World's fastest man, and Bloodhound
Wing Commander Andy Green gave PH a guided tour of a full scale mock-up of his Bloodhound Land Speed Record Car at the Farnborough Air Show yesterday - the first time a 1:1 scale show car has appeared in public.
The simple-looking shape is predictably the result of some pretty complex computational fluid dynamics, which the team reckons at times required more computer power than the Met Office employs to forecast the weather. (And we thought they were still using seaweed. Ed.)
The Bloodhound project's target is to crack the 1,000mph barrier, so we were surprised to learn that the car's maximum design speed is 1,050mph, which doesn't appear to leave much margin or 'wriggle room'.
The latest mock-up is now on display
However, with top-flight brains contributing to the project from around the British scientific community, and the supremely rigorous approach to designing and engineering that the project demands, you won't be surprised to hear we left Farnborough yesterday with the distinct impression these guys know what they're doing!
While the show car is made of polystyrene blocks, the real thing will employ a mixture of racing car and aviation-style technologies. The racing car bit is the carbon fibre 'monocoque' structure at the front end, containing the driver, fuel tank and supporting the front wheel assemblies. The aviation bit is a rear fuselage built from aluminium that will house the main jet engine and the rocket boosters.
There's loads more fascinating technical and background info available on the Bloodhound website, but meanwhile Wing Commander Green is appealing to PHers to show their support by donating to the project in person.
Car is jet-propelled and rocket-assisted
For a meagre £10 (or more if you like!) you can get your own name on the actual record car's tail fin - apparently big enough to read close-up - and with a certificate to prove it. That's right,
he only wants a tenner
, so what are you waiting for?