RE: 30 years of Thrust 2: Time For Tea?
Friday 4th October 2013
Great events always have a brilliant story behind them, and Thrust 2 is certainly no different. Richard Noble and his team began building the car on the Isle of Wight in 1979 with a budget of £175. Money was so tight they couldn't even afford a phone.
Thrust 2 development programme was basicAnd further tribulations had to be overcome when it came to driving the thing. In Richard Noble's words, they 'got it wrong' in 1981, using solid wheels on the hard Bonneville salt flats and achieving 500mph. A flood in 1982 meant they couldn't even get the car out of the trailer.
Noble's place in speed history well deservedThis insightful video also features Andy Green, who quite pertinently points out that the guys in the 70s and 80s had absolutely no experience in this field. They were at the vanguard of these supersonic attempts, and that arguably makes their achievements even more admirable.
30 years of Thrust 2: Time For Tea?
'For Britain for the hell of it' - Richard Noble looks back on the amazing Thrust 2 project
Thrust 2 development programme was basic
The 633.438mph record was set in Nevada, at the Black Rock desert. Even in 2013 and with 1,000mph in planning for the Bloodhound SSC, that's a faintly ludicrous speed. That's a two-way average as well, with Richard hitting a maximum of 650mph one way.
Perhaps even more unbelievable is the way that piloting (the phrase actually seems appropriate for once) a car to over 600mph is described. According to Richard, '300-550 [mph] is boring. It's just really boring' whilst slowing down from 600mph makes 400mph feel 'so slow that you want to open the door and get out'. Cool guy.
Noble's place in speed history well deserved
A healthy dose of nostalgia is always good to sustain interest for an ongoing project. Bloodhound SSC is still on track for next year, and this video and has only got us more eager to see it driven in anger.
See the vid here.
Still photos: Thrust Programme Ltd
Discussion
Guys like Noble are magnificent lunatics. What's with the sub-Daily Mail reportage though? A budget of £175? That might have been the float in the till, but doesn't begin to encompass what some very successful arm twisting eventually extracted from the owners of the logos displayed on the side.
Was that the jag that set the speed record for fire tenders ? 150+ mph !
Ended up at silverstone as the chase/high speed tender and was silverstone sids pride and joy.
Would be nice to set a new record WHEN Bloodhound beats 1000 mph, perhaps a tweeked jag/bentley/aston as chase tender with a union flag wrap.
Those that don't know , if you join the support club for a small fee you can have a name on the tail of Bloodhound, my late mum's name is going on , she wasn't a fan of speed but would see the funny side, I will be haunted !
Ended up at silverstone as the chase/high speed tender and was silverstone sids pride and joy.
Would be nice to set a new record WHEN Bloodhound beats 1000 mph, perhaps a tweeked jag/bentley/aston as chase tender with a union flag wrap.
Those that don't know , if you join the support club for a small fee you can have a name on the tail of Bloodhound, my late mum's name is going on , she wasn't a fan of speed but would see the funny side, I will be haunted !
I remember seeing the car up close and chatting to the designer some time before the record attempt. I was fortunate to see them when they were doing some calibration runs up and down the runway at HMS Daedalus (Lee on Solent) where I was doing my Artificers course. Great guys and a great memory.
I am 30 years old, it boggles the mind they was hitting those speeds all that time ago with the complete lack of simulation technology etc they have now.
Even if Bloodhound hits 1000mph (let's hope) this can still be regarded as an equal achievement. As an engineer myself, Noble and his team make me proud to be British.
Even if Bloodhound hits 1000mph (let's hope) this can still be regarded as an equal achievement. As an engineer myself, Noble and his team make me proud to be British.
redvictor said:
What a story. You have to take your hat off to the brit ingenuity and sheer determination to succeed.
In my mind there is no way that Thrust SSC will fail. It's in the teams genes to do it!
Just for clarification, Thrust SSC was the car which went supersonic. The car the guys are currently working on to achieve 1000mph is Bloodhound In my mind there is no way that Thrust SSC will fail. It's in the teams genes to do it!
Totally agree with the sentiment though, and a great bunch of blokes. Went to see a talk by Andy Green a few weeks ago, looking forward to one by Ron Ayers later in the year!
When i was working for BT, the division has a meeting at a Hotel in Gatwick. We were promised something special.
After the 45 minutes of BT corporate bulls
t on how good we were!!! Quentin Wilson popped up on the stage. Gave a good talk as well and managed to have a chat with him afterwards. Anyway he said we were having a 10 min break before the next speaker and invited us outside where there was Thrust SSC. This was after the record run. Then next speaker was Richard Noble. You have no idea just how skint they were some weeks. the phrase 'haven't a pot to piss in' was very apt. Got some great pics of it and was very close and personal to the beast!
Bloody good evening
After the 45 minutes of BT corporate bulls
t on how good we were!!! Quentin Wilson popped up on the stage. Gave a good talk as well and managed to have a chat with him afterwards. Anyway he said we were having a 10 min break before the next speaker and invited us outside where there was Thrust SSC. This was after the record run. Then next speaker was Richard Noble. You have no idea just how skint they were some weeks. the phrase 'haven't a pot to piss in' was very apt. Got some great pics of it and was very close and personal to the beast!Bloody good evening
Mave said:
Just for clarification, Thrust SSC was the car which went supersonic. The car the guys are currently working on to achieve 1000mph is Bloodhound
Totally agree with the sentiment though, and a great bunch of blokes. Went to see a talk by Andy Green a few weeks ago, looking forward to one by Ron Ayers later in the year!
Yea, my mistake. I know what the new one is, but i had a blond moment obviously.. Totally agree with the sentiment though, and a great bunch of blokes. Went to see a talk by Andy Green a few weeks ago, looking forward to one by Ron Ayers later in the year!
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