top Fuel, the last real motorsport assault on the senses now that F1 is hybrid.

Edit: listen (if you can) to @Coppice upthread. I spent my youth working in nightclubs, and always made a point of wearing earplugs.

Edited by Sandpit Steve on Wednesday 10th May 12:55

[Upatdawn]

Sandpit Steve said:

Bloody Hell, you can see the shockwave there!

Need to go back and watch more Top Fuel, the last real motorsport assault on the senses now that F1 is hybrid.

Edit: listen (if you can) to @Coppice upthread. I spent my youth working in nightclubs, and always made a point of wearing earplugs.

Edited by Sandpit Steve on Wednesday 10th May 12:55

Hell breaks loose.... (watch the water come off the canopy)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKu4JYTD160&t=...

[Upatdawn]

'er indoors says i can go.....lol

i dug out my ear defenders (£5 10 years ago) and added dome internal foam, work well...

like these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394178058479


bought TWO sets of earplugs, 1 banded, 1 on string, latter seems more effective

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324296057722?var=513368...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275388755591?var=575846...



and bought a respirator....lol, just to scare the children..(have got a shed and fence to spray soon)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314568145354



watching the weather now

[essayer]

Have fun! Highlight of the last trip was turning the corner and seeing Fireforce 5 getting wheeled along to the start line. Kids still talk about it two years later..

[Upatdawn]

my own videos...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDsYJ-11ws0

this ones sad.... cos of the flipping music and PA noise...lol

christ, 16 years ago!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjvwbc5WJ0M

[hairy v]

Weather is important.

We had to wait a couple of hours for the track to dry when we went, so pick your day.

[Upatdawn]

hairy v said:

Weather is important.

We had to wait a couple of hours for the track to dry when we went, so pick your day.

SPR has its own eco-climate, and weather is a nightmare, in many years ive seen rain-offs and snow-offs, its a gamble, no ticket refunds either...

[coppice]

Everyone says their favourite race circuit / drag strip has its own 'microclimate ' (atlhough 'eco-climate ' is a new one on me ). They don't - they have weather , and the oft remarked fact that it can be raining at X but not at Y is merely that weather systems move ...

[Upatdawn]

coppice said:

Everyone says their favourite race circuit / drag strip has its own 'microclimate ' (atlhough 'eco-climate ' is a new one on me ). They don't - they have weather , and the oft remarked fact that it can be raining at X but not at Y is merely that weather systems move ...

maybe the RAF/USAAF chose it for its weather

[coppice]

Who knows- I live a shortish drive from at least a dozen WW2 bomber bases , and all have one defining characteristic - they're flat , and usually unremarkable otherwise .

[Upatdawn]

coppice said:

Who knows- I live a shortish drive from at least a dozen WW2 bomber bases , and all have one defining characteristic - they're flat , and usually unremarkable otherwise .

one of the biggest was Carnaby near Bridlington, damaged crippled bombers would head there as it was so wide

9,000 ft long and 750 ft wide


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Carnaby

[SpydieNut]

Saw this near us - I’m sure there’s more than a few PHers here

A fantastic weekend

[sociopath]

If the OP wants an easier intro for his offspring to Santa Pod, can I suggest Kitfest.

A weekend of kits cars best of British and rwyb drives.

No top fuel, so no horrific sounds, but still plenty of interesting cars on the strip and lots of other stuff to look at.

http://www.kitfest.co.uk/Home.aspx

[Upatdawn]

well, thats was worth the gate fee...lol

AND, as it has been for over 50 years, drag racing is about the only motorsport where both sexes are equal, indeed BOTH top fuel finalists were women and there were women wrenching on nitro motors....