The Land and Water Speed Records Thread

[Life Saab Itch]

chevronb37 said:

While trying to sort out something Bloodhound-related for my local car club, I ended up having a long telephone chat with Richard Noble. Quite enlightening and the struggle to engage mainstream industry in such an awesome project is quite sad. If there is a serious attempt for the WSR in the offing, my first sources for consultation over the realities would be Noble and Lord Drayson. We have so much brainpower in this country - and heavens knows enough money - that it could be a really successful project. All the very best with it. When you think of the scale of banker's bonuses, £5million to take such a fabulously challenging world record would seem a drop in the ocean - or water, if you will...

Lord Drayson was in the next garage along from mine when he raced FPA. Nice, down to earth bloke. Interesting car, bulletproof stretch Range Rover.

Sounds like a very interesting conversation to have had though.

[Snoggledog]

DJC said:

Not sure what to say snoggle. Its an obsession.

All this stuff has been my life since before I could walk and then its been the only professional life Ive known. Digital control systems, aeros and engines, aerodynamics, structural design, cfd, materials analysis. I know a few guys I trust to work with and I can (probably) wangle the neccessary hardware out of Rolls/AEC and BAES. There is the small matter of still needing 5million quid though :P

After that? Well, you suck it and see. You dont declare you want a crack at the WSR on Conniston if you are just doing some kind of engineering exercise or PR exercise. Or even if you just fancy being a record breaker. You do it because the 5yo inside you reckons Britain has unfinished business with Conniston and the WSR. You do it because those romantic silly childish notions of what life *should* be like still exist in you.





Oh yes and you do it so you can write "Smolenski is a fking " down the side of your boat (You're damn right I bear a grudge!)

Was really wondering what your thoughts were for the hull. I too have a silly notion but don't (currently) have the mathematical model to back it up. That's probably going to be 3-4 years away.

I like your idea for the er.... decoration.

[chevronb37]

Life Saab Itch said:

Lord Drayson was in the next garage along from mine when he raced FPA. Nice, down to earth bloke. Interesting car, bulletproof stretch Range Rover.

Sounds like a very interesting conversation to have had though.

He comes across well in the TV show they did about his campaign in the ALMS and he seems to be a very genuine exponent for British engineering and manufacturing. It was Noble who actually mentioned him in discussion. I was disappointed we couldn't get RN up to our club but it would've been far too expensive, sadly. He is, however, a Lotus owner so went up in my estimation; and I already considered him quite highly. Have you read his book "Thrust"? It's an excellent read.

[DJC]

Dryson is an excellent bloke. In fact he is the one guy we didnt want to lose from govt to go sodding off racing in the last few yrs as he was actually starting to sort defence procurement out. He is the only one to have even made an impression. Shock, horror, since he has gone its all gone sliding backwards.

[chevronb37]

I'm struggling to come up with a word which is the diametric opposite of procurement. Discardment, perhaps.

[Jules_T]

Life Saab Itch said:

chevronb37 said:

I know it's ubiquitous, but how unutterably awesome is this photo?

I hope we can see a Bloodhound one like that soon.

This photo was taken when Black Rock was covered in dust and as Thrust SSC broke the sound barrier the shock wave lifted the dust up and the sunlight caught it. Unfortunately we aren't likely to get such perfect photographic conditions in South Africa when BH runs. All the same, cant wait to see the car moving

[DJC]

chevronb37 said:

I'm struggling to come up with a word which is the diametric opposite of procurement. Discardment, perhaps.

You have no idea how uncannily accurate that word is

[chevronb37]

DJC said:

You have no idea how uncannily accurate that word is

It does rather seem to reflect our defense strategy at the moment. Don't worry though, we've still got a couple of Spitfires and the Vulcan which are air-worthy just in case North Korea go mental...

[chevronb37]

Few random odds and sods I'd left festering at my parents' house, including Don Wales posing with a very early version of his electric Bluebird and the LSR stamp collection.

[Nick M]

chevronb37 said:

....including Don Wales posing with a very early version of his electric Bluebird....

Have a photo of him posing next to the electric LSR car in the Brooklands museum, following the talk he gave about the steam LSR project he helped to secure for Britain. Really interesting that was too.

He even tried to get my daughter to sit in the electric LSR car, but she went all shy and didn't want to - think she was kicking herself afterwards though !

[Randy Winkman]

My fave ..... the Blue Flame.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ6DeAfILOM&fea...

Sadly, not looking as if it's going more than about 50mph. The one film I've seen of such a car looking fast is on a video I've got of an old documentary showing the Budweiser Rocket. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be on Youtube.

[dr_gn]

DJC said:

The trick in not departing the envelope is all in the aeros and for that its the control system, which yes would be extortionately expensive to develop unless you knew the correct people.

I'm not sure the control systems for aero would be complex and expensive, becasue IIRC they wouldn't be allowed for the WSR.

I may have mis-remembered this (can't find an online reference to it), but I understood that to be eligible for a WSR, all control for the craft (except propulsion) had to be hydrodynamic ie through a rudder and water brakes (or whatever), rather than with moveable aero surfaces.

That's why it's so tricky to get the hull design right: it has to be balanced at speed so it doesn't flip backwards, yet it can't be loaded too highly at the front , as that would produce large amounts of drag, or worse dig in to the water and flip forwards. I think this is the main reason why the WSR has a fatality rate of 75% or so.

[DJC]

Dr...interesting. I cant find a reference either.

Can the sleuths?

[dr_gn]

DJC said:

Dr...interesting. I cant find a reference either.

Can the sleuths?

Wonder if thrust vectoring would be allowed

[Life Saab Itch]

I have a solution to part of that.

It's not an aero solution, but it means that you can set the boat up to plane at high speeds, but it will not have problems gatting "up on the plane".

No "sandbagging" (and the subsequent lead weights) like Donald had to.

[DJC]

Well write the email then you keep promising :P

[dr_gn]

Another thing that might be of some use is - and again this might not be entirely correct - the use of gas bubbles around a submerged body to reduce drag. I'm pretty sure I read that the Russian 'Kursk' sub tragedy was caused by an H2O2 generator failure in a prorotype torpedo. The H2O2 was intended to be forced through perforations in the body of the torpedo in an attempt to surround it by a jacket of gas bubbles which would have significantly reduced drag. Not sure how neutral buoyancy was achieved, I can only think it had long-ish 'wings' that protruded outside the bubble jacket, allowing it to 'fly' underwater.

As I said, some or all of the above could be complete bks.

[DJC]

Google "Skvarm" or squarm or something and supersonic torpedo. That will answer your queries about the above.

[FourWheelDrift]

Have you watched the BBC documentary "The Power and the Glory" Fastest Men on Earth episode?

Part 1- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkl15egUszI
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Em8tYoP-7s
Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cthZ4N2yFYg

There's footage of Blue Flame in Part two at 6m30 followed by Stan Barrett in the Budweiser Rocket car at 6m48s.

[Life Saab Itch]

DJC said:

Well write the email then you keep promising :P

Done.