The Land and Water Speed Records Thread
Discussion
I thought this might be a good thread to start after chatting with chevronb37 in another thread.
The history of the land speed record is rich and varied with some very interesting machinery. The same goes for the water speed record. It would be quite a good place to discuss the Bluebird K7 restoration too.
The history of the land speed record is rich and varied with some very interesting machinery. The same goes for the water speed record. It would be quite a good place to discuss the Bluebird K7 restoration too.
Here is the link to the Bluebird webpage.
The quality of the work is superb. Truely stunning.
http://www.bluebirdproject.com/Bluebirdproject/fra...
The quality of the work is superb. Truely stunning.
http://www.bluebirdproject.com/Bluebirdproject/fra...
I'll offer these up, as the Lotus 48 thread might be of marginal interest. This is one (of two) Rolls Royce R engines which powered Capt. George Eyston's Thunderbolt. The biggest, heaviest, most ridiculous LSR car of them all. As the engine also won the Schneider Trophy twice and set an air speed record, it's pretty special.
Life Saab Itch said:
Who holds the current water speed record and how fast is it?
Ken Warby Spirit of Australia, 317.6 mph, 8/10/78I would reccommend "Skimming the Surface" by Fred Harris. A concise history of men and machines that have contested the water speed record. It's a small leaflet type book I picked up in Ambleside. Also "The Bluebird Years" by Arthur Knowles. Read it in one go - very good book.
I think this is a fascinating subject.
There don't seem to be any decent books on the subject although last year I picked up two Brooklands Books volumes on the LSR.
My favourite story is aroudn Art Arfons who got the ex-military J79 engine for his Green Monster from a scrap yard but couldn't persuade the military to part with a technical manual for it. He rebuilt it anyway and broke the LSR.
When he died well into old age Art was buried with a spanner in each hand,a jar full of Bonneville salt and the elusive build manual for the J-79.... I'm not religious at all but I think there's something deeply spiritual about that
There don't seem to be any decent books on the subject although last year I picked up two Brooklands Books volumes on the LSR.
My favourite story is aroudn Art Arfons who got the ex-military J79 engine for his Green Monster from a scrap yard but couldn't persuade the military to part with a technical manual for it. He rebuilt it anyway and broke the LSR.
When he died well into old age Art was buried with a spanner in each hand,a jar full of Bonneville salt and the elusive build manual for the J-79.... I'm not religious at all but I think there's something deeply spiritual about that
dr_gn said:
Life Saab Itch said:
Who holds the current water speed record and how fast is it?
Ken Warby Spirit of Australia, 317.6 mph, 8/10/78I would reccommend "Skimming the Surface" by Fred Harris. A concise history of men and machines that have contested the water speed record. It's a small leaflet type book I picked up in Ambleside. Also "The Bluebird Years" by Arthur Knowles. Read it in one go - very good book.
Donald Campbell was going faster than that when K7 flipped.
I have a brilliant book about Malcolm, Donald and the Bluebird story. I think it's by a guy called Steve Holter.
I knew about al teague holding the record, but i didnt realise don vesco had smashed his old record. Mighty impressive
The thing i like about lsr racing if you like, is all the various little classes that exsist. I mean, what the hell, they even have a class for pushbikes, for which Fred Rompelberg of the netherlands, exceeded 167mph in 1995
The thing i like about lsr racing if you like, is all the various little classes that exsist. I mean, what the hell, they even have a class for pushbikes, for which Fred Rompelberg of the netherlands, exceeded 167mph in 1995
Edited by snowy slopes on Friday 21st January 17:51
Edited by snowy slopes on Friday 21st January 17:54
Edited by snowy slopes on Friday 21st January 17:55
Some good articles about Sammy Miller's ice speed record :-
http://www.bangshift.com/blog/The-Weekend-Sammy-Mi...
http://www.vetechnet.com/rocketcar.htm
No idea if that still stands as the outright record?
http://www.bangshift.com/blog/The-Weekend-Sammy-Mi...
http://www.vetechnet.com/rocketcar.htm
No idea if that still stands as the outright record?
There are quite a few books out there on the records, but many of them are old and out of print now.
The LSR and WSR are obsessions of mine. By which I mean total and complete obsessions, way past the point of nerdiness. I was raised on this stuff, my father's library steeped in the mythology that came attached to the LSR and WSR through the 50s and 60s. Being a North West boy, Conniston is and always will be something akin to holy ground for me.
And one day, one day... I intend having a crack at in on Conniston in my own boat. The last 15yrs of my professional life mean I have the correct contacts in BAES, Rolls, EADS and Goodrich for the propulsion and FADEC systems, the aeros and the hull design. I have the contacts for getting those on the cheap. I have the basis for a design in my head.
Then I want a crack at the LSR.
Like I said...obsessions.
The LSR and WSR are obsessions of mine. By which I mean total and complete obsessions, way past the point of nerdiness. I was raised on this stuff, my father's library steeped in the mythology that came attached to the LSR and WSR through the 50s and 60s. Being a North West boy, Conniston is and always will be something akin to holy ground for me.
And one day, one day... I intend having a crack at in on Conniston in my own boat. The last 15yrs of my professional life mean I have the correct contacts in BAES, Rolls, EADS and Goodrich for the propulsion and FADEC systems, the aeros and the hull design. I have the contacts for getting those on the cheap. I have the basis for a design in my head.
Then I want a crack at the LSR.
Like I said...obsessions.
DJC, I have a similar ambition to you. I remember a thread about Bluebird on here where (I think) Sam68 said that he had a design drawn up that was revolutionary and could be capable of 400mph. It sounded very interesting.
I would love to have a crack at it, I mean, if a copy of Bluebird was made from Carbon with some safety structures built in, surely it would beat the current WSR?
I would love to have a crack at it, I mean, if a copy of Bluebird was made from Carbon with some safety structures built in, surely it would beat the current WSR?
dr_gn said:
chevronb37 said:
George Eyston's Thunderbolt. The biggest, heaviest, most ridiculous LSR car of them all.
Surely Thrust SSC is bigger and heavier than Eyston's Thunderbolt?
Dimensions wise SSC is probably longer and wider but in terms of overall mass Thunderbolt might have the edge.
Life Saab Itch said:
DJC, I have a similar ambition to you. I remember a thread about Bluebird on here where (I think) Sam68 said that he had a design drawn up that was revolutionary and could be capable of 400mph. It sounded very interesting.
I would love to have a crack at it, I mean, if a copy of Bluebird was made from Carbon with some safety structures built in, surely it would beat the current WSR?
What sort of speeds are these things hitting?I would love to have a crack at it, I mean, if a copy of Bluebird was made from Carbon with some safety structures built in, surely it would beat the current WSR?
Munter said:
Life Saab Itch said:
DJC, I have a similar ambition to you. I remember a thread about Bluebird on here where (I think) Sam68 said that he had a design drawn up that was revolutionary and could be capable of 400mph. It sounded very interesting.
I would love to have a crack at it, I mean, if a copy of Bluebird was made from Carbon with some safety structures built in, surely it would beat the current WSR?
What sort of speeds are these things hitting?I would love to have a crack at it, I mean, if a copy of Bluebird was made from Carbon with some safety structures built in, surely it would beat the current WSR?
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