RE: Bloodhound LSR back on track
Discussion
binnerboy said:
This project will give mounds of data about turbulent fluid flow, supersonic fluid flow, materials science, and aerodynamics. I expect other areas of engineering and science will also benefit from the data and findings. It is impossible to say what direct benefits there will be. There were unexpected benefits of the space programme. By taking things to an extreme and pushing boundaries we learn unexpected and new things.
Thank you for that. binnerboy said:
Plus i think it is cool and should be done because we haven't done it before.
All for it. Another genuine question (I wonder who will throw their toys out of their prams over this one);
What timeframe would Andy Green have to ensure that he is still part of the project? Is he himself going to get to a point where he isn't able to be the one driving when the attempt is made if it keeps getting postponed? It would be a shame if it weren't to be him but at what point will age have an effect on his ability to do this? Isn't he late 50's already? I'd love to see any comparative test results from now and back then to see how time has effected his ability to perform.
Edited by gigglebug on Wednesday 10th July 16:57
gigglebug said:
binnerboy said:
This project will give mounds of data about turbulent fluid flow, supersonic fluid flow, materials science, and aerodynamics. I expect other areas of engineering and science will also benefit from the data and findings. It is impossible to say what direct benefits there will be. There were unexpected benefits of the space programme. By taking things to an extreme and pushing boundaries we learn unexpected and new things.
Thank you for that. binnerboy said:
Plus i think it is cool and should be done because we haven't done it before.
All for it. Another genuine question;
What timeframe would Andy Green have to ensure that he is still part of the project? Is he himself going to get to a point where he isn't able to be the one driving when the attempt is made if it keeps getting postponed? It would be a shame if it weren't to be him but at what point will age have an effect on his ability to do this? Isn't he late 50's already?
RumbleOfThunder said:
Reasonable question but I still think he'd be among the best for the job for the next 5-10 years. Top level fighter pilots may have have physical advantages but in terms of "driving" above the speed of sound, there isn't anyone more experienced!
I was just wondering if there was a natural drop off point for things like reaction time etc, do test pilots go on into old age? Is physical ability as important as mental ability with this type of thing?I would guess that if it doesn't happen within the next 5-10 years then it ain't going to happen anyway so hopefully he's safe, it'll be good to see him do it.
Edited by gigglebug on Wednesday 10th July 17:13
Willow1212 said:
mr_spock said:
As hinted at in an earlier comment, if the wheels are only 2mm in the surface, and the aero is keeping it straight and level, how is this not an aircraft? At some point it "takes off".
Because none of the aero surfaces can move, so yes aero stuff is critical to keeping it pointing in the right direction, but the aerodynamics aren't used to control it directly as they are in an aircraft. It is still effectively driven with a steering wheel and a heavy right foot.As I understand it.
However, at six and a half tonnes I could see an argument being made that it's more lorry than car.
The whole idea for the project came about through a desire to try and drive interest in engineering at a basic school level and the original team (this is nothing to do with Noble and his team I gather) were very specific in this, it gained the huge amounts of research money and sponsorship and as a clever way of trying to raise money for it to to go ahead. It did, they built it tested it then ran out of money to take it to South Africa.
Sadly there is no real interest in this kind of thing so it went under, but one hopes that a few kids saw it, saw the mock up, played with the little rocket cars and went home and thought about their future, maybe inspired by a chat with Andy green or something, it's what happened to him and Noble who saw John Cobb on the water when he was 6.
If that is all it achieves then that's enough, that was the idea.
It doesn't matter so much what it does, although the people involved with it at any level can use that fact to perhaps raise the profile of their businesses.
After SSC Noble was flabbergasted at the companies and people looking to cash in on their success, Audi and Volvo running tv ads with references to speed, thrust etc, a bank wanted to sponsor it after the record was broken!.
He sold the Volvo he owned, told the banks, "where were you 5 years ago when we were skint" and took it to the people and gave it to a museum where you can see it and 2 for free.
This is why this man is a total and utter hero to me in many ways. And his ambition to push the Bloodhound by using education was clever and I hope successful.
Sadly there is no real interest in this kind of thing so it went under, but one hopes that a few kids saw it, saw the mock up, played with the little rocket cars and went home and thought about their future, maybe inspired by a chat with Andy green or something, it's what happened to him and Noble who saw John Cobb on the water when he was 6.
If that is all it achieves then that's enough, that was the idea.
It doesn't matter so much what it does, although the people involved with it at any level can use that fact to perhaps raise the profile of their businesses.
After SSC Noble was flabbergasted at the companies and people looking to cash in on their success, Audi and Volvo running tv ads with references to speed, thrust etc, a bank wanted to sponsor it after the record was broken!.
He sold the Volvo he owned, told the banks, "where were you 5 years ago when we were skint" and took it to the people and gave it to a museum where you can see it and 2 for free.
This is why this man is a total and utter hero to me in many ways. And his ambition to push the Bloodhound by using education was clever and I hope successful.
Very excited about this!
I, for one, would love to be able to go and watch the record attempt ‘live’. To see (and hear) a car go through the sound barrier now that really would be something.
Nobody has really mentioned it yet, but there is an ‘elephant in the room’ here, which is a bit difficult to talk about really, and that is, surely, just how very dangerous this attempt is.
Andy Green is a very brave man (amongst other admirable qualities) who gets massive respect from me.
I, for one, would love to be able to go and watch the record attempt ‘live’. To see (and hear) a car go through the sound barrier now that really would be something.
Nobody has really mentioned it yet, but there is an ‘elephant in the room’ here, which is a bit difficult to talk about really, and that is, surely, just how very dangerous this attempt is.
Andy Green is a very brave man (amongst other admirable qualities) who gets massive respect from me.
chunder27 said:
The whole idea for the project came about through a desire to try and drive interest in engineering at a basic school level and the original team (this is nothing to do with Noble and his team I gather) were very specific in this, it gained the huge amounts of research money and sponsorship and as a clever way of trying to raise money for it to to go ahead. It did, they built it tested it then ran out of money to take it to South Africa.
Sadly there is no real interest in this kind of thing so it went under, but one hopes that a few kids saw it, saw the mock up, played with the little rocket cars and went home and thought about their future, maybe inspired by a chat with Andy green or something, it's what happened to him and Noble who saw John Cobb on the water when he was 6.
If that is all it achieves then that's enough, that was the idea.
It doesn't matter so much what it does, although the people involved with it at any level can use that fact to perhaps raise the profile of their businesses.
After SSC Noble was flabbergasted at the companies and people looking to cash in on their success, Audi and Volvo running tv ads with references to speed, thrust etc, a bank wanted to sponsor it after the record was broken!.
He sold the Volvo he owned, told the banks, "where were you 5 years ago when we were skint" and took it to the people and gave it to a museum where you can see it and 2 for free.
This is why this man is a total and utter hero to me in many ways. And his ambition to push the Bloodhound by using education was clever and I hope successful.
Great stuff. Sadly there is no real interest in this kind of thing so it went under, but one hopes that a few kids saw it, saw the mock up, played with the little rocket cars and went home and thought about their future, maybe inspired by a chat with Andy green or something, it's what happened to him and Noble who saw John Cobb on the water when he was 6.
If that is all it achieves then that's enough, that was the idea.
It doesn't matter so much what it does, although the people involved with it at any level can use that fact to perhaps raise the profile of their businesses.
After SSC Noble was flabbergasted at the companies and people looking to cash in on their success, Audi and Volvo running tv ads with references to speed, thrust etc, a bank wanted to sponsor it after the record was broken!.
He sold the Volvo he owned, told the banks, "where were you 5 years ago when we were skint" and took it to the people and gave it to a museum where you can see it and 2 for free.
This is why this man is a total and utter hero to me in many ways. And his ambition to push the Bloodhound by using education was clever and I hope successful.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I really can’t agree on that. Of course there are some teachers who could make the most of a bigger budget, but that’s not what inspires kids into engineering. Maths and Physics are tough going subjects for kids interested in science and engineering. We need things to get kids excited about it.I for one was completely inspired by the original Thrust 2 and SSC. I remember being slightly star struck as a young teenager meeting and speaking to Andy Green. Many of my teachers were great, but there is no way they could have inspired me in the same way things like Thrust SSC and Formula One did. Infact I was so inspired by SSC that I spent a happy week with my Grandad (also an Engineer) making a model from scratch out of wood.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
But what would there be for the teachers to inspire children with if there weren't follies like land speed records, space exploration and motorsport? It's the crazy, seemingly unobtainable thing that get's most kids interested. A tour of a Saint Gobain pipe production line is not one of them (I know....I went for an interview with them for a gap year job....everyone in the IMechE scheme got offered it and turned it down as it was so horrendously tedious).If there were no things like land speed records, there wouldn't be anything for youngsters to aspire to do. Of course the apparent glamour of such things is a smoke screen and as you get older you realise that a nice, well paid job in a car company is way more appealing to most, than a low paid job in F1 where you spend 99% of your life sharing a hotel room with a colleague. Or one with a land speed record team wondering if you'll get paid next month.
I think you call it aspiration.
What does modern education do? Try and aspire youth with dreams that all that matter is education and further education, uni etc. Into an education system that makes a degree now the same as an A level when i was young, forcing these kids into even higher education and debt, then into a later housing buy situation that they can't afford because the jobs are all down South, so they rob off their generous parents who have already paid their dues.
It is a fallacy to think spending money on education is better done than what I suggest.
Inspiration, every great thing done by man is from being inspired, that is all Noble wanted to do here, to inspire kids to get into engineering and science not more pointless crap like media, marine biology and the like. We need that, companies told him they need it, they did even in the Thrust 2 days, and he started this project with that goal in mind.
And if a few hundred kids are now doing mech engineering degrees instead of media studies I say bravo to the man.
What does modern education do? Try and aspire youth with dreams that all that matter is education and further education, uni etc. Into an education system that makes a degree now the same as an A level when i was young, forcing these kids into even higher education and debt, then into a later housing buy situation that they can't afford because the jobs are all down South, so they rob off their generous parents who have already paid their dues.
It is a fallacy to think spending money on education is better done than what I suggest.
Inspiration, every great thing done by man is from being inspired, that is all Noble wanted to do here, to inspire kids to get into engineering and science not more pointless crap like media, marine biology and the like. We need that, companies told him they need it, they did even in the Thrust 2 days, and he started this project with that goal in mind.
And if a few hundred kids are now doing mech engineering degrees instead of media studies I say bravo to the man.
RacerMike said:
But what would there be for the teachers to inspire children with if there weren't follies like land speed records, space exploration and motorsport?
My son is 11. His aspiration since the age of 8 has been to find a cure for cancer. - is that a folly? He loves old or fast cars (especially Ferraris and CanAm racers) and watched much of the Le Mans 24hr with me, but cannot understand why so much is being spent on a Land Speed Record.Turbobanana said:
RacerMike said:
But what would there be for the teachers to inspire children with if there weren't follies like land speed records, space exploration and motorsport?
My son is 11. His aspiration since the age of 8 has been to find a cure for cancer. - is that a folly? He loves old or fast cars (especially Ferraris and CanAm racers) and watched much of the Le Mans 24hr with me, but cannot understand why so much is being spent on a Land Speed Record.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff