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December 14, 2019

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鈥楤loodhound鈥 sniffs out a new speed record

A loud hiss rips through the stillness of southern Africa鈥檚 Kalahari Desert. It sounds like a fighter jet flying low over the Hakskeen Pan, an isolated dry lake bed in South Africa鈥檚 Northern Cape province, near the Namibian border.

Then a thick cloud of sand appears on the horizon, growing steadily as it draws near. In the blink of an eye, a racing car shoots by with a deafening screech and pelts toward the opposite end of the salt pan.

The 鈥淏loodhound鈥 is gearing up to try to break the current land speed record, which stands at 1,223.657 kilometers per hour. There鈥檚 still a way to go before the super racer is ready for that attempt, but today driver Andy Green is pleased.

鈥淲e have reached 904 kph,鈥 he said, as he lifts himself out of the cockpit, helmet in hand. 鈥淔irst thing in the morning, plenty of thrust, nice calm wind, so the car ran absolutely straight.鈥

The British-built Bloodhound stands sleekly behind him, dust still hovering in its wake. The white parachute that helps it brake lies crumpled on the cracked ochre soil.

鈥淕ood parachute deployment,鈥 the Briton said, as the vehicle is towed into a large air-conditioned tent nearby. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 pretty much the perfect runs.鈥

The Bloodhound was designed exclusively for speed 鈥 the team hopes, if possible, to get up to 1,610 kph. The vehicle resembles a wingless jet on aluminium wheels, with a long white body topped by an engine and a stabilizer.

Its design is miles ahead of the bullet-shaped electric car in which French aristocrat Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat set the first land speed record on December 18, 1898 鈥 pushing the vehicle鈥檚 spoke wheels to 63.15 kph.

鈥淵ou can call it that, a jet engine with wheels, but it鈥檚 far more sophisticated than that,鈥 said Stuart Edmondson, head of Bloodhound operations.

Chief engineer Mark Chapman described the racer as 鈥減art Formula 1鈥 and 鈥減art jet fighter.鈥

鈥淭he car, as it is a car, has a steering wheel, has a throttle pedal, has a brake pedal,鈥 he said.

The engine, built by Rolls Royce, once powered a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet.

It was recycled from three decommissioned versions of the Typhoon鈥檚 engine, released by Britain鈥檚 defence ministry, 鈥渨ithout the handbooks,鈥 said a Bloodhound team member.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a car designed to go at 1,600 kph,鈥 said Chapman, adding that at top speed it would be almost 400 kph faster than a Typhoon at the same altitude. 鈥淭he big issues were aerodynamics, keeping it on the ground,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want it to be a plane.鈥

As the engine鈥檚 9 tons of thrust are still unable to break the sound barrier, Chapman and his team plan to give it a boost with a rocket engine. Green is not intimidated by the prospect. The 57-year RAF pilot has held the current land speed record since 1997.

Skating

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very different sensation鈥 to flying a fighter jet, Green said. 鈥淎 very different environment ... (and) vehicle.鈥

But the skills and the 鈥渟econd by second鈥 decisions needed to stay in control are like flying a jet fighter 鈥渁t the limits of its performance,鈥 he added.

Green said the main difficulty was keeping the land vehicle steady.

鈥淭he car starts to move around at about 300 kph, at 350 kph it starts to almost skate on the surface,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like driving on hard packed snow in a normal car.鈥

At such high speed, the slightest mistake or technical glitch can be fatal.

In August, the American professional racer Jessi Combs was killed during a test-run for a land-speed record attempt in Oregon鈥檚 Alvord Desert in the United States. In the Kalahari, safety is managed by the Bloodhound team鈥檚 only female member, Jessica Kinsman. The 39-year-old air traffic controller makes sure to minimize any source of danger along the 16-kilometer desert track.

Nothing escapes her eagle eyes, be it the wind factor, obstacles or a slight anomaly in the vehicle鈥檚 motion.

鈥淗ere, it鈥檚 almost an airfield, there is a runway, there is an aircraft, more or less,鈥 said Kinsman, comparing the car to a plane. 鈥淲e have the final say on a number of things.鈥

Meanwhile, a man discreetly oversees the mechanics as the team busies itself around the Bloodhound in the cool-aired tent.

Ian Warhurst is the racer鈥檚 proud owner. He saved the failing project last year by buying the Bloodhound, which was on the verge of being dismantled and sold as spare parts.

鈥業nspiration鈥

鈥淚 have certainly spent sums of seven figures (in pounds) to get here,鈥 Warhurst said.

Ex-owner of a turbocharger manufacturer in Britain, he said that amount was 鈥渘othing鈥 compared to money 鈥測ou need to spend for projects like, say, Formula 1 teams.鈥

Warhurst, 50, who retired last year after making his fortune, defended his new carbon-intensive hobby as a source of 鈥渋nspiration.鈥

Breaking the record 鈥渨ould obviously be an amazing thing,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 the journey to get there that is really exciting.鈥

And he said that he hoped the team鈥檚 work would inspire others to advance new technologies, especially in becoming carbon neutral.

鈥淪o if we can help to inspire engineers to do that, then we鈥檙e doing our part,鈥 Warhurst said.

The millionaire said that he hoped the tests in South Africa would help attract other investors. This desert tryout, which took place between late October and mid-November, has seen the Bloodhound鈥檚 speedometer needle creep up to 1,010 kph.

The car is now headed back to its home base in Britain for more tweaking and the new rocket engine, before its expected return to the Kalahari by mid-2021 for another attempt. Green is already excited at the thought.

鈥淚鈥檓 very confident there is nothing on the planet with the capability that Bloodhound car has,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 confident we are going to break the record.鈥


 

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