RE: Bloodhound SSC project enters administration
Discussion
There are two other teams aimIng to beat the currect record of 763mph - one American & one Australian. Both countries have the advantage over the UK of suitable running surfaces within their national boundaries.
With all the money spent & in 11 years
Bloodhound has so far managed 200mph. Not much of a track record to attract sponsors.
The American car is based on a F-104 Starfighter fuselage.
With all the money spent & in 11 years
Bloodhound has so far managed 200mph. Not much of a track record to attract sponsors.
The American car is based on a F-104 Starfighter fuselage.
Glosphil said:
There are two other teams aimIng to beat the currect record of 763mph - one American & one Australian. Both countries have the advantage over the UK of suitable running surfaces within their national boundaries.
With all the money spent & in 11 years
Bloodhound has so far managed 200mph. Not much of a track record to attract sponsors.
The American car is based on a F-104 Starfighter fuselage.
As much as I wish the other nations teams all the best, I'll bet my mortgage on them not getting to 1000mph in their current guise. With all the money spent & in 11 years
Bloodhound has so far managed 200mph. Not much of a track record to attract sponsors.
The American car is based on a F-104 Starfighter fuselage.
The Crack Fox said:
As much as I love this project, and as unpopular as this opinion will undoubtedly be; there are so many better thing that could be done with £25 million.
Afraid to say I agree. This type of thing needs an individual, entrepreneurial egotist along the lines of Malcolm or Donald Campbell to manage it. Nobody will remember what names are on the tail fin.1,000mph would be a fantastic achievement, but is it really worth £25m? What would we learn?
ChocolateFrog said:
Glosphil said:
There are two other teams aimIng to beat the currect record of 763mph - one American & one Australian. Both countries have the advantage over the UK of suitable running surfaces within their national boundaries.
With all the money spent & in 11 years
Bloodhound has so far managed 200mph. Not much of a track record to attract sponsors.
The American car is based on a F-104 Starfighter fuselage.
As much as I wish the other nations teams all the best, I'll bet my mortgage on them not getting to 1000mph in their current guise. With all the money spent & in 11 years
Bloodhound has so far managed 200mph. Not much of a track record to attract sponsors.
The American car is based on a F-104 Starfighter fuselage.
It's not getting to 1000MPH that the tricky bit. Even having aerodynamics that work both subsonic and supersonic isn't that tricky. It's having aerodynamics that will let you get from subsonic to supersonic without climbing or descending in between. Not an issue if an F104 goes up or down a few feet but......
ChocolateFrog said:
Gutted.
I went to the trials and to feel the ground shake as it went past was incredible. Unfortunately it just hasn't resonated with the general public, most of which are completely unaware of the project.
I'm sure it will run, hope the investment comes from a British backer, Mr Branson would be a perfect fit I think.
Wouldn't surprise me if the record it sets stands for 50 years.
I was also there last year. It's a shame as there was a real feeling the project was gaining momentum over that weekend. I really hope someone steps forward to pull them out of this.I went to the trials and to feel the ground shake as it went past was incredible. Unfortunately it just hasn't resonated with the general public, most of which are completely unaware of the project.
I'm sure it will run, hope the investment comes from a British backer, Mr Branson would be a perfect fit I think.
Wouldn't surprise me if the record it sets stands for 50 years.
It’s a real shame that Bloodhound has finally run out of cash, but it’s not a major surprise. The harsh reality is that these guys have spent tens of millions of pounds over more than a decade of painfully slow progress and the fastest their machine has gone is 200mph.
It seems that after endless delays with high-speed running in South Africa postponed for year after year after year Bloodhound’s existing backers have simply run out of patience and lost confidence in the project ever succeeding.
It seems that after endless delays with high-speed running in South Africa postponed for year after year after year Bloodhound’s existing backers have simply run out of patience and lost confidence in the project ever succeeding.
I normally enjoy engineering programs and challenges, but I just don't get excited about this project. Essentially it's a jet engine with wheels that you have to keep straight and on the ground, it's not car based really.
Good luck to those who enjoy it, perhaps you are seeing something i am not.
this is a massive shame... well it will be if they can't find further investors. Not just for the project but also for the state of engineering and science... if something like this can't get people throwing money in the general direction then what can?!
I met Richard Norton at a conference 18 months or so ago. He is a thoroughly engaging man, and I imagine in no small part was he responsible for getting it funded thus far.
I met Richard Norton at a conference 18 months or so ago. He is a thoroughly engaging man, and I imagine in no small part was he responsible for getting it funded thus far.
My Dad's name is on the tail, I sincerely hope someone will fund this amazing machine. It's not just about the 1000mph or the man who Risk's his life by attempting this! but it's about the engineering excellence the ability to push experts beyond there comfort zones !to achieve the unachievable and more so to generate the youth of today to become the engineers of the future with the mindset anything can be achieved. Please some pistonhead save this fantastic project.
Scottie - NW said:
I normally enjoy engineering programs and challenges, but I just don't get excited about this project. Essentially it's a jet engine with wheels that you have to keep straight and on the ground, it's not car based really.
Good luck to those who enjoy it, perhaps you are seeing something i am not.
It's easy to simplify anything down to it's component parts and mock. Football is just 22 blokes kicking a bag of wind around a field but it doesn't stop more than a billion people getting excited about it every 4 years. Good luck to those who enjoy it, perhaps you are seeing something i am not.
If rockets, jets and a V8 strapped to wheels doesn't get your inner 10 year old excited then nothing I say is going to change that.
ChocolateFrog said:
Scottie - NW said:
I normally enjoy engineering programs and challenges, but I just don't get excited about this project. Essentially it's a jet engine with wheels that you have to keep straight and on the ground, it's not car based really.
Good luck to those who enjoy it, perhaps you are seeing something i am not.
It's easy to simply anything down to it's component parts and mock. Football is just 22 blokes kicking a bag of wind around a field but it doesn't stop more than a billion people getting excited about it every 4 years. Good luck to those who enjoy it, perhaps you are seeing something i am not.
If rockets, jets and a V8 strapped to wheels doesn't get your inner 10 year old excited then nothing I say is going to change that.
Turbobanana said:
The Crack Fox said:
As much as I love this project, and as unpopular as this opinion will undoubtedly be; there are so many better thing that could be done with £25 million.
Afraid to say I agree. This type of thing needs an individual, entrepreneurial egotist along the lines of Malcolm or Donald Campbell to manage it. Nobody will remember what names are on the tail fin.1,000mph would be a fantastic achievement, but is it really worth £25m? What would we learn?
would be thrilling if such money could instead contribute to an unexpected breakthrough -- and UK-held IP -- in something of a somewhat pivotal nature
maybe some aspect of battery-electric powertrains or fuel cells, the connected car, lightweight materials that cost buttons...
ChocolateFrog said:
Scottie - NW said:
I normally enjoy engineering programs and challenges, but I just don't get excited about this project. Essentially it's a jet engine with wheels that you have to keep straight and on the ground, it's not car based really.
Good luck to those who enjoy it, perhaps you are seeing something i am not.
It's easy to simplify anything down to it's component parts and mock. Football is just 22 blokes kicking a bag of wind around a field but it doesn't stop more than a billion people getting excited about it every 4 years. Good luck to those who enjoy it, perhaps you are seeing something i am not.
If rockets, jets and a V8 strapped to wheels doesn't get your inner 10 year old excited then nothing I say is going to change that.
It’s not a car - I’d be more excited if they were chasing 500MPH in a driven wheel vehicle than 100MPH in this.
Mark-C said:
ChocolateFrog said:
Scottie - NW said:
I normally enjoy engineering programs and challenges, but I just don't get excited about this project. Essentially it's a jet engine with wheels that you have to keep straight and on the ground, it's not car based really.
Good luck to those who enjoy it, perhaps you are seeing something i am not.
It's easy to simplify anything down to it's component parts and mock. Football is just 22 blokes kicking a bag of wind around a field but it doesn't stop more than a billion people getting excited about it every 4 years. Good luck to those who enjoy it, perhaps you are seeing something i am not.
If rockets, jets and a V8 strapped to wheels doesn't get your inner 10 year old excited then nothing I say is going to change that.
It’s not a car - I’d be more excited if they were chasing 500MPH in a driven wheel vehicle than 100MPH in this.
I can't think of anything better you could spend this money on. It's half the price of a 737 for flip sake.
I disagree that this project is something the public are unaware of - there's been plenty of media attention - I think the problem is the timespan, people are not going to stay interested for months or years
Look at the issues NASA had once they'd landed on the moon - people were literally uninterested immediately thereafter - attention spans are not long...
I also wonder if we really need to make a 'car' (and I agree it's really not one) do 1000mph - 'road' cars are fast approaching 300mph as-is and I'm not really seeing the point of that, let alone 3 times that.
I reckon it's worth someone's money to get the land speed record - just from the publicity angle - but I don't see how that will work with the other sponsors already involved (who's continued involvement is likely required to avoid needing a lot more money again)??
I think, perhaps, their long-stated issues of how complex it is to do what they're doing was a clue that they maybe weren't going to do it - see also Virgin Space and - well - plenty of other things which just never really 'took off'...
Look at the issues NASA had once they'd landed on the moon - people were literally uninterested immediately thereafter - attention spans are not long...
I also wonder if we really need to make a 'car' (and I agree it's really not one) do 1000mph - 'road' cars are fast approaching 300mph as-is and I'm not really seeing the point of that, let alone 3 times that.
I reckon it's worth someone's money to get the land speed record - just from the publicity angle - but I don't see how that will work with the other sponsors already involved (who's continued involvement is likely required to avoid needing a lot more money again)??
I think, perhaps, their long-stated issues of how complex it is to do what they're doing was a clue that they maybe weren't going to do it - see also Virgin Space and - well - plenty of other things which just never really 'took off'...
unsprung said:
would be thrilling if such money could instead contribute to an unexpected breakthrough -- and UK-held IP -- in something of a somewhat pivotal nature
maybe some aspect of battery-electric powertrains or fuel cells, the connected car, lightweight materials that cost buttons...
Many, many times £25m is being spent regularly on a whole range of research projects. Most of them aren't particularly sexy though and will be under wraps until a breakthrough occurs. maybe some aspect of battery-electric powertrains or fuel cells, the connected car, lightweight materials that cost buttons...
As we speak my workplace is expanding with a £60m Advanced Automotive Propulsion facility, for example. You won't really hear about it unless/until some interesting breakthrough occurs though.
It doesn't have to be an either-or thing, £25m regularly gets wasted on all manner of 'pointless' things, it's a drop in the ocean to many.
h0b0 said:
I’m starting to feel like this project was never intended to become a reality. It’s like the Independant party. The last thing they wanted was a referendum as it meant they were all out of jobs over night. They wanted to continue milking the system as long as possible. That was demonstrated by Farage disappearing for the last week before the vote. He knew he had screwed up.
In the case of the land speed record I feel they didn’t do enough to engage the public because they couldn’t be bothered. For Thrust SSC they were all I’ve blue peter and other kids shows. They captured the imagination and we all got behind them. This lot had an after thought test run that was last minute and purely done to raise cash. Not really that inspiring.
How dare you, was lead engineer there for many years, suffered a near breakdown in 2016 as I was working so many hours to try to make it work, whilst at the same facing possible personal bankruptcy as I was owed around £40k in back pay. You really do not have a fIn the case of the land speed record I feel they didn’t do enough to engage the public because they couldn’t be bothered. For Thrust SSC they were all I’ve blue peter and other kids shows. They captured the imagination and we all got behind them. This lot had an after thought test run that was last minute and purely done to raise cash. Not really that inspiring.
king clue.My wife worked for the Bristol events team, looks like she's out of a job now too, but thanks for your opinion on something you know 2/10ths of f
k all about.Edited by IN51GHT on Tuesday 16th October 08:24
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